MADISON–The average age of the 31 Baptist churches in this small north Florida town is 114. In fact, 22 of the churches in the Middle Florida Baptist Association in Madison are more than 100 years old. Fourteen of the churches are older than the association itself. Five are older than the Florida Baptist Convention, which was actually founded in Madison. Two churches are 193 years old and are older than the state of Florida. One church used to be located in Georgia before the state lines were redrawn in 1861, making it a Florida church.
“There is a lot of history here,” said David Garrett, associational mission strategist. “That is the neat thing about this association.”
But, amid all the history and tradition of the older churches, two new churches were added to the association in 2024. And two recent church celebrations showcased the mix of ministry taking place in this community. Hopewell Baptist celebrated its 150th anniversary with a special service that included a look back at significant dates in its history, along with a plaque from the Florida Baptist Convention honoring its legacy of 150 years in serving its community. On this day, the congregation sang traditional hymns that were updated with more contemporary music, an appropriate mix of both the old and new. Also celebrating was The Bridge, a church plant that just marked its one-year anniversary. Launched by Celebration Church in Tallahassee, The Bridge has made a name for itself by offering help and assistance after Hurricane Idalia in 2023, as well as Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the fall of 2024.
“They have a reputation for helping people,” Garrett said. “Pastor Charles Matlock has gotten more people to check out the church thanks to their efforts in the community.”
As its name implies, the church wants to bridge the differences that keep people apart, such as racial, cultural, spiritual and economic differences, as well as the ultimate difference between individuals and Jesus.
“They are wanting to bridge all the areas that usually divide us,” he said. The other new church is CrossPointe Madison, which was formerly a satellite location for CrossPointe Valdosta, just across the state line in Georgia. CrossPointe Madison describes itself this way: “A contemporary church with a casual environment where people can develop an authentic relationship with God.”
“They wanted to establish their own church and their own leadership,” Garrett said.” They also purchased property here, whereas they had only rented space before.”
Partnerships enhance kingdom impact
With one year under its belt, The Bridge has begun partnering with another church in the area to do things together and widen their impact. Likewise, the Middle Florida association has begun partnering with the Suwannee Baptist Association in Live Oak on several projects, including missions and ministry training. It’s part of the Middle Florida association’s vision to equip, encourage and engage its churches in ministry. Suwannee held a Mobilize for Missions event at Westwood Baptist in Live Oak in February, designed to help churches get their members more involved in missions. This event featured missionaries from Romania and church planters from Idaho who served as facilitators, offering training for upcoming mission opportunities. It ended with the commissioning of mission volunteers.
A similar event last year impacted several churches in Madison, Garrett said, which started their efforts to work together.
“We have three groups going to Idaho this year. We could have never done that on our own as an association.”
In April, Madison is hosting a workshop for those who sense a call to ministry. Both associations are hoping these types of workshops can help provide necessary training on such topics as how to build a sermon, how to lead worship, and other ministry areas.
“What we are hoping to do is to develop a leadership pipeline for local people who feel the call to ministry but can’t get away to seminary,” he said.
Missional focus provides clarity
Since serving the association for the past two years, Garrett has helped with some restructuring. The association has opted to set aside some things that were not working and emphasize those that do, moving away from a program or events-based approach to a missional approach focused on individual needs.
The association has E teams comprised of pastors who each have a separate focus:
· Equip leaders
· Encourage pastors
· Engage churches
· Expand the kingdom
“These are needs that all associations have,” Garrett said. “And it’s scalable. It can work one on one with pastors and on up from there.”
Honor past/reach new generations
Building on the rich history of its longtime churches, the association has chosen “Advancing Our Legacy” as its theme for 2025. The theme is appropriate, Garrett said, as churches seek to honor their pasts while reaching out to new generations.
“We have a lot of young pastors. They love the legacy and that it’s rural, but they really like embracing the concept of honoring that legacy but moving forward.”
And while some churches in the association are old, some are new and some are in between, they all have a desire to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“The vision is still the same. There were people here 193 years ago that needed Jesus when Olive Baptist Church opened its doors,” Garrett said. “The church met and said, ‘What can we do to reach our community?’ The truth is that is exactly what The Bridge did. That vision doesn’t change. It just looks a lot different.”