Gracewood Baptist Church in Statesboro will mark 60 years since its founding on Sunday and Lynn Lamb has been a member for 55 of those years. Though she currently is the longest tenured member of the church, Lamb is not the oldest.

"Gracewood is, quite simply, ‘home' to me," she said. "I have been a part of Gracewood for about 55 years, and the church has been a big part of so much of my life. Sunbeams, VBS, youth group fun, singing in the choir, Sunday School, Bible studies, covered dish dinners, missions and the list goes on."

Gracewood will celebrate its 60th anniversary with a Constitution Day observance this Sunday at 11 a.m., followed by a luncheon. The invitation to attend is open to the community, and visitors and members are encouraged to join in the festivities to celebrate the past and look forward to the future.

"It's a time for us to dream of the future," Pastor Alan McCoy said. "With such a strong foundation established over the last 60 years, what awaits this great church? With God as our strength and guide, what can stand against us?

"This has been a sacred place of inspired worship, answered prayers, baptisms, weddings and special celebrations. It's where thousands of worshippers over the years have heard the voice of God speak to their greatest needs."

Rev. McCoy pointed out that the church came into existence because of one family's spiritual need. In the spring of 1955, the family, living in a heavily wooded, small community outside the city limits of Statesboro, called Rev. Harrison Olliff, then pastor of Pulaski Baptist.

Rev. Olliff recognized the absence of a church to minister to the families in the area of Highway 301, just south of Statesboro. After visiting with residents there and feeling led by the Holy Spirit, Olliff organized a church and held the first service on March 18 in a piano studio just down the road from where the church stands now.

Thirty-nine people attended. In a revival held in early August 1955, 31 people joined the church and Gracewood was constituted on Aug. 28, 1955. Rev. Olliff suggested "Gracewood" because the church would be nestled in dense woods.

That was 60 years ago and families continue to have many needs, Pastor McCoy said.

"Our motto is: ‘Where Grace abounds' and is based on the verse in 2 Corinthians 9:8. The Bible says, ‘And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things and all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.'"

"One thing that makes our church special is that we have predominantly young families, with lots of children and lots of youth, but we are really diversified ethnically. That makes it great for us to reach out to lots of people."

Lamb says it was her young family that joined the church in 1960.

"My parents made sure my brother, sister and I were raised in church and they were both very active members and strong Christian examples," she said. "My husband, Walt, whose mother and late father were members of Gracewood also, and I married at Gracewood in 1977 and raised our four sons there.

"It is such a blessing now for our grandchildren to worship with us."

Pastor McCoy paraphrased a verse from the Bible and said, "Jesus said, ‘You'll know they are my disciples by how they love each other.' The people here really love one another. This is a really close-knit church, but not to the point of being closed to others."

Gracewood extols that servant-heart attitude in a ministry each Wednesday, called, "Hang out at the Haven." It's a type of after-school program, led by Associate and Student Pastor James Clouse, where the church transports students from Langston Chapel Middle School, with permission from their parents, to the church for homework help, devotional and snack time, game-playing, dinner and then a youth ministry activity.

"I believe that it's the people of Gracewood who have made is such a special place to worship over the years - people who are dedicated, caring and focused on God," Lamb said. "Many dear ones have gone on to be with the Lord now, but their legacy lives on.

"I love Gracewood and never wanted to be anywhere else. It's with great joy that I join my fellow members in celebrating 60 years and with true excitement that we look to the future."

A lot has changed in 60 years at Gracewood. Most significantly, the church, sometimes known as the ‘church with the wooden boat outside,' no longer dwells in a scarcely populated, dense, wooded area. Instead, Gracewood Baptist Church beckons all from the heavily-trafficked corner of Highway 301 South and the bypass, across from Georgia Southern University.

But what hasn't changed, Pastor McCoy said, is Gracewood's three-fold commitment: to proclaim the Good News of salvation to the community and world; prepare and equip believers for service for God; and share God's love through ministering to the needs of the church and community.