Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Associated Baptist Press Foundation
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

Prominent Atlanta church announces property deal that will fund a relaunch and a missions and ministry endowment

NewsMark Wingfield  |  March 26, 2021

One of the most iconic Baptist churches in central Atlanta will give up about half its 12-acre property in a plan to relaunch the congregation and serve the community through a missions and ministry endowment.

Wieuca Road Baptist Church has changed its name to Church at Wieuca, it announced March 25. Further, the church announced a partnership with Greenstone Properties to reimagine its campus in the high-dollar business and residential district known as Buckhead. Greenstone is a real estate development firm that creates office, hotel and mixed-use spaces.

(Creative Commons license via Flickr)

The prominent Atlanta site on Peachtree Road will be redeveloped into what the church called a “live-work-pray community” that could include a high-rise apartment tower, office space and other housing.

It is likely that the church’s Georgian-style sanctuary and bell tower will remain as they currently appear on the exterior, even though the interior of the 1,200-seat sanctuary likely will be reconfigured.

Although terms of the deal were not disclosed, the church intends to take half the proceeds from developing its property and create an endowment for missions and ministries. Another portion will be set aside for future property maintenance.

A decision years in the making

This decision is the culmination of years of internal discussion within the congregation, which has experienced numerical decline since the early 1990s. Previous offers to purchase the prominent property or redevelop it or to merge with other Baptist churches have been declined.

Barry Howard

At one point a few years ago, the congregation was presented with several options and voted to stay put and “try harder,” said Pastor Barry Howard, who started at the church Jan. 6, 2020, just two months before the coronavirus pandemic shut down in-person worship.

Despite the congregation’s good intentions — and well before COVID — “the harder they tried, the worse it got,” Howard said. “You’re not going to rebuild the 1970s and ’80s. The old Wieuca is gone.”

An overnight success story

From its birth in 1954, Wieuca was an almost instant success story. Started as a mission church of Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church, Wieuca landed in a hot real estate market that was rapidly developing amid a bustling business community. Nearby Lenox Square Mall was under construction, and Phipps Plaza Mall soon would follow. Skyscrapers and housing were popping up all over.

Bill Self with Wieuca sanctuary in background. (Photo courtesy of Georgia State University Digital Archives)

“When the church was planted here, they went out and knocked on doors and people came in droves,” Howard said. Then the church called a young, dynamic pastor, Bill Self, and the church “zoomed. They were up over a thousand members within the first 10 years.”

One church history book reports that Wieuca was begun with 300 in attendance on the first Sunday and that the original members included “five deacons, 25 Sunday school teachers (and) three millionaires.”

Such rapid growth for Baptist churches was not uncommon in the post-World War II era, when church attendance, especially in the South, was commonplace and cities like Atlanta were booming.

The church and Self — who served Wieuca from 1964 to 1990 — both gained prominence not only in Atlanta but in the Southern Baptist Convention. Wieuca became one of the largest Baptist churches in Atlanta, with about 3,000 members and up to 1,500 people in weekly worship attendance.

Reassessing the present day

Then due to many of the same factors that have changed churches nationwide, the church began a decline in the early 1990s and has struggled to regain its glory days. Today, the church counts about 270 active members and was running about 100 in attendance prior to COVID. Worship had been moved from the enormous sanctuary to a smaller room in the building.

Howard said, realistically, those glory days are gone. But he sees a new kind of success story in the future for Church at Wieuca through doubling current attendance and expanding missions and ministries.

“We have great potential to be a vibrant, healthy church of 300 to 350 people,” he explained, “a church that operates all week long, not just Sunday.”

‘Not about counting who comes’

Wieuca already has several local ministries sharing space in its 139,000 square-feet of buildings. Those ministries, including a popular day school, will continue, and the church will expand its footprint in community ministries while shrinking its physical footprint.

“Church is not about counting who comes, but about how we connect with the community,” Howard said. “The church’s ministry here will always be bigger than any given number of people who assemble under this roof at one time.”

Josh Speight

In preparation for this new challenge, the congregation not only called Howard, who is 61, as pastor but also recently called a young minister, Josh Speight, as associate pastor.

While up to half the current congregation has been in the church 40 or 50 years — including three living charter members — the congregation also has welcomed a number of new young adults recently, Howard said.

He calls what’s happening at Wieuca a “relaunch.” That includes a new name, a new way to think about property and buildings, and a new way to engage in community ministries beyond the church property. 

Financial security

Key to all this is finances, though.

“Part of the financial challenge here is not only having a shrinking congregation but having deferred maintenance on such a huge complex,” Howard said. “When the majority of your offering plate gifts go to keep the campus operational, it thwarts your mission.”

The new plan to leverage the church’s extremely valuable location will create a revenue stream that will “remove that burden of deferred maintenance” and ensure resources for local ministry, he explained.

“When the majority of your offering plate gifts go to keep the campus operational, it thwarts your mission.”

“The greatest asset probably the church has is its land,” he said. “How do you take that asset and leverage it for kingdom purposes? The revenue will allow the church to update and redream its campus … (and) to create a mission and ministry endowment. We’re not going to create a fund to pay the bills. We’re not just going to buy more time for the church to get another 10 years and then die a slow and painful death. We’re going to make a commitment to grow ourselves to be self-sustaining.  And the endowment will do wonderful things beyond what we can do with the church budget.”

In all this, he hopes there will emerge a model that other shrinking congregations might emulate.

“One of the things all churches should be challenged to do is create ancillary partnerships where you share your space and share the cost of keeping up the space,” he noted. “Not becoming venues just for the sake of making a profit but sharing space for the good of the kingdom.”

When other churches face the same options Wieuca has faced — such as closure or merger  — he hopes some will consider the option to “relaunch” as “a valid kingdom option.”

 

Related articles:

Well-known Baptist church in Atlanta is staying put

Longtime Baptist leader Bill Self dies at 83

12 trends for being church in a post-pandemic world | Opinion by Barry Howard

Property sale positions Atlanta church to engage its vibrant neighborhood

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
Tags:Bill SelfSecond Ponce de Leon Baptist Churchrelaunchchurch propertyBarry Howardchurch declineWieuca Road Baptist Church
More by
Mark Wingfield
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • Three billboards outside Nashville, Tennessee

      News

    • Why this seminary professor’s view of MrBeast and his friend is deadly and dangerous

      Opinion

    • Shurden Lecture takes on the ‘myth of American chosenness’

      News

    • What happens when Tom Ascol finds Ted Cruz to be too liberal and quotes Leviticus 20:13?

      News


    Curated

    • In Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial, Jewish rituals feature as prominently as the carnage of the day

      In Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial, Jewish rituals feature as prominently as the carnage of the day

    • Manipur Christians: ‘The Violence Has Shattered Us’

      Manipur Christians: ‘The Violence Has Shattered Us’

    • Pride flag glimpsed on ‘The Chosen’ set prompts call for boycott

      Pride flag glimpsed on ‘The Chosen’ set prompts call for boycott

    • Why Chick-fil-A Is Drawing Fire Over a ‘Culture of Belonging’

      Why Chick-fil-A Is Drawing Fire Over a ‘Culture of Belonging’

    Read Next:

    A primer on why Southern Baptists are fighting over women in ministry once again

    AnalysisMark Wingfield

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • An open letter to all Southern Baptists

      OpinionRick Warren

    • Shurden Lecture takes on the ‘myth of American chosenness’

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • An open letter to Elijah Brown, Baptist World Alliance CEO

      OpinionRichard Wilson

    • Why this seminary professor’s view of MrBeast and his friend is deadly and dangerous

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • What happens when Tom Ascol finds Ted Cruz to be too liberal and quotes Leviticus 20:13?

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Three billboards outside Nashville, Tennessee

      NewsRick Pidcock

    • What I learned from Taylor Swift

      OpinionBill Wilson

    • Remembering Pulse nighclub and the power of affirmation

      OpinionMaina Mwaura

    • A primer on why Southern Baptists are fighting over women in ministry once again

      AnalysisMark Wingfield

    • Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina loses president and board chair in same week

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Faith-based immigration advocates hopeful about new bill in Congress

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Coalition urges White House not to overlook Black immigrants

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Working and waiting with people and plants

      OpinionBob Newell

    • Gay Christian man says he was kicked off BWA commissions

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Let’s reclaim the real Baptist identity

      OpinionJustin L. Addington

    • Southwestern trustees affirm their leadership and repudiate two trustees who raised alarms

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • How to fix anemic U.S. rural health care? Learn from Africa and look to the churches, Birx says

      NewsElizabeth Souder

    • To the mother who complained about Amanda Gorman’s poem

      OpinionRobert P. Sellers

    • Medical professionals address myths and misconceptions about transgender kids

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Focus on the Family affiliate is the unifying force behind campaign to restrict transgender rights

      AnalysisSteve Rabey

    • Opal Lee may be the ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth,’ but she’s not done working for justice yet

      NewsMallory Challis

    • Rising from the ashes: God’s empowering message for displaced women

      OpinionRosaly Guzman

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • How the Progressive National Baptist Convention plans to put faith into action

      OpinionDarryl Gray

    • Believe me: The struggle of Black pain

      OpinionZachary Barber

    • Shurden Lecture takes on the ‘myth of American chosenness’

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • What happens when Tom Ascol finds Ted Cruz to be too liberal and quotes Leviticus 20:13?

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Three billboards outside Nashville, Tennessee

      NewsRick Pidcock

    • Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina loses president and board chair in same week

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Faith-based immigration advocates hopeful about new bill in Congress

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Coalition urges White House not to overlook Black immigrants

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Gay Christian man says he was kicked off BWA commissions

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Southwestern trustees affirm their leadership and repudiate two trustees who raised alarms

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • How to fix anemic U.S. rural health care? Learn from Africa and look to the churches, Birx says

      NewsElizabeth Souder

    • Medical professionals address myths and misconceptions about transgender kids

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Opal Lee may be the ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth,’ but she’s not done working for justice yet

      NewsMallory Challis

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • U.S. Department of Education issues guidance on religious expression in schools

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ten Commandments bill dies in Texas Legislature

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Leader of Assemblies of God student group at Baylor arrested on child sexual abuse charges

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • BJC and Interfaith Alliance applaud first-ever national strategy to counter antisemitism

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • New documentary series shows how churches that close can keep ministry open

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Southwestern Seminary trustees called to special meeting next Tuesday

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Transitions for the week of 5-26-23

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • 8-year-old’s death in CBP custody highlights Biden’s ‘system of death,’ immigration advocates say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Evangelical worldview ministries seek to promote ‘proper’ thoughts, beliefs and actions

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • Here’s another angle to corporate DEI work: Increased support for ‘faith friendly’ workplaces

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Amid Sudan war and elsewhere, water scarcity threatens lives

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Gap widens on American confidence in vaccines

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • An open letter to all Southern Baptists

      OpinionRick Warren

    • An open letter to Elijah Brown, Baptist World Alliance CEO

      OpinionRichard Wilson

    • Why this seminary professor’s view of MrBeast and his friend is deadly and dangerous

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • What I learned from Taylor Swift

      OpinionBill Wilson

    • Remembering Pulse nighclub and the power of affirmation

      OpinionMaina Mwaura

    • Working and waiting with people and plants

      OpinionBob Newell

    • Let’s reclaim the real Baptist identity

      OpinionJustin L. Addington

    • To the mother who complained about Amanda Gorman’s poem

      OpinionRobert P. Sellers

    • Rising from the ashes: God’s empowering message for displaced women

      OpinionRosaly Guzman

    • How the Progressive National Baptist Convention plans to put faith into action

      OpinionDarryl Gray

    • Believe me: The struggle of Black pain

      OpinionZachary Barber

    • They’ll know we are Christians by our what?

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • How to celebrate Pentecost without balloons, plastic doves or salsa

      OpinionJack Levison

    • The generational pain and hope of the Southern Baptist witch trials

      OpinionWill Raybon

    • Why demographic shifts haven’t yet swamped the Republican Party

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • Tina Turner kept the divine flame burning

      OpinionJustin Cox

    • Remembering Bob Seymour: Being wise as serpents and harmless as doves

      OpinionCurtis Freeman

    • Here’s why Ron DeSantis has gone to war with Disney

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Yes, Tim Scott is a Black man, but he’s still promoting Christian nationalism

      OpinionRick Pidcock

    • Why ‘affirming’ churches need to speak up

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw, Senior Columnist

    • Five things Southern Baptists should do now to address clergy sex abuse

      OpinionChrista Brown and David Clohessy

    • Why we must be cautious about understanding what’s going on at Southwestern Seminary

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • On graduation and the priesthood of all believers

      OpinionVal Fisk

    • Here’s how to force SBC entities to be accountable to people in the pew about their finances

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • These are some of the best pastors I know

      OpinionJustin Cox

    • In Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial, Jewish rituals feature as prominently as the carnage of the day

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Manipur Christians: ‘The Violence Has Shattered Us’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pride flag glimpsed on ‘The Chosen’ set prompts call for boycott

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Why Chick-fil-A Is Drawing Fire Over a ‘Culture of Belonging’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Survey: Drop in Eastern European antisemitism may be due to Zelenskyy effect

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Street scrolls: The beats, rhymes and spirituality of Latin hip-hop

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • ‘Felt like a year’: Worshipper describes fear during gunman’s deadly attack on Pittsburgh synagogue

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Near the Western Wall, Jewish radicals shout at Christian Evangelicals to ‘go home’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Playing a religious character without making faith the punchline

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Jewish settlers erect religious school in evacuated West Bank outpost after Israel repeals ban

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • How the practice of Nichiren Buddhism sustained Tina Turner for 50 years

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Connecticut lawmakers absolve accused colonial-era witches, apologize for “miscarriage of justice”

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • ‘Avatar’ Franchise Expands Ideas About Spirituality Beyond A Western, Christian Lens

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Catholic Church in California grapples with more than 3,000 lawsuits, alleging child sex abuse

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Canadian Christians Launch Collective for Climate Action

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • As ‘The Marvelous Mrs Maisel’ ends, will its Jewish legacy be more than a punchline?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • US Slavic Churches Booming with Ukrainian War Refugees

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What is ‘ethical AI’ and how can companies achieve it?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Russia acknowledges Vatican peace initiative, says no steps yet for a mission to Moscow

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What we need to understand is that fascism is intersectional and erotic — ’thy rod is thy gun,’ with a hip-thrust

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Our Beloved Ones Don’t Become Angels When They Die

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Turkey’s Christian Sites: Visiting The Seven Churches From The Book Of Revelation

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Firewalkers in Greece honor Saint Constantine in mystery-shrouded, centuries-old rituals

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • In fight against ‘tyranny,’ Michigan board declares itself ‘constitutional county’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Montana acts to protect Native American priority in adopting Native children

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2023 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS