ELLIJAY, Ga. — One measure of the success of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church’s bus ministry is the sheer number of kids running around. On some Wednesdays, that could be as many as 60, ages 4 to 16.
“I give God the glory,” said Pleasant Grove Associate Pastor Jeff Phillips. “I just show up and work.”
Senior Pastor Dan Rosser said Wednesday nights are full of life and activity. “We were having just a handful of kids coming on Wednesday night before we started the bus ministry,” he said.
The Wednesday night children’s program is seeing steady growth, and a large part of it is due to the number of Hispanic children coming. More than half of the bus riders are Hispanic.
Though the church doesn’t have a formal Hispanic ministry, the church has some Spanish-speaking adults who translate, and Phillips said they have no trouble communicating.
“These kids are going to English-speaking schools and hanging out with English-speaking friends,” Phillips said.
The kids ride the buses to Pleasant Grove because “the Lord brings them,” he said. “It’s probably just the overall atmosphere and fellowship. If we didn’t go get them on Wednesday nights, they would not leave their home and go anywhere, probably. I’m sure a lot of it has to do with the fellowship with other friends. We just love on them when they are here. We are involved in their lives on a weekly basis. It’s just time and commitment. They know that we care about them.”
PJ Dunn, North Georgia discipleship consultant for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, was blown away by the number of students when he visited Aug. 27 to speak to adults.
“You just don’t see churches do the bus thing and do it well,” he said. “They may pick up a bus of kids. You might get 15 kids. I see that from time to time. But you never see 60. That’s pretty different.”
Dunn explained that the high turnout stems from children’s deep desire to be seen, heard and to belong. He shared a conversation with two first graders that highlighted the challenges many face, such as broken families, loss of siblings and strained relationships with parents, underscoring how much the ministry means to them.
“Your name matters, and being known matters,” Dunn said. “But, really being known happens in a small group. It doesn’t happen in a large group.”
Phillips said of the group of kids Pleasant Grove took to camp this summer, more than half of them were from the bus ministry. Some of the campers accepted Christ at camp, and one mother and son have come to Christ as a result of the bus ministry.
The ministry began in 2019 when Phillips went with a member of his youth group to the mother’s neighborhood and knocked on doors.
“If you don’t go out there and get them, they aren’t coming,” he said. “That is our commission. It is to go. It is not for us to sit here and wait for them to come in the door.”
In just one day, Phillips reported, the van was full. The van ministry expanded to other neighborhoods, including one with a large Hispanic population.
The number of kids doubled, and the ministry has gone from one van to three 15-passenger buses driving four routes.
“There’s a steady growth,” Phillips said. “Kids see other kids going and ask, ‘Where are you going?’ And, they want to go and find out.”
The ministry has also led to the growth of the church’s youth program. Van riders make up more than half of the church youth group on a weekly basis, and they actively participate in other activities outside of Wednesday nights.
Though the ministry has not had great success with getting many of the kids’ families to come to the church, “seeds are being planted,” Phillips said.
Pastor Rosser said the ministry has made an impact on church members. “It has given them a heart and open eyes to the community,” he said.
“They are getting to interact with kids who come from a different culture and grew up differently than what a lot of our adults did. It gives our folks more of an awareness of the community around us.”
Rosser hopes the kids come to faith in Christ and will be future missionaries and ministers.
“The whole point of doing this ministry is to reach them with the Gospel,” he said. “And I know they are getting the Gospel every week.”
This article originally appeared in the Christian Index.
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