FAITH
bers from childhood. In its heyday, the
church had about 700 members. But
recently, it has dwindled to fewer than
100.
“This time when they called, and
told me they needed my help, the tim
ing was right,” Shivers said.
Shivers moved from a small town in
Indiana, where the
closest traffic light
was eight miles
away.
“I was in rural
America and loved
it,” Shivers said.
He said he led
a large, active con
gregation in Indi
ana, but with its ru
ral location, there
wasn’t much room
for growth. “I was in
rural America where
the population of
our county was
6,000,” Shivers said.
Shivers said he’s
always wanted to
lead a church to ex
ponential growth,
and believes Sandy
Springs’ population
provides that op
portunity. “There’s
so many peo
ple around [Sandy
Springs] who just
don’t go to church
or have stopped go
ing for various rea
sons.”
And so far, it’s
working, he said.
“In six weeks, we’ve
grown,” Shivers
said.
Shivers said he’s not necessarily in
terested in creating a mega-church,
though. He said he likes being able to
form relationships with everyone in the
congregation.
“I love being at a place where I know
everybody,” he said. “We just need to
find a place where people can feel com
fortable and connect to God and con
nect to each other. Where it stops grow
ing, nobody knows, but it will grow.”
Shivers admits the church has been
through some troubles lately. But he
said he’s never really asked about why
the church has struggled in recent years.
“I don’t really know why and I’m not
going to look backward. I’m only going
to look forward,” Shivers said.
He said he’s still taking stock of the
church and the
community around
him to figure out
the next moves for
the church. But a
social media pres
ence, day care pro
gram, and up
dates to the church
buildings are likely
on the horizon, he
said.
Despite his aspi
rations for growth,
Shivers said he en
joys the familiar
ity of the Sandy
Springs communi
ty- <t
“There’s still a
small-town feel
ing about San
dy Springs,” Shiv
ers said. “Weekly, I
have run into peo
ple I have had a
connection to that
I haven’t seen in 35
years.”
He said he re
cently got a call to
officiate a funeral
for a woman who
used to attend the
church. Her neph
ew was shocked to
learn that Shivers
not only knew of
his aunt, but used to go fishing on her
property as a child.
“There’s a reconnection that’s occur
ring that’s benefiting this church,” Shiv
ers said.
Shivers’ office is decorated with old
family photos, including one of him
and his father fishing at that pond.
“This church was very important to
dad,” Shivers said. “I think dad would
be pleased. I hope.”
“I love being at a place where
I know everybody. We just
need to find a place where
people can feel comfortable
and connect to God and
connect to each other. Where
it stops growing, nobody
knows, but it will grow.”
- REV. DAVID SHIVERS
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
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