Azalea City Church of God

March 25, 2008 10:06 pm

— VALDOSTA — The sanctuary of Azalea City Church of God at the corner of St. Augustine Road and River Street has been leveled.
From the rubble will rise a 26,000-square-foot sanctuary with a seating capacity of 1,150 and state-of-the-art sound, media and lighting systems with a price tag of about $2.5 million.
Some of the design ideas came from the Performing Arts Center at Valdosta High School, according to Senior Pastor Brett Jarriel, who has led the congregation of about 450 people for 14 months.
For four years the church has been planning the rebuilding of a new sanctuary, he said.
“Back in March 2007, we felt like the Lord was instructing us that this was the time to do it. We know it is definitely a step of faith because of the enormity of the project, and we trust the Lord to help us to complete it.”
For 12 years, the church has been holding worship services in their Family Life Center.
“The church had outgrown the old sanctuary,” Jarriel said. “We have seen a steady growth ever since then.”
The only place on the church property conducive to a new sanctuary was the site of the old sanctuary.
“We also had to tear down the parsonage and the Senior Adult Building behind it,” Jarriel said.
Cauthan Construction Company is building the new sanctuary which has a stucco front and maroon metal roof to continue the design of the other buildings on campus, the pastor said.
“We have finished with the demolition and hope to break ground in the new few days.”
A groundbreaking ceremony is planned for 3 p.m. March 30.
“Anyone who has had a connection with the church is welcome to come,” he said.
“We’re looking as a target date of January ’09 for the opening service — in 10 months.”
An artist’s rendition of the new sanctuary will be on the church’s Web site (accogonline.org) as soon as it is available.
Jarriel said the new sanctuary is a continuation of the dream of the former pastor and his wife, Raymond and Joan Gabbard, who served at Azalea City COG for 26 years.
The church was originally called Third Avenue Church of God when 18 people, led by the Rev. L.E. Smith, formed the church at 114 Third Avenue.
Under the leadership of the Rev. Luke Parsons, pastor from October 1967 to August 1969, the church continued to grow, and in June 1969, an additional building and project adjacent to the church was purchased for Sunday School rooms and Ladies Auxiliary kitchen.
Because of the tremendous growth the church was experiencing and the condition of the existing building, it was felt that additional property should be purchased for a new church. The Rev. Frank Herrin Jr., pastor from 1969 to 1970, worked diligently to locate suitable property for the new building.
Under the guidance of the Rev. Bobby Tatum, pastor from 1970 to 1980, a new building was built at the corner of River Street and St. Augustine Road. Since the church was no longer located on Third Avenue, it was felt that the church need a new name. Because Valdosta is known as the “Azalea City,” everyone agreed that the church should be named “Azalea City Church of God,” according to church history.
Currently, the church also has other construction going on.
“We are building another building where the outdoor basketball court is which will house the Senior Adult and College ministries,” Jarriel said.
“We just had our grand opening for our Food Bank in the site of our former bus barn, and it is thriving.”
Every first and third Tuesday, the church gives boxes of food to more than 200 families per month.
“About two months ago, we had our grand opening for our Youth Center which houses a cafe and a youth sanctuary. It will hold right at 150.”
Leading the church with the senior pastor are Kyle Nelson, worship and college pastor; Jason Toole, youth pastor; and Geneva Seago, children’s pastor.
A fund-raising project for the new sanctuary is under way.
“We’re trying to raise as much funding for the project during the building process to cancel out existing debt and to reduce the amount we have to borrow,” the pastor said. “Any donations are welcome.
“If they have a good donation, they can call me at home, and I’ll come get it,” he said, laughing.

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