Church grows as many shrink, maybe because all welcome

Pastor Grant Myerholtz sings with his congregation.
(Photo by Will Crooks, The Washington Post)

T-shirts, tattoos and a universal "Y'All are welcome" message keep pew seats filled at Mt. Hebron Baptist Church in Hartwell, Ga., pop. 4,500, reports Alison Miller of The Washington Post. "At a time when many houses of worship are struggling to sustain themselves — with church membership and attendance both at all-time lows in this country — [Pastor Grant] Myerholtz seems to be pulling off a miracle of sorts: Tiny Mt. Hebron is flourishing. Barely a dozen people showed up for his first sermons in fall 2020; these days, sometimes 100 faces are looking up at him."

Myerholtz, who normally preaches in a T-shirt and jeans, offers an "interpretation of scripture [not] traditionally heard in a conservative community," Miller writes. "For instance, Myerholtz gave the opening prayer at the Hartwell Pride festival — which already had weathered a backlash from area churches over a proposed spring drag show." The organization's president, Collin Graham, who is trans, told Miller: "There's a community of people that guard their religion and say, 'It's not for you. You're a sinner. You can't love God like that.'. . . So I think it was important to have [Grant] out there to show people that you can be a Christian and you can be gay or trans."

Hartwell is in the "heart" of Hart County in
northeastern Georgia. (Wikipedia maps)

"Hartwell is the seat of Hart County, where chicken farming is the major industry, and massive broiler sheds house millions of birds. Downtown businesses include a store for ax throwing as well as an art gallery. American flags abound," Miller reports. "Church is, and has always been, the community's backbeat. . . . Myerholtz is a native son, with a family history several generations deep. He said he became weary of [preaching within] denominational doctrines, which he felt got in the way of Jesus's teachings. He stepped away." Myerholtz told Miller: ""If it were up to me, a representative of every ministry in this town would be there with arms wide open. We have the easiest job on the planet as Christians if we want to accept it. That is simply to love everybody."

Including everyone has not helped Myerholtz "win over other Baptist leaders in the area," Miller reports. "On the day that Myerholtz prayed at the pride festival, the Rev. Andy Buchanan of Liberty Baptist Church opened its doors and invited the community to pray for 'those who are engaged in this evil.'. . . . By contrast, Myerholtz showed a movie clip from Disney's The Lion King and then quoted 1 Peter 5:8. The verse warns that the devil prowls about like a 'roaring lion' looking for someone to devour. The exhortation that follows is to stand firm in faith, knowing that others in the world are dealing with similar suffering." Myerholtz told Miller: "In God's kingdom, it doesn't matter what color we are. It doesn't matter what party we are. What does matter in God's economy is how we treat one another."