The Liberty Baptist Church

spells out its name using the scripture and also lets you

know just what the church delivers: "Liberating

preaching, Inspiring worship, building up the Body,

encouraging atmosphere, renewing our minds, touching

lives and yielding our lives."

The congregation began in

1953 and was on West Fayette Road in College Park. In

1989 it relocated to Fayette County on Ga. Highway 314,

just a short distance after passing Ga. Highway 279.

The 365 active members are

busy with a number of local programs as well as foreign

ministries. They support a mission in Rutzin, Ukraine and

some members will be leaving for that spot in May 2000.

When this mission is completed, they will look for

another needy place to focus on.

Locally, a Cambodian

mission meets at Liberty Baptist, and when it has

established a place of its own, Liberty will start

another local mission.

It gathers items needed for

its prison ministry as well as providing food pantry

needs, ministries to assist its pre-schoolers, youth

students and adults, as well as provide a counseling

ministry. It is available to non-members as well as

members.

The church is currently

remodeling its entire fellowship hall and looks forward

to breaking ground next near for a new multi-purpose

building that will also add 20 Sunday School rooms. With

a campus of 14 acres, there is plenty of time and space

to eventually add a new sanctuary.

The senior pastor is the

Rev. D. Alan Parker, who came on board in June 1998.

He was born in Atlanta and

reared in Conley and graduated from Clayton Christian

School. He worked, married, and in 1987 realized that he

was saved. He served as a youth minister while attending

Clayton College & State University, and is currently

completing his studies through Luther Rice Seminary. He

is married to Susan Mackey and they are the parents of

Joshua David, 9, and Lara Grace, 4.

"We rejoice in our

outreach to the community," he said, "and we

want to not only take the church out into the area around

it, but also believe in individual ministries within the

church. God gave us each a different kind of talent, and

we encourage all our members to feel free to practice

that talent, either within these walls or without."

The church is at 1077 Ga.

Highway 314 and can be reached at 770-461-5644. Its web

page is www.libertybaptistfayette.org and the e-mail

address of the Rev. Parker is [email protected] .