On Duluth Highway, in one of the most diverse zip codes in the United States, a small country Baptist congregation founded in 1886 has grown into a worshiping community that draws members from about sixty nations. First Baptist Church Duluth still meets at 2908 Duluth Highway, and on a typical Sunday the congregation hears contemporary Christian songs, classic hymns, and worship led in Korean, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and English side by side - a place its pastor calls a glimpse of heaven in one Georgia zip code.
From 1886 to Today: A Line in the Sand
Duluth Baptist Church was organized on February 13, 1886, with a first building put up for five hundred dollars on land donated by a man named J. E. New. By 1901, the young congregation had grown to eighty-five members and was settling into the life of the town. On July 21, 1947, the original building burned. Undeterred, members rebuilt with their own labor and donated material. The granite church that rose from the ashes was completed in 1950 and still stands in downtown Duluth as a landmark of the congregation's resolve.
By 1978 the church had outgrown that building, and the members relocated to the present campus on Duluth Highway. A decade later, in 1988, the current worship center was completed - the room where the church's next chapter would unfold. For most of its one hundred and forty years, First Baptist Duluth looked much like other Southern Baptist churches in the region.
The shift came in 2011. At a Mayor's State of the City address, Pastor Mark Hearn heard that fifty-seven languages are spoken at Duluth High School. That day, the church committed to crossing every language and cultural barrier with the gospel. Members from about sixty nations now worship as one family, and the pastor tells the story in two books: Technicolor and Hearing in Technicolor. The journey has drawn attention from The Wall Street Journal, Atlanta Magazine, Facts & Trends, and the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Sunday Mornings at First Baptist Duluth
Sunday Bible Study begins at 9:30 AM, with adult groups, kids groups, and student core groups meeting at the same hour. Sunday Worship follows at 10:50 AM. Musically, the service ranges across contemporary Christian songs, classic hymns, and worship led in different languages by members of the congregation. The teaching is expository and Bible-saturated, delivered in a relaxed, friendly environment.
Visitors are asked to come as they are. On any given Sunday the room holds jeans and t-shirts, traditional African or Indian dress, suits and ties, and everything in between. After the service, a pastor is available in the lobby to greet guests, and a small gift is offered at the reception. New families are invited to sign up for a First Look Tour: thirty facts about the church in thirty minutes, followed by free pizza with the pastors in the International Grounds Cafe.
The biggest single Sunday-morning detail is the language interpretation. Through the One Voice Interpretation Center, the morning service is interpreted live into Korean, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese. Listeners can pick up a receiver at the Language Resource Center, or stream the interpretation on their own phones via the AudioFetch app on the church's guest WiFi.
One Voice: Interpretation, ESL, and Citizenship
The One Voice Language Ministry exists so that everyone can worship, learn, and belong in their heart language. Its Sunday work is the live interpretation described above. Its Wednesday work is a full language and learning program.
Free English as a Second Language classes meet on Wednesdays at 10:00 AM and 6:30 PM, organized by skill level, with free childcare provided during class hours. New students register during class hours; the only cost is fifty dollars for textbooks. A free U.S. citizenship class is also offered on Wednesdays between the ESL sessions, covering civics, history, and English in preparation for the naturalization test. Before and after class, the ESL Snack Lounge offers refreshments and a relaxed place to connect.
The church keeps direct phone lines open for each language community: Korean at 678-533-7453, Spanish at 678-533-7461, and the main line at (770) 476-3788 for Mandarin Chinese and English.
Loves, Reaches, Disciples: Mission and Values
The congregation summarizes its purpose in three words: Loves, Reaches, Disciples. Each is anchored in a passage from Matthew. Loves comes from Matthew 22:39 - loving people with God's sacrificial, agape love, putting others ahead of self. Reaches comes from Matthew 9:36-38 - sharing the gospel because the harvest is plentiful and every person matters. Disciples comes from Matthew 28:19-20 - going and making disciples of all nations, growing together in the way of Jesus.
Those three words are worked out in five commitments the church calls its Motives. First Baptist Duluth aims to be a worshiping community (Isaiah 43:21), a missional community (John 13:35), an inclusive community that overcomes barriers of gender, language, race, class, age, and culture (John 12:32), a generous community (2 Corinthians 8:7), and a just community that confronts evil and restores biblical truth (Micah 6:8).
To know if this is working, the church watches three measures rather than attendance: whether members are ministering with all people rather than only ministering to them, whether the congregation is increasingly engaged in CROSS-training, and whether local community leaders seek the church out for answers to community issues.
Kids and Students: Big Fish, FORT, and LEV3L
Children's ministry is built around two tracks. Big F.I.S.H. - Believers In God, Faithful In Serving Him - serves preschoolers from birth through age four, with small groups at 9:30 AM and worship at 10:45 AM. Kids F.O.R.T. - Faithful, Obedient, Ready, Truthful - serves children in kindergarten through fifth grade, with small groups at 9:30 AM and Kids FORT Worship at 11:20 AM, after the adults are dismissed from the sermon. Check-in happens at the front desk, and each child receives a matching parent tag - no child is released without it.
On Wednesday evenings during the school year, Kids D-Nite gathers elementary kids for Bible study, worship, and games from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. The director of children's ministry, SoYoung Lee, partners with parents through the Parent Cue communication and welcomes questions about getting connected.
Middle and high school students meet as LEV3L Student Ministry. On Sundays at 9:30 AM they gather in living-room style core groups by grade on the third floor. On Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 PM, August through May, they meet as a full group for music, video, games, prizes, teaching, and community. The vision of LEV3L is to help students pack their bags for the next phase of life. Todd Jones serves as Family and Student Pastor, and Kesa Pringle coordinates family ministry alongside the student work.
Adults at Every Stage: One Heart, Men's Ministry, and Legacy 55+
Adults at First Baptist Duluth have a year-round rhythm of groups. One Heart Women's Ministry exists so no woman in this church walks alone, and its work falls into two halves: Bible study in community, and going out together to serve. Recent offerings have included a seven-week study called Psalm 23: The Shepherd Within Me, monthly Cooking Around the Nations outreach dinners in the Family Life Center, and a fall retreat.
Men's Ministry centers on discipleship and mission. The signature gathering is Biscuits & Bros., held on the third Saturday of every month from 8:00 to 9:00 AM, when men open God's Word together, share what is happening in their lives, and pray for one another. Service opportunities connect men to the church's local and global mission partners.
Legacy 55+ offers fellowship, care, and ongoing spiritual growth for adults 55 and better. The group gathers for Legacy Lunch on the first Tuesday of each month at 11:30 AM in the Family Life Center, and for Coffee Fellowship on Thursdays at 10:00 AM in the International Grounds Cafe. A Home Care team within the church provides direct support, prayer, and encouragement during difficult seasons, and the church's food pantry relies on Legacy 55+ volunteers to pick up, shelve, pack, and distribute food.
Worship: New Songs, Classic Hymns, and Languages from Around the World
The Worship Ministry aims to glorify God through musical gifts and to assist His people in worshipping Him in spirit and in truth. Three teams carry the work. The Praise Team rehearses at 8:30 AM Sunday mornings and leads congregational singing from the platform. The Production Team handles audio and video for every service, working to make the technical elements invisible. The Worship Choir rehearses right after the worship gathering in the Music Suite and sings on the first Sunday of each month.
Global Worship Pastor Enrico Cakranata is originally from Indonesia; you can call him Rico. He earned graduate degrees from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City and came to First Baptist Duluth from First Baptist Church Chillicothe, Missouri. His role is described by the church as both Global and Worship Pastor, exactly the right pairing for a church like this one. His wife Yuli also serves as the church's keyboard accompanist.
Serving Duluth and the Nations: Local, National, Worldwide
The Missions ministry divides its work into three rings. In and around Duluth the church partners with Wellspring Living, which helps female victims and those at risk of domestic sex trafficking and sexual abuse; with the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at Georgia State University and at Georgia Gwinnett College; and with the Duluth Co-Op, which provides free food, limited emergency money for bills, and other essential support through the Hands of Christ ministry. The church itself runs a food pantry that Legacy 55+ volunteers help stock and distribute.
Nationally, the church supports Habitat for Humanity's work building homes and community across the country, has come alongside families and communities recovering from Hurricane Helene with hands-on relief and supplies, and partners with Centerpointe Church, a church plant in Maine.
Around the world, the church walks alongside the Good News Centre in India (gospel ministry, leadership development, and community outreach), Naba Asha (compassionate care, education, and community support), and a Norway partnership through the International Mission Board supporting local gospel work and church strengthening in Europe.
Pastors and Prayer
Senior Pastor Mark Hearn is a native of Pulaski, Virginia, who accepted Christ and was baptized there before being ordained into ministry. Before coming to First Baptist Duluth he served as Senior Pastor of Northside Baptist Church in Indianapolis, was President of the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana, and served as a Trustee for Lifeway Christian Resources. He holds a Master of Divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from Luther Rice Seminary. He is married to Glenda, and they have four daughters and ten grandchildren.
The pastoral team also includes Todd Jones as Family and Student Pastor, Enrico Cakranata as Global Worship Pastor, Jason Thomas as Community and Discipleship Pastor, SoYoung Lee as Director of Children's Ministry, and Kesa Pringle as Family and Student Associate. Jason Thomas served with the International Mission Board before joining the staff and oversees adult discipleship, men's ministry, women's ministry, ESL, prayer, and missions.
An Intercessory Prayer Ministry gathers to lift up the needs of the church, the community, and one another. Anyone can join the intercessors or submit a prayer request through the church's prayer page.
Giving and Practical Details
First Baptist Duluth offers six ways to give. Gifts can be made online through Planning Center Giving, by texting a dollar amount to (877) 873-4652, by mailing a check to First Baptist Duluth at P.O. Box 2440, or by dropping a gift at the church office Monday through Thursday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The church also accepts gifts of stock and securities, as well as real estate given outright or through a will or trust. Guests are not expected to give; the church notes that giving is for people who call this church home.
Sermons are archived at the church's media page and on the church's YouTube channel. Visitors are invited to plan a visit, sign up for the First Look Tour, and pick up a Bible study or worship group that fits at 9:30 on a Sunday morning. Giving is available online at the Planning Center giving page.