Church History

1883 

It has been said that our forefathers from Meriwether County said “Let us build a church” and it was so. The first church was believed to have been a bush harbor and later on constructed to a church of wood. The first Pastor was Reverend William Sims. Some of the deacons at that time were Deacon Brown Bell, Deacon Anthony Bell, Deacon Joe Bell, Deacon Will Morrow, and Deacon Bob Hayes. These were gallant members who were called Junior Deacons at that time.

1941 

Our first church was destroyed by fire. The church location was changed to 1129 Bruce Jackson Road, under the leadership of Reverend Paul Coleman and later completed under the leadership of Reverend J. W. Causby. 

1962 

This building was later destroyed by fire in 1962. Reverend M. L. Sewell was the pastor at that time and services were conducted at one of the neighboring churches, the Wesley Chapel Methodist Church. Once again construction was underway for a new and larger church to accommodate a growing church family. Members of Saint Smyrna marched into the new church building (1129 Bruce Jackson Road) in 1965, under Reverend M. L. Sewell.

1995 

We were blessed to have Pastor J. W. Russell, Jr. come to teach, lead, and guide us to salvation. Pastor and First Lady Russell showed us the meaning of “God’s unconditional and never changing love”. We were truly blessed to have them. Our church grew with an active membership of approximately 350 and 41 ministries.

2007

Our current location at 68 Heery Road, Newnan, Georgia opened in December of that year. It has over 24,000 sq. ft. and is situated on almost seven acres.

2012 

Current Pastor Cook joined the congregation of Saint Smyrna Baptist Church on January 14th after the untimely passing of the late J. W. Russell, Jr. Pastor Tamarkus T. Cook, Sr. and First Lady Brittany (along with their children Markus II, Theodore, and Ivery) continue to bring new light to our church. First Lady Russell chose to remain with us as our Honorable First Lady and we continue to be blessed by her humble, quiet spirit. She also joined our church family in September 2015. We expanded our acreage with an additional seven acres of land surrounding the church.

Our Leaders

First Pastor, Reverend William Sims; Rev. Kester, D. A. Smith; Rev. Morgan, W. M. Amos; Rev. George Duke; Rev. William Hill; Rev. Ed Person; Rev, David Lassater; Rev. Trice; Rev. Heflin; Rev. Favors; Rev. Sylvester; Rev. Hunter; Rev. Paul Coleman; Rev. Causby; Rev. M. L. Sewell; Rev. M. Brantley; Rev. Eddie L. Collier; Rev. Robert L. Chapman; Rev. Verlyn Styles; Rev. J. W. (Jake) Russell, Jr.; Current pastor, Rev. Tamarkus T. Cook.