There are

two charter families at the Crestwood Baptist Church in

Tyrone who can still be found in its congregation each

Sunday morning.

It first

began in 1968 in a tent erected on the grounds of the

present church and has grown to 75 active members.

Among its

ministries are world-wide missions, with Crestwood having

been founded with the support of missionaries in view

- church members believe that reaching people on

every continent is the job of a local church; a Sunday

School for every member of the family held in the belief

that practical Bible applications are of special concern

to everyone; fellowship opportunities allowing persons

with a common interest to come together in Christian

fellowship; and providing a school ministry for children

K-4 through 12th grade, enabling them to enjoy academic

excellence in a Christian atmosphere.

The pastor

is the Rev. Ferrel Dowdey, who has been with the church

for nine years.

He was born

and reared in Sumpter County, Ga., and is a 1959 graduate

of Georgia Tech. He earned a degree in chemical

engineering and worked in the corporate world for six

years. Though he was always a faithful church member, it

was not until the age of 26 that he felt the Lord had

called him into pastoring fulltime.

His first

fulltime church came in 1966 and he had served three

other churches in Texas and Georgia before coming to

Crestwood Baptist.

He and

wife, Pat, have been married for 41 years and are the

parents of Kim Hulsey, a pianist for the church (her

husband is a Sunday School teacher), Diane Sexton, who

lives in Chattanooga with her family and teaches at a

Christian school, and Chip, who lives in Indiana and also

teaches at a Christian school. There are six

grandchildren.

Sunday

worship times are: Sunday School 10 a.m., morning service

11 a.m., evening service 6 p.m., and the Wednesday

evening service is at 7 p.m.

The

Crestwood Baptist Church and Christian Academy are at 734

Senoia Rd., Tyrone, and can be reached at 770-487-4852.

<!--

-----------