DECATUR, Ga.—In the Old Testament, God’s people were to celebrate Jubilee after 50 years of fruitful labor. They were to look back over the years that God had sustained them and were to celebrate with great rejoicing. On Oct. 10–12, Atlanta Bible Baptist Church celebrated the 50th anniversary of its church and founding pastor, Dr. John A. McNeal Jr.
“The celebration was an intentional pause to thank God for establishing the work and sustaining His people,” says Kezia Curry, McNeal’s daughter and wife of Randy Curry, a chaplain with Regular Baptist Chaplaincy Ministries. She says Dr. McNeal “founded the church in urban Atlanta under the Fellowship of Baptists for Home Missions, as an answer to God’s call on his life to ensure that all people, regardless of race or ethnicity, could know the Word of God for themselves ‘line upon line, and precept upon precept.'” Atlanta Bible Baptist Church has always had a burden for winning souls; it has trained and sent out 14 pastors and families and one foreign missionary.
The church celebrated the weekend event in grand style with three keynote speakers: Dr. Tony Evans, founding pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, Dallas, Texas; Dr. LeRoy Randolph, former president of Carver Baptist Bible College and Institute, Kansas City, Mo.; and Ray P. Smith, founding pastor of New Community Baptist Church, Flint, Mich. Each of these men gave tribute to Dr. McNeal and his wife, Earlene, for significantly influencing his life.
The festivities also included a Saturday evening banquet and an authentic Sunday afternoon, Southern style dinner-on the-grounds. Many current and former church members recalled the early years of learning how to trust God and how that trust has grown. Additionally, numerous former students from Carver Bible College and Institute, of which Dr. McNeal served as professor and dean of students for over 20 years, recounted the times of wise counsel and required discipline. Songs of praise, prayers of thanksgiving, tears of joy, and the Word of God were lifted in honor of this special occasion and special minister of God.
