The Grace Place
Sundays
Worship
9:00 a.m. Celebration Worship
We invite you to join us in the Sanctuary for this traditional worship service featuring a choir with organ, piano, and instrumentalists leading congregational singing. Senior Pastor, Steven Norris will be preaching this week. You will find the Order of Worship here.
11:15 a.m. Connexion Worship
Located in the Family Life Center, this contemporary worship service features vocalists and a praise band. Children may participate in Children's Worship during this service time. Senior Pastor, Steven Norris will be preaching this week. You will find the Order of Worship here.
Sunday School classes meet throughout the church at 10:15 a.m. Find a Class
Wednesday night activities for the fall term will begin on August 13, but don't miss our Fall Kickoff on August 6th from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. In the meantime, we invite you to get involved in our summer activities.
Be in the Know...
Church Community Announcements
Colossians Resource
We begin a new sermon series this week that is titled Colossians: Held Together in Christ. This series invites us to examine the idea of growing in confident hope in the salvation God has in store for us. A Colossians resource has been written for our church and will be available for individuals to pick up at the end of each worship service. This guide encourages you to pursue a deeper experience of personal connection with God.
Movie & Discussion
In our next adult summer activity focused on Walking the Way of Jesus, we will meet over two sessions in order to the movie, The Way, and then later to discuss it. The movie screening will take place on July 20, 2025 from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. in Morgan Hall. The conversation will take place on Wednesday, July 23, 2025 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Cheatham Room. For more details about the movie, check out the IMDB record here: The Way.
Pray for Our Students
Please take time to pray for our children attending Passport Summer Camp and our youth attending Basecamp during the week of July 13 — both camps are located at Rock Eagle in Eatonton, Georgia. Pray for their safety, for their spiritual growth, and for their witness to their peers. We also ask you to pray for their leaders.
Christmas Toy Shop
Each December, the Christmas Toy Shop provides vulnerable families in our area the opportunity to "shop" for a special gift for their children (or grandchildren). Shoppers also receive a Bible, prayer, and other essentials (socks and food, for example). To help us prepare for this year's ministry day, we invite you to donate a toy in July. Christmas trees will be placed in the Welcome Center and the Family Life Center. Locate a tag on one of the trees, purchase a gift, and return that gift to the tree before the end of July. If you would rather shop online, you may use the link below to access the Christmas Toy Shop Wish List. Thank you for supporting this important ministry to our community!
Summer Reading Challenge
Let’s hop in the car with our favorite books and get our summer adventure started! The Church Library is hosting a Reading Road Trip challenge, and we want you to come along. Signups have already begun. Prizes will be available to those signing up and to those completing their reading challenges! Every time you finish a book, move your driver along the reading road outside the Church Library! Reading can take you anywhere — so let’s go there together!
Breezeway closed
The breezeway that joins the two sides of our campus (the Welcome Center/Sanctuary side with the Family Life Center/Morgan Hall side) will be closed for several weeks this summer to allow for construction. We will be enclosing the breezeway as part of the second phase of enhancing the security of our Children's areas. During the construction period, please travel through the Weekday Education hall to move from one side of the building to the other. Thank you for your patience!
Welcome to the World, Lucca!
We are excited to share the news that Lucca James Gore was born to Kristin Gore and Benjamin Hess. Lucca was born on June 30, 2025 at 8:25 a.m. and weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce. He was 19 inches long.
A WEEKLY BLOG WRITTEN BY PASTOR STEVEN NORRIS
Grace Notes
A Prayer in Tragedy
O God,
Weeks like this make it hard to be a pastor. I could not sleep on Saturday night. I kept checking the updates on all the various news sites, hoping to hear good news of the missing girls from Camp Mystic in central Texas. I knew I was going to have to stand before Your people on Sunday and bring a message, but I did not know what to say.
To be honest, I was not even sure that I could identify—much less understand—all the emotions that flooded my own heart and mind. Why would You allow this to happen? Why did You not intervene? They were just children, God! I cannot comprehend.
In the book of Exodus, you parted the Red Sea for the people of Israel to cross. In Joshua, you parted the Jordan River so that they could enter the Promised Land. In 2 Kings, both Elijah and Elisha stopped the flow of the Jordan River to cross on dry ground. Why not here? Why not now?
I cannot imagine what the pastors of those families are saying to their congregations this week. Truthfully, there is nothing that would make the pain any less excruciating. There are no scriptures, no words of comfort that could adequately make sense of such a tragedy.
The only real comfort I find, O God, is knowing that You understand what it is like to lose a child. You know that gut-wrenching torture. I find comfort in the fact that Jesus wept over the death of his friend, Lazarus. This is the same Jesus of whom Isaiah wrote, “He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief” (Isaiah 53:3).
I thank You that, in your wisdom and grace, You led Your people to preserve un-sanitized words of complaint and objection in the Psalms. There, we find passages like, "All night long, I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven, but my soul was not comforted” (Psalm 77:2). We hear the honest cries of abandonment, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help?” (Psalm 22:1).
I believe that the Psalms demonstrate to us that You desire honesty over performance. Maybe it is like the Sarah Hart and Chapin Hartford song, “Better Than a Hallelujah.” I hope and pray that the sentiment of that song truly reflects Your heart, O God, “We pour out our miseries / God just hears a melody / Beautiful, the mess we are / The honest cries of breaking hearts / Are better than a Hallelujah.” I hope so, because that is all I have this week.
Therefore, I confess that I do not understand what is going on here, O God, but I believe that You are here. I believe that there will be a day when death and suffering will be no more and I pray that it might come soon. Therefore, today, I join my voice with the father in Mark 9 who declared, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.”
Did you miss a Grace Notes post? No Worries! Check it out on our website!
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Adult Ministries Announcements
Women's Retreat Registration
Ladies, if you missed the registration call for the annual Women's Ministry Retreat at Callaway Gardens, but you would really like to go, then we encourage you to put your name on our waiting list: WAIT LIST.
Learn all about the experience at our website: Women's Retreat.
XYZ Activities
Our next senior adult ministry (X'tra Years of Zest, or XYZ) meeting takes place on August 12 at 11:30 a.m. in Morgan Hall, located in the Family Life Center.
WOM Activities
WOM will meet again in the Hardee Hospitality Room on August 12 immediately following the XYZ meeting.
Are you plugged in?
Did you know that we have 12 adult Sunday school classes that meet each week at 10:15 a.m. throughout the church? If you want to dive deeper into scripture, or if you are looking for a place to be reassured of God's love, we invite you to check out our Sunday school groups. See what is available here: Sunday School Classes.
Be in the Know...
Children and Student Ministry Announcements
Weekday Education
Registration is open for the 2025-2026 academic year. For more information on the programs we offer and for registration information, please visit our website.
Upcoming...
KIDMIN Schedule
KIDMIN Summer Schedule
Hot off the presses...get your KIDMIN summer schedule and start marking your calendar now for the fun we're going to have while school is out!
July 16th Swim Night
Watch for an email from Lori with directions and details for our popular Swim Night!
July 23rd Glow Night
When the FBC gym gets dark with a bunch of kids in it, then the glow sticks come out! This exciting Glow Party is full of neon joy and glow-in-the-dark games!
Be in the Know...
Missions Updates
Community Garden Flowers
Are you planning to visit someone who needs cheering up? Make a stop by the Community Garden first and clip a few of the beautiful flowers that you can take with you to brighten that person's day!
Caregivers Clothes Closet Needs
Do you have any umbrellas, backpacks, or lightweight rain jackets taking up space in your closet? Clear those out and donate them to the Caregivers Clothes Closet. You will find bins labeled for donations inside the Welcome Center and the Family Life Center. Thank you for supporting this ministry and those who are vulnerable in our community.
Benevolence Ministry
Our Benevolence Ministry and Caregivers Clothes Closet serves the public each Monday morning from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. (with the exception of holidays). If you would like to volunteer for this ministry or to donate gently used clothing items, then please contact the church office.
Five Loaves & Two Fish Food Pantry
FBC serves in the local food pantry on the first Saturday of each month from 9:00 a.m. to noon. If you would like to be part of this ministry team, or if you would like to donate canned or boxed food goods, please contact the church office. Donation boxes are located in the Welcome Center and in the Family Life Center.
Got old Tees? Let's make jump ropes!
Don't discard those old t-shirts! We can use them for a special missions project. Liz Nusser tears old tees into strips and braid them into jump ropes that can be included in Operation Christmas Child boxes for Samaritan's Purse. Help Liz get closer to her goal for these jump ropes by bringing your old tees (in a bag marked with Liz's name) to the Clothes Closet receptacles in the Welcome Center or the Family Life Center. Thank you for remembering Liz's mission project the next time you clean out your closet.
MISSIONS FOLLOW UP!
Lori and our Children's Ministry received a special "Thank You!" from Sarah at the Unity Water Foundation recently. She was writing to share that the South African Deputy National Minister of Water and Sanitation, Sello Seithlholo, a Member of Parliament, wrote to her to say the following: "I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the young children of the First Baptist Church Ministry in the United States of America, who raised US$2000 to help 10 families in Njijini Village with 10 water hippo rollers. This fundraising effort demonstrates the commitment of the young children towards improving the lives of people who are struggling to access reliable water supply in rural communities. This Godly deed is precisely what we need across the world for that is the only way we will achieve our goals in global access to water for all." The message also included an ebook in which our children appeared as part of their report. Way to go KIDMIN!!
Music Ministry Updates
Praise Band will rehearse on July 10th.
New Beginner's Ukulele Class starts in August
Ever wish you could learn to play the ukulele? Join the Beginner's class in August! We'll teach you all you need to know to strum and have fun making music with us! No music reading skills needed, just a desire to join the fun! Every Tuesday from 12:00-1:00 beginning August 12. We need to know if you plan to attend the class so we can have materials ready for you. Please email Ellee if you are interested in the new Beginner's class that starts on August 12!
In Case You Missed It...
Our Children's Ministry participated in a service day at Five Loaves and Two Fish Food Pantry on Tuesday, July 8, before joining the XYZ meeting for an intergenerational morning of fellowship and a baked spaghetti lunch. After the activities wrapped up, Kate Craig asked her mom when the next XYZ meeting was because she wanted to go back!
OTHER NEWS
Flowers this week
The flowers in the Sanctuary and Morgan Hall are given to the glory of God and in loving memory of Otis D. Blake, Jr., by his family. If you would like to place flowers in the Sanctuary or Morgan Hall in honor or memory of a loved one, please contact Brenda Goolsby or call the church office.
2nd Sunday Biscuits
The Common Grounds Coffeehouse will be serving 2nd Sunday Biscuits on July 13 from 9am until they run out. Don't forget to stop by and enjoy one with your coffee and grits.
I NEED TO KNOW...
We get it...finding the information you need is not always be easy. If the answer to your question is not obvious here, please reach out to us.
We have a very active church membership! If you would like to request the use of a meeting space at the church, please contact Leigh Ann Williams.
If you would like to request access to the weight room, aerobics room, or gymnasium outside of a regular church activity, then we need your signature on a waiver (in accordance with our insurance policy expectations). Please see Leigh Ann Williams in the Church Administrative office during regular business hours (M-F, 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1:00-5:00 p.m.).
Are you inviting friends or family to church? Or maybe you just need to know all the places you can park when you are here? Visit this link: DIRECTIONS AND PARKING.
Contact us at 770-227-5517 by Friday at noon (or Thursday if Friday falls on a holiday) if you need us to help coordinate a ride to worship service.
The First Baptist Church Endowment Foundation, Inc., is a separate entity from FBC Griffin. If you wish to donate to the FBC Endowment Foundation, there are three convenient ways to do so. Please make checks payable to the FBC Endowment Foundation, Inc.
1) Mail a check to FBC Griffin, P.O. Box 908, Griffin, GA 30224.
2)On Sunday morning, place a check in the blue FBC Endowment Foundation envelope (located in the pew rack or in the Welcome Center) in the offering plate.
3)Drop off a check in the church office.
For more information about the Foundation, please visit https://fbcgriffin.org/fbc-endowment-foundation/.
Access to the church outside of regular business hours may be requested through the Church Office. Please contact Leigh Ann Williams during regular business hours (M-F, 8:30-noon, 1:00-5:00 p.m.) to inquire about this process.
We want to help you use the electronic resources available to you at our church. If you have a question or need a tutorial, or if you need help troubleshooting a technology problem with some of our resources, please REQUEST IT HERE.
New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, Monday following Easter, Memorial Day, Juneteenth (observed on June 20th this year), Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and the day following Thanksgiving, Christmas Day
© 2025. First Baptist Church of Griffin. All rights reserved.
Mailing address: P.O. Box 908, Griffin, GA 30224