Briarlake Church stands at 3715 Lavista Road in Decatur, Georgia, and is known for the Gather, Grow, and Go rhythm that has shaped the congregation since 1958. Sunday worship at 11:00 a.m. anchors a multigenerational ministry community devoted to Bible teaching, service, missions, and recreation.
Gather, Grow, and Go on Lavista Road
Briarlake describes its purpose as “Exalting Jesus in Word, Life, and Mission.” The church’s central pattern is simple:
- Gather means meeting together for worship and encouragement, based on Hebrews 10:24-25.
- Grow means being equipped for ministry and spiritual maturity through the work of the church, as described in Ephesians 4:11-16.
- Go means making disciples and carrying the gospel from the local community to the wider world, following Matthew 28:18-20.
That rhythm appears throughout the church, from children’s classes and student gatherings to adult discipleship, senior ministries, mission partnerships, prayer, and recreation.
From Briarlake Elementary to a 950-Seat Sanctuary
On the first Sunday of February 1958, 125 people met at Briarlake Elementary School to begin Briarlake Baptist Chapel, with sponsorship from Clairmont Hills Baptist Church and the Atlanta Baptist Association. Clay Manley served as missions pastor until the church constituted on August 2, 1959. Ground was broken that October for a chapel with 250 seats. The campus later gained five educational buildings, a 950-seat sanctuary, an activities building, a ball field, and tennis courts. In 2005, the activities building was renovated for a contemporary worship service called Backlot.
Hoffman Harris led the church from its early years through 1988. Dr. Don Bouldin followed from 1989 to 1999, Bill Patterson from 2000 to 2002, and Dr. Tommy Ferrell from 2004 to 2021. Dr. Steve Tillis was called as the fifth pastor in June 2022. Briarlake’s pastoral team also includes Ben Banks as executive pastor, Jaime Sellers as worship pastor, Jon Bruner as student pastor, Sharon Harris as children’s minister, and Ken Chapman as minister of pastoral care.
The church’s history includes three ethnic congregations: Hispanic, Arabic, and Mandarin Chinese. The Hispanic work began as a Sunday School class in 1979, moved to Norcross in 1996, and was constituted as New Jerusalem Baptist Church in 1998. The Chinese congregation relocated to Gwinnett County in 2007. These histories reflect a church that has long worked through worship, Bible study, church planting, and cross-cultural relationships.
Sunday at 11:00 in the Main Sanctuary
Sunday morning worship meets weekly at 11:00 a.m. in the main sanctuary and is conducted in English. Worship leader Jaime Sellers leads a service that blends traditional hymns with contemporary songs commonly heard on the radio, bringing together both familiar worship and a wider range of musical styles.
The congregation can watch the 11:00 a.m. service live and browse past sermons. For those joining in person, the service is a weekly expression of Briarlake’s Gather, Grow, and Go emphasis.
Choir, Orchestra, and Praise Band
Worship at Briarlake is a shared ministry rather than a single-performance format. The choir, orchestra, and praise band share the task, and different weeks may be led by either the choir and orchestra or the praise band. People who love to sing, play an instrument, or simply worship with others have a place in the ministry.
Regular rehearsals and training help musicians and singers grow in their abilities and deepen their understanding of worship. The team emphasizes many musical styles while seeking to keep the Word of God at the center, allowing lyrics to point people toward the truth about the good news of Jesus Christ.
A First Visit, from the Welcome Center to Starting Point
Visitors who arrive at 9:45 a.m. can join Sunday Life Groups before worship. Children check in on the lower level of C Building, beneath the large blue Briarlake Kids sign. The Welcome Center sits near the center of the campus on the back of C Building, marked by a blue and white awning, and is available during the service for questions. The Starting Point Station is at the front of the sanctuary and is a natural place to learn about Life Groups, membership, and other forms of participation.
Dressing up is not required. Some people wear their “Sunday best,” while others wear slacks with a casual shirt or jeans. Briarlake simply asks people to come ready to worship. The service combines traditional hymns with contemporary worship, and children can participate in age-specific ministry while adults attend worship.
Serving is another way to connect with the church. Opportunities include leading Life Groups, working with children or students, recreation coaching, greeting, special-needs ministry, card ministry, hospital and nursing-home ministry, prayer, media, and worship. Membership is not required to volunteer, although people serving with children and students must complete a background check.
Life Groups at 9:45
Adult Life Groups begin at 9:45 a.m. and are central to Briarlake’s discipleship strategy. Groups study the Bible, pray for one another, build lasting friendships, look for opportunities to serve, and worship God together. Most meet on the Briarlake campus, although several meet in homes. Everyone is invited, whether attending alone, with a spouse, with friends, or with neighbors.
Children’s and student Life Groups begin at the same hour, allowing families to participate in the rhythm of the church together. Briarlake also offers the Little Light of Mine group for people with special needs. It meets at 9:30 a.m. in Room 271 and includes singing and signing songs, Scripture memorization, learning the names of Bible books, prayer, a Bible lesson, crafts, and monthly mission projects.
Children Begin in the Greenhouse
Briarlake Kids seeks to provide a safe place where children grow to know, love, and serve Jesus Christ and one another. The Greenhouse welcomes babies through kindergarten for age-divided classes with caring teachers, purposeful activities, and an introduction to God’s love. Grades 1 through 5 gather for interactive large-group teaching in Studio One with music, skits, games, and Bible lessons, then move into small groups to discuss the Bible story, memory verse, and main point.
Kids Life Groups meet from 9:45 to 11:00 a.m. Kids Worship follows from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. for both age bands, with the youngest children in the Greenhouse and elementary students in Studio One.
Check-in creates a label for each child and a matching guardian label for pickup. First-time families provide an information card; the guardian keeps the matching label and presents it when returning for the child. Children’s volunteers need six months of regular attendance, references, a background check, and training.
Students Gather in Building D
Briarlake Student Ministry welcomes students in grades 6 through 12 from many schools, family backgrounds, and church experiences. Sunday Life Groups meet at 9:45 a.m. in the Student Building, where breakfast is available most mornings before groups begin. Students join the congregation for 11:00 a.m. worship in the sanctuary.
Sunday Night Live, or SNL, runs from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. in Building D. Students play, eat, and learn together, with the gathering modeled on the Acts 2 description of a community sharing meals, worship, teaching, and life.
Women and Men in Discipleship
Beyond Sunday Life Groups, Briarlake offers specific discipleship gatherings for adults. Women’s Bible Study meets Wednesday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. for video-driven studies, generally with three different studies each year. Flourish Women gathers on Friday mornings during the school year in the Upper Room of the E Building for fellowship, accountability, encouragement, and discussion of God’s Word.
Women’s Missionary Union includes Mission Friends for preschoolers on Friday mornings and Women’s groups centered on Scripture, reading, world awareness, English, citizenship, computers, and ministry support. Women on Mission meets on the first Tuesday in B-216, entering through the front office. Bible Bunch begins at 9:30 a.m., Ready Readers at 10:15, and World Awareness at 11:00. Mission Encouragers meet on third Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. in homes, while a Wellspring sewing and craft group meets on second Thursdays.
Men’s discipleship groups form each semester and focus on reading, studying, teaching, and applying Scripture in daily life. The stated aim is to grow Godly leaders in homes and communities. Community Bible Study also meets on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Sharing Wisdom with Senior Adults
The Senior Adult Ministry gives adults with seniority a place to grow in faith and share the wisdom gained through life experience. Life Groups for men, women, and couples emphasize Bible study, ministry, and fellowship. Young in Heart usually meets on the fourth Monday of each month for a meal and an entertaining program. The ministry also coordinates a free monthly movie matinee with popcorn, candy, and drinks.
Homebound Ministry provides in-home visits, literature, worship-service recordings, and seasonal remembrances. Extended Care Ministry visits nursing-home and extended-care residents and keeps family members connected.
Prayer in the Upper Room
Open prayer meetings meet on the first and third Tuesdays of each month from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Upper Room of the E Building. The gatherings are devoted to shared prayer, gratitude, concerns, and requests for God to work in the church, community, and world. Briarlake also maintains a Prayer Room and organizes three church-wide prayer initiatives each year.
Missions from the Community to the Ends of the Earth
Briarlake reads the Great Commission as a mandate to move outward in widening circles: its Jerusalem is the local community, Judea is the rest of Georgia, Samaria is the United States, and the ends of the earth include every other country. Its Missions Committee seeks to give individuals, families, and Life Groups concrete ways to share the gospel locally and globally.
A portion of Briarlake’s giving supports the Southern Baptist Convention, the Georgia Baptist Convention, and the Gwinnett Metro Baptist Network. The church has also named mission partnerships with indigenous churches in Capetown, South Africa; Hyderabad, India; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Bluffton, South Carolina; and Ledyard, Connecticut. Its church-to-church mission strategy includes financial support and short-term teams serving alongside those churches in the United States and internationally.
Community ministry partners include the Andrew P. Stewart Center, Atlanta Pregnancy Resource Center, Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief Team, Friends of Refugees, Georgia State Baptist Collegiate Ministries, NETWorks Cooperative Ministry, Stone Mountain Park Ministries, and Wellspring Living. Briarlake’s longer mission history includes supporting the Cooperative Program, sending mission teams, helping establish Smoke Rise Baptist Church and Atkinson Road Baptist Church, and giving to mission churches across the United States.
Sports, Pickleball, and the Briarlake Gym
The recreation ministry offers soccer, basketball, and baseball leagues for children from kindergarten through fifth grade. Three eight-week seasons each include one weekly practice and one weekly game. The leagues are designed as a fun, safe, noncompetitive setting where children develop skills, build friendships, learn teamwork, and experience the love of Christ through sports. Coaches seek to reflect Christ’s love both on and off the field.
Registration includes a team uniform or jersey, an end-of-season medal, and a celebration banquet for players and their families. General pickleball play is open at the Briarlake Gym from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It is suited to beginners and experienced players, as well as all ages and skill levels. Court play uses a 10-hour punch card costing $20, with payment by cash or check at the door.
What Briarlake Church Believes
Briarlake holds that the Bible is the inspired and authoritative Word of God and the ultimate source of truth for faith and practice. It affirms one God in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is described as designer, creator, and sustainer, characterized by love, purity, and power. Jesus Christ is affirmed as fully divine and fully human, born of a virgin, sinless in life, mighty in miracles, and risen from the dead after dying for sin.
The church affirms the active ministry of the Holy Spirit, who empowers, guides, comforts, convicts, and bestows spiritual gifts for the edification of the church. Human beings are made in God’s image but inherit a nature flawed by sin. Salvation is God’s gift, received through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Those whom the Spirit initiates in new birth are held secure in salvation for eternity, though believers continue to struggle with sin and obedience.
Briarlake teaches that at death the believer’s soul goes to heaven in the presence of Christ, while the souls of the disobedient and unbelieving are separated from God. Christ will return to judge the living and the dead, culminating in the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom, including a new heaven and new earth. The church is defined as a community of believers united in Jesus Christ, not merely a building, and it exists to worship God, nurture spiritual growth, and carry out the Great Commission. Communion is remembered as a celebration of Jesus’ sacrifice and the unity of believers, not as a means of salvation.
Believer’s Baptism, Communion, and Membership
Baptism at Briarlake is immersion in water as an outward expression of faith. Salvation precedes baptism, and the church considers baptism most meaningful when a believer understands repentance and places faith in Jesus as personal Savior. Because Briarlake wants each person baptized to remember the experience, it does not baptize anyone under age seven.
Membership is described as a spiritual commitment to believe in and follow Jesus Christ, together with a desire to walk in fellowship with the congregation. Public faith and believer’s baptism are meaningful ways to express that commitment. Those already baptized by immersion may transfer a letter of membership from a church of similar faith and practice, or give a statement of faith if no record is available.
After Sunday worship, prospective members can stop at the Starting Point Station, complete a membership card, and attend a Next Steps class offered as needed. A staff member then meets with them to discuss membership.
Participation at Briarlake extends through worship, study, care, mission, sports, and shared meals. Financial gifts can be made in person, online, by mail, or by text through online giving. Briarlake Church remains centered on the same three verbs that shaped its beginnings: gather, grow, and go.