The Past
1904 – 1986

The church was founded in 1904 under the leadership of the Reverend J. C. Sims, Sr. A small group of followers, inspired by God seeking a church home, laid the foundation for the church on a crisp, sunny day in November. The original structure, named Bennett’s Temple, was located on Georgia Highway 138 in Clayton County, GA; and was also used as a school building. The building was a wooden structure with a tin roof. A few years after being built, the church was burned down and rebuilt, then named Macedonia Baptist Church.

The officers of the church during this period were: Deacons A. J. Archer; L. J. Arnold; F. Brown; S. H. Hussey; J. A. Middlebrooks; and W. W. Walker. The following ministers succeeded Reverend Sims: Rev. B. A. Bankers; Rev. R. B. Joiner; Rev. Strickland; Rev. Hicks; Rev. Bell; Rev. J. B. Reese; Rev. W. M. Harris; Rev. Hall; Rev. Jackson; and Rev. Weems.

1942 -1959

Under the leadership of the late Rev. J. R. Wright, the church purchased land on Church Street in Riverdale, Georgia. A new church was built, and the name was changed to New Macedonia Baptist Church. The Church’s first choir of only eight members was organized by Sister Margie Wright. The following ministers succeeded Reverend Wright: Rev. B. R. Matthews; Rev. F. L. Traylor; Rev. C. L. Wilder; and Rev. Z. B. Guthrie. In 1959 under the leadership of Rev. Guthrie, the church was renovated. Rev. E. J. Gooden succeeded Rev. Guthrie, and under his leadership water lines and restrooms were installed.

1974

In 1974, Rev. W. J. Addie became Pastor. Under his leadership, God blessed the church with the following: a public-address system and central air conditioning. The Pastor’s study and dining area were remodeled, and the white cement block exterior was refinished with red clay bricks. The vision to build a new and larger sanctuary was birthed under Pastor Addie’s leadership.

1985 to 1986, Reverend Louis Lane served as the Pastor. The following deacons served faithfully throughout those years: Deacons Ashberry Barnett; Robert Barnett; Aaron Beasley; Sammy Beasley; Jessie Blalock; Ebb Channel; John Davenport; Thomas Davis; Joseph Dukes; Leroy Dukes; Paul Farmer; Robert Farmer; Albert Gates; Gene Gipson; Robert Griffin; Charlie King; A. B. Lemons; Eddie Pless; Elijah Ridley; Oscar Ridley; J. C. Sims; Henry Watkins; and Jace White.

1987 – 2007

In June 1987, Reverend Gerry T. Anderson was called to pastor New Macedonia Baptist Church. Under his leadership, membership increased tremendously. In 1990, an early morning worship (8:00 a.m.) was added to accommodate the growing membership. The Board of Trustees was organized in 1990. The members were: Deacon Herman Turner (Chairman); Sister Delorce Copeland; Brother Sammy Foster; Brother Frederick Gipson; Deacon Calloway Gipson; Brother Eddie Hill; Brother Jake Jackson; Sister Mary Joffer; Sister Shirley Johnson; Deacon Horace McCrary (Chairman Emeritus); and Sister Lillie Strong-Simmons. The members of the Board of Deacons were: Deacons Robin Taylor (Chairman); Lonnie Hinton (Co-Chairman); Lucious Daniels; Calloway Gipson (Chairman Emeritus); Lester Gipson; Michael Gipson; Sammy Harden; Wendell Head; Morris Joffer; Johnnie Johnson; Nehemiah Johnson; Robert Kelly; Hugh Marshall; Morris McCloud, Sr; Harold McCrary; Horace McCrary; Hardy Plummer; Walter Robinson; Roger Thornton; George Travis; Herman Turner; and Lynwood Volley. Recently deceased board members are George Adams and Willie Betts.

As God increased the growth of the Church, a groundbreaking ceremony took place at 7263 Church Street in Riverdale, Georgia on Sunday, August 30, 1992. The new building was dedicated on Sunday, May 2, 1993 and the first Sunday morning worship service was held on May 6, 1993.

In 1998, the early morning worship service time was changed to 7:45 a.m., Bible study was held on Tuesdays and Intercessory Prayer on Wednesday nights. With continued growth of membership, New Macedonia Baptist Church on Easter Sunday on April 11, 2004 moved from having two worship services to three worship services, 7:00 am, 9:15 am and 11:00 am. With God’s blessings, the mortgage was paid off in April 1996 and the Church celebrated a mortgage burning ceremony in May 1996.

As we continued to grow, the Church began to look for land in order to build a larger sanctuary. In 1998, the church purchased 28 acres of land on Hwy. 85 in Riverdale, Georgia. A building committee was formed and consisted of the following members: Pastor Gerry Anderson; First Lady Rev. Vanessa Anderson; Sis. Mary Joffer (chairperson); Sis. Doris Petty; Deacon Herman Turner; Deacon Lucious Daniels; Bro. Shelby Arrington; Sis. Patricia Gentle; Sis. Jean Patten; Rev. Debbi Dillard; Sis. Jerannette Chaney; and Sis. Bobbie Alexander. The committee began to seek contractors for the new building program. After many interviews and meetings, the company of R.J. Griffin was selected to be the general contractor and Williams, Russell & Johnson were chosen to be the architectural firm. The building process included three phases. Phase I was to build a small youth sanctuary, administrative suite, and educational classrooms.

On the 5th Sunday in January 2006, the groundbreaking ceremony was held for Phase I of our building program. Phase I consisting of a 1,300-seat sanctuary, administrative suite and education wing was completed in March 2007.

Our first worship service in our new sanctuary was held on March 4, 2007 at 9:15 a.m.

Present

Currently, we are located at 7725 HWY 85, Riverdale, Ga 30274, where we hold an 8:00am “Hour of Power” Worship Service and an 11:00am Traditional Worship Service. We are a church serving five generations, that conclude to approximately 1,600 members. Our Pastor is still the Rev. Gerry T. Anderson, married to the lovely Rev. Vanessa Anderson. We are praying and pressing forward to the beginning of our Phase II building process, to include a gym and fellowship hall.

Future

God is still blessing. Future plans call for a gym, a multi-purpose area which will include a fellowship hall and an even larger sanctuary.