ATLANTA, Ga. (BP) – When Mary Gellerstedt first joined the staff of First Baptist Church, World War II was raging. Since then, she’s been a living example of what it means to press forward with steadfastness in Christ.
The 98-year-old Gellerstedt started working at the church in 1944, right out of high school, and never left.
“I can almost assure you that there is not a church in America with a 98-year-old still on staff,” said First Baptist Pastor Anthony George. “She is as sharp as a tack. She knows everything going on in this building. She knows everything everybody is saying about anything. She is one of my greatest encouragers, but every now and then she will say, ‘You had better straighten up A. G.’ However, she is greatly loved and appreciated by all of us.”
Mary G., as she is affectionately known, grew up in Banks County and was saved and baptized in Webbs Creek Baptist Church near her home. After high school, she came to Atlanta in 1942 with the intention of continuing her education.
“I joined First Baptist on Pastor Ellis Fuller’s last Sunday,” she said. “Dr. Fuller resigned to become the sixth president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. I was active in the college department of the church when Dr. Jim Middleton became pastor, and when I was 18 years old, I was asked to work at the church during the 1944 Christmas holidays and have served the church ever since.”
Her first full-time role at the church involved keeping records, but through the years her responsibilities increased because of her effectiveness and passion to serve. She invested much of her ministry in high school and college students as well as senior adults.
The late Charles Stanley, longtime pastor at First Baptist, had great confidence in her abilities. She served as his administrative assistant at a pivotal point in his ministry. In the succeeding years, her heart for missions was honored when she was elevated to the position of global missions director, the ministry role she continues to hold today.
“We have 82 missionaries the church supports through our Faith Promise Missions offerings,” she said. “I try to keep up with our missionaries and pray for them as they serve our Lord at home and abroad. We also send out volunteer mission teams all over the world.”
Under Mary G.’s leadership, the church has also participated in mission endeavors like Baskets of Hope, a ministry that distributes care packages at local children’s hospitals. It has also participated in causes offered by Food Aid International and under Mary G’s leadership sent 1.25 million meals to Haiti in the aftermath of hurricanes and earthquakes. These are just a few examples of how Mary G. has connected First Baptist with needs locally and internationally.
“Mary has served in most all positions in the church except preaching,” said Barb Sixsmith, who serves in the church’s Missions Engagement Ministry. “She was always willing to do whatever was asked of her. She even mopped floors when umbrellas caused the tile to be wet.”
Mary G.’s colleague Paul Diamond said she was influential in helping him get the position he now holds of local missions director.
“Mary and I go way back to our downtown location. [First Baptist moved out of downtown in 1997]. Dr. Stanley loved Mary. I love Mary. We all love Mary.”
Through the years Mary G. has worked under the leadership of four pastors. James Middleton was pastor from 1943-1952, when he resigned to become pastor of First Baptist Church in Shreveport, La. Roy McClain was pastor from 1953-1970, when he accepted the call to First Baptist Church in Orangeburg, S.C. Charles Stanley served as pastor from 1971-2021. Anthony George became pastor upon Stanley’s retirement.
The delightful nonagenarian has high praise for all four of those pastors.
Middleton gave her the opportunity to serve at the church. She hails McClain as a great orator. She expresses love Stanley as a great man of faith and dear friend. She describesGeorge as brilliant.
“He is giving the church wise and God-honoring leadership,” she said. ” I pray for him every day and will support him all the way.”
As Stanley’s administrative assistant, Mary G. helped him while he served in a dual role as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1984-1986. She helped bear the load during what may have been the most tension-filled and significant two years in the history of the SBC’s Conservative Resurgence.
“Perhaps the greatest joys in ministry have been working with high school and college students,” Mary G. said. “There were hundreds of wonderful youth and young adults who came through our ministry, many of whom are now serving the Lord as pastors, missionaries and church leaders.”
Mary G. does most of her work remotely now, from her home in Avondale Estates, an Atlanta suburb. Her mobility has been compromised due to spinal stenosis, but she can do more sitting down than most people can do running at full speed. She attributes her long life to God’s goodness and is determined to keep serving the Lord.
