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Thursday, February 20, 2020
Volume 132 Number 44
Jasper, Georgia
Local News Published Weekly
Megachurches a growing
part of Pickens religious life
Encounter Life Church / Photo
The Rev. Jeremy Bryan and his wife Katlyn from En
counter Life Jasper are both from small towns and excited
about coming to the local campus of the larger church.
By Jennifer Paire
Contributing writer
Trinity Tabernacle’s
transformation from strug
gling congregation to grow
ing megachurch campus -
now Encounter Life Church
- delivered the Jasper church
from decline.
“It’s really hard when
you have a small church,”
said Sherry Copeland, one
of the church leaders who
sought help from Griffin
First Assembly of God in
2019. “You have the strag
gle of being all that a larger
denominational church can
offer like big youth trips and
a youth leader who can be
there for all they do. A lot of
those things we missed out
on. Now, we are connected
to something bigger, with a
unified vision, but we still
have a small town feel and
independence in worship.”
Since pastor Rev. Jeremy
Bryan and his wife, Katlyn,
decided to lead the church in
October, the flock has grown
from 60 attendees on a
“good” Sunday to more than
120 - a response to new en
ergy and opportunity.
“The megachurch is great
at systems,” said Bryan,
whose Jasper campus is one
of four Encounter Life
churches in Griffin First’s
family, averaging 4,200
Sunday attendees collec
tively. “While we are small
here, we inherit all the sys
tems and support staff of
Griffin First. I am solo but I
have the backing of the
video department, the secre
tary there, the graphics de
partment.”
Systems won’t be the
only investment important in
Encounter Life’s future
growth.
“The bones are good
here, but the muscle comes
from relationships, with
each other and the larger
church,” Bryan added.
“Even with the growth of the
larger churches many still
have a desire for connection.
I’m here to equip people to
do better works of service
together.”
According to national
and local statistics, Pickens
County’s churches are typi
cal in their need to innovate
against declining attendance.
While the Assemblies of
God denomination is a
growing organization, most
traditional denominations
continue to decline in appeal
while larger churches - re
ferred to as megachurches
when boasting 2,000 or
more in weekly attendance -
reach the unchurched “be
cause they are always think
ing about who is not there
versus who is.”
“Multisiting is really the
fastest growing way of
church planting in America
today,” said Rev. Phil
Schroeder, director of the
Center for Congregational
Excellence at the North
Georgia Conference of the
United Methodist Church, a
group of 800 churches in
varying stages of straggle
and growth, including use of
the multisiting strategy.
“Churches who have good
systems, taking that healthy
DNA and multiplying it, it’s
almost like a bone marrow
transplant in these smaller
churches.”
In Pickens, the percent
age of those becoming in
volved in church was falling
at the same rate people were
See Churches on 2A
Drones flying above the law
Progress file / Illustration
Captain Kris Standi says with current laws, a legal drone operation crossing your
property versus illegal use of a drone invading privacy becomes an enforcement night
mare for law enforcement.
Most key
local
offices up
for election
Qualifying first
week in March
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Election season is in full
swing, with experts predict
ing record turnouts across
the country. In addition to
the presidential election and
other state elections, there
are numerous local elections
voters will decide.
All of the following of
fices will appear on the bal
lot: Pickens Commission
Chair (currently held by Rob
Jones); District 2 Commis
sioner (currently held by
Becky Denney); Sheriff
(currently held by Donnie
Craig); Probate Judge (cur
rently held by Judge David
Lindsey); Magistrate Judge
(following a recent arrest,
Judge Allen Wigington has
announced his resignation
from the position); Tax
Commissioner (incumbent
Darrin Satterfield an
nounced in a letter this week
Page 5A that he will not seek
re-election); Coroner (cur
rently held by Mark God
frey); Clerk of Court
(currently held by Jennifer
Jordan) Board of Education
Post 1 (Donna Enis); and
Board of Education Post 4
(Sue Finley).
At the state level, incum
bent State Rep. Rick
Jasperse will face Charlotte
Lee Williamson in the GOP
primary.
Candidate qualifying will
ran March 2 - March 6. The
Pickens GOP will hold their
qualifying at the Pickens
County Courthouse Court
room A from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
that Monday through Thurs
day, and 9 a.m. to noon that
Friday. Independents can
register at the Pickens Office
of Elections & Registration
Monday through Thursday 9
a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday
9 a.m. to noon. Pickens
Elections Supervisor Ju-
lianne Robertson said she
See Election on 3A
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
A Pickens County family
reported to the sheriff’s of
fice they had spotted a
drone hovering near their
windows about midnight
one night last week with a
camera mounted on it.
This was not the first
time that the sheriff’s office
responded to a drone com
plaint, but it was the first
where officers recalled such
a potentially creepy use.
“The others I remember
were people just concerned
about them flying over their
property,” said Captain Kris
Stancil.
The deputy who took the
call advised the family to
shoot it down. In that partic
ular case, where it appeared
to be looking in a window,
that may have been an ac
ceptable response.
But Captain Stancil said
the shoot-it-down advice,
Pickens assessors
still seeking data as
corporate giant
wants lower taxes
By Mark Millican
Contributing writer
When a Pickens County
property or business owner
while common sense, was
given a little hastily and is
not the official way to han
dle a suspect drone - dial
wants to challenge their
property value so they can
possibly lower their taxes,
they supply the assessor's
office with certain docu
mentation that might help
their cause.
Retail giant Walmart,
just off the Appalachian
Highway north of Jasper, is
asking for their taxes to be
cut almost in half- from the
911 first and assess the situ
ation with an officer.
“I wish that the simple
answer of ‘blast it out of the
county's assessment of
$10,453 million to the com
pany's request of $5,912
million - yet representatives
have not supplied that same
crucial information.
The assessor's office is
standing their ground in the
belief Walmart should pay
their fair share to do busi
ness in the county - just as
other commercial property
owners do, year in and year
out, to stay in business.
Chief Appraiser Roy
Dobbs reported that after a
settlement conference last
week, nothing was settled
and Walmart presented no
new information to buttress
their claim for lowering
their taxes.
“(Walmart's) option in
their original appeal was to
go to a hearing officer, so
that's where we went,”
Dobbs told the Progress.
“After the hearing officer
found in our favor (in the
first meeting), they ap
pealed to Superior Court. In
the appeals process, if you
file to go to court, they also
want you to go to a settle-
sky,’ worked always,” Stan
cil said. “But technically,
that is destroying the prop-
See Drones on 3A
ment conference prior to
that. They want the appel
lant to come, bring any
other information they've
got... and make that attempt
to keep the court from hav
ing to be the referee of
doing that initially. That's
what the settlement confer
ences are.”
Dobbs said the attorney
representing Walmart, Jerry
Aucoin, “spoke briefly”
during the second meeting.
Aucoin is the senior man
ager of the Property Tax Di
vision of Walmart,
according to a Linkedln
profile.
Stuart Hobgood, an ap
praiser in the Pickens office,
said Aucoin “just kinda
went over the same (infor
mation).”
“(There was) no new in
formation from what had
been presented earlier,”
Dobbs affirmed.
In mid-August last year,
Hobgood requested income
and expense information
from Walmart. Lacking an
initial response, he made the
See Walmart on 3A
Christie Pool / Photo
Walmart wishes to cut their property taxes in halffor
their Jasper location.
Will Walmart go to Round 3?
Inside:
STAR
student and
teacher
interviews
Pages 5-7B
Pastors
discuss Feb.
26th prayer
breakfast
Page 3B
Obituaries - 10A
• Amelia Cornn
• Calvin Kirby
• Eleese Chastain
• Heather Matteson
• James Lumpkin Sr.
• Jeanette Payne
• Jerald Bridges
• Mary Sue Jones
• Mildred Davis
• Miriam Hightower
• Raymond Massey
• Robert Hughes Jr.
Index
Editorial 4A
Letters to the Editor . 5A
People 13A
Church 3B
Kids 4B
Legals 8-9B
Classifieds 10-11B
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