Grawood Baptist Church at 5841 Colquitt Road in Keithville, Louisiana, began in a growing section of town and remains a family-centered church with a broad ministry rhythm. Its Sunday pattern is a 9:45 a.m. small-group study followed by an 11:00 a.m. worship service in Bazer Memorial Auditorium. Wednesdays bring morning Bible study and prayer, a family meal, and separate gatherings for children, youth, men and women. Grawood is known not only for those gatherings but for the words that summarize its history and ministry: “Together we Live, Together we Love, Together we Grow.”
From a Lawn and Carport to a Keithville Church
Grawood’s story begins with three churches and community leaders who saw a need in a busy, growing section of Keithville. Summer Grove Baptist Church led the church-plant project, with Sunset Acres Baptist Church and First Baptist Church of Keithville joining as co-sponsors. On June 4, 1961, Colquitt Road Baptist Mission held its first service on the lawn and in the carport at the home of Brother and Mrs. R. O. Bazer. Attendance soon averaged 21 people. A revival followed, and 22 people became members. On September 17, 1961, the mission was organized as a New Testament Baptist church, Grawood Baptist Church, and Brother Bazer became its first pastor.
The early years carried several pastoral changes: Brother Bill Shaw followed in 1962, E. P. Smith and John R. Bryant served as interim pastors, and Brother Johnny Tipton became pastor in 1964. Tipton led Grawood for three decades while the congregation outgrew its facilities. By 1974, the original brush arbor had given way to a small sanctuary that later became Haywood Hall and the preschool building. The church added a single-story educational building, a two-story building for children and church offices, and a parsonage. On December 18, 1977, the first service was held in the larger Bazer Memorial Auditorium, where worship remains gathered. Tipton resigned in 1994, and Brother Bob McCartney served from 1995 until 2004. A series of interim and pastoral leaders followed, including Brothers Billy Pierce, Freddie Williford, Calvin Phelps and Tom Carlton. Chris Willcutt became lead pastor in 2015.
Grawood also extended its reach through missions. In 1984 it led the start of a mission in southwest Caddo Parish. That mission began meeting in 1985 and developed into Westwood Baptist Church. Under McCartney, attendance growth led to two worship services and planning for a multipurpose gym, kitchen and adult education building. The Tipton Center opened in 2002. These changes moved the church from a brush arbor and converted homes to a campus with an auditorium, educational buildings, offices, a preschool, a gym and family areas. Across more than six decades, the repeated themes have been growth, adaptation and shared work, summarized by the church’s motto: “Together we Live, Together we Love, Together we Grow.”
A Place to Call Home
Grawood’s mission is to glorify God by helping people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. It names Scripture and study as ways to feed the spirit while also urging each person to seek Christ personally every day. The church reads the call to make disciples in Matthew 28 as both the early church’s mission and the continuing mission of Christians. For Grawood, sharing the Gospel of the risen Jesus means using both words and actions, and its mission describes the congregation as “a place to call home” where people can grow in relationship with Christ and with other believers.
Those priorities are expressed in eight core values:
- Christ Centered: Jesus is the foundation of the church, its reason for existence and the guide for its decisions and mission.
- Family Focused: The church partners with families to nurture life at home and in the community while cultivating deep, family-like connections.
- Relationship Fueled: Grawood seeks connection with the Creator, one’s family, other Christ followers and the surrounding community.
- Strategically Structured: Staff, lay leaders, small groups and worship environments are evaluated and organized to support effective ministry.
- Service Oriented: Members can serve in missions, preschool, children’s and student ministries, adult groups, worship, events and the First Impressions Team.
- Discipleship Driven: Small groups and personal relationships cultivate growth, accountability and an increasingly active faith.
- User Friendly: The church works to make its ministries understandable, accessible and easy for people to connect with.
- Duplication Minded: Leaders are developed to produce leaders, empowering others to create new ministries and reach the community through worship, service and discipleship.
What Grawood Believes
Grawood’s beliefs are grounded in the authority of the Bible, described as the inerrant and divinely inspired Word of God. It confesses one living and true God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus is affirmed as the Son of God, fully God and fully man, whose life included the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. The Holy Spirit is affirmed as the Spirit of God who enables people to understand truth and calls them to the Savior. Human beings are described as created in God’s image, fallen into sin and unable to restore themselves. Salvation, therefore, is the grace of God, received through personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and demonstrated in spirit and action.
Grawood observes the Lord’s Day on Sunday and teaches that worship and spiritual devotion should mark the day. It recognizes two ordinances: the Lord’s Supper, celebrated regularly in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice, and baptism, an outward expression of inner change administered by immersion under water. The church holds that salvation is a permanent gift and that Christians should spread the Gospel through words and actions. Stewardship is understood as giving God time, talents and material possessions. The church also states a responsibility to work for the orphaned, widowed, needy, abused, aged, helpless and sick, to oppose racism, greed and sexual immorality, and to uphold human life from conception to natural death.
Grawood’s statement on marriage is rooted in Scripture and defines marriage as the exclusive union of one man and one woman. It teaches that sexual intimacy belongs within that marriage and identifies adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography and attempts to change one’s sex as sinful. The same statement says Christians should act in love without compromising loyalty to Christ and biblical truth.
Sunday and Wednesday: The Rhythm of Grawood
Sunday: Study, Then Worship
Sunday begins at 9:45 a.m. with small-group study. At 11:00 a.m., the congregation gathers for worship in Bazer Memorial Auditorium. Absolutely Women, a Chosen Bible study for women of any age or status, also meets at 9:45 in the classroom behind the sanctuary. Chosen’s prayer ministry meets each Sunday morning to pray over the sanctuary. The church’s contact process includes a visitor form, and a connection card during worship helps adults begin finding an age- or interest-based small group.
Wednesday: Adult Groups and a Family Meal
Wednesday has several layers of activity. Morning Bible study and prayer begins at 10:00 a.m. A family meal runs from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., with registration at the Welcome Center. From 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., G.Y.M. gathers for youth, GKidz gathers for children, Ironmen gathers for men, and Chosen gathers for women. Adult groups meet during the same evening period, and Chosen’s Bible studies also run from 6:30 to 8:00. The arrangement makes room for adults to study while children and students have age-specific ministries alongside them.
Sermon series are also available through the church’s YouTube livestream or on Facebook Live.
Children Grow Up at Grawood
Wee Kidz: Preschool and Mother’s Day Out
Children begin at Wee Kidz, Grawood’s preschool program for infants through Pre-K 4. The program partners with parents and provides a safe place for children to learn about the love of Jesus through play and creativity. Three simple truths organize the teaching: “God Made Me,” “God Loves Me,” and “Jesus Wants to Be My Friend Forever.” A separate Mother’s Day Out program provides a supportive and intellectually challenging environment for children. The preschool’s stated aim is to partner with families so faith is learned in an age-appropriate setting.
GKidz: Biblical Foundations Through Childhood
GKidz carries those biblical foundations through childhood. Children memorize Scripture and learn core lessons modeled by Jesus: treat others the way you want to be treated, make the wise choice, and trust God no matter what. The ministry calls children the next generation and places them at the center of the church’s work, teaching them to recognize that they are the church and to share and reflect the Gospel wherever they go. A Friend to Friend team focuses on loving and supporting children who need additional attention. GKidz offers resources and opportunities for children and families to grow together in a home-like setting.
G.Y.M.: Faith for Middle and High School Students
G.Y.M., the Grawood Youth Ministry, concentrates on middle school and high school students. Trained adult leaders seek to assure students that they are not alone and that hope remains despite the challenges they face. Three truths shape every event, lesson and small-group conversation: “My faith is my own,” “I am an echo of Jesus in the world,” and “Love is my responsibility.” G.Y.M. also seeks to partner with parents rather than replace the influence of parents, combining the influence of adults with the influence of homes.
Groups for Adults, Men and Women
Adult Small Groups
Adult small groups are central to Grawood’s discipleship model. Groups differ by age and life circumstance, with the aim of helping people grow closer to Christ while forming relationships with others. The church encourages adults to become connected through the group that best fits their age, circumstances and needs.
Ironmen
Ironmen is the men’s ministry, built around service, Bible study, accountability, personal growth, fellowship and shared fun. Its recurring pattern is to serve together, learn together and play together. Ironmen meets on the Grawood campus every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., with a focused emphasis on brotherhood and becoming the men God created men to be.
Chosen
Chosen is the women’s ministry, created to bring women together for worship, prayer, discipleship and connection. Its Wednesday Bible studies run from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., and Absolutely Women offers a Sunday class for women regardless of age or status. Fellowships include Bingo, Bunco, movie nights, Crockpotsgiving and Socks and Sweets. Refuge is a women-only night of worship led by women. Chosen’s prayer team meets over the sanctuary each Sunday morning, and the ministry emphasizes prayer as a ministry in its own right. These groups reflect the church’s conviction that spiritual growth and relationships are meant to be developed together.
Serving Beyond the Church Buildings
A Widening Circle of Mission
Grawood describes missions with a widening circle. The “Jerusalem” of its mission model is the local community and city, where neighbors are to become part of the family of Jesus. “Judea” extends the focus to service and Gospel-sharing across Louisiana. “Samaria” reaches into rural areas and other states, while the “uttermost parts” are foreign mission fields around the world. The same model shapes ordinary congregational life: the church emphasizes making disciples, developing leaders who develop others and creating new ways to reach the community through worship, service and discipleship.
Pillows, Veterans and Practical Help
Service opportunities within the church include preschool, children’s and student ministries, adult small groups, worship, First Impressions, events and missions. The church also gives time to practical projects through its Pillow Ministry, which meets monthly to sew and stuff pillows for hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and nursing homes. Each pillow is given to a patient during recovery as a reminder that someone cares and is praying. Deacon Helping Hands has also repaired appliances and handled practical needs for people in the community.
Another regular expression of service is “Dinner with the Veterans.” A team regularly cooks, delivers and serves meals at a veterans home in Shreveport, then stays for conversation, activities and games with the veterans. Grawood presents this work as a way to honor veterans and give back to people who have served the country. Giving is described as more than money: the church names time, effort, talent and finances as ways to give, with secure online giving available through its giving service.
A Ministry Team Built Around the Church Family
Chris Willcutt, lead pastor, grew up at Grawood. He and his wife were both baptized, married and involved in vocational ministry there. His return to Grawood in 2010 was, he says, an answer to his prayer to see lives changed.
Jerrad Edmonds, family pastor, has a passion for camps and co-directs several in the area. His interests also include sports, movies and the stories of the people he meets around the church.
Calen Walker, worship pastor, began following Jesus at age seven and desires to use his gifts in everything he does. He met his wife, Kelsey, while attending East Texas Baptist University, and the two have served in ministry together.
Cody Lewis, youth minister, moved from Grawood’s children’s department into the youth department. That continuity gives him the opportunity to teach students he previously served when they were younger.
Magen Lewis, children’s minister, has been a member since childhood and has served alongside her husband in children’s ministry. Her goals include helping children trust God, make wise choices and treat others well.
Cassidy Richardson, associate minister to children and families, is also a public school teacher. She was baptized at Grawood at age eight, surrendered to ministry in high school and has held several ministry internships.
Brooke Venable, preschool director, began attending Grawood in sixth grade in 2006. She has served in youth, children’s and preschool ministry and surrendered to ministry in 2023, with the conviction that the church’s care for families should continue with others.
The Deacon Legacy
Grawood’s deacon body forms a major part of its institutional memory. It preserves stories of men who served as deacons, with repeated themes of practical work: welcoming people at the doors, visiting the sick, teaching children, driving students, caring for the grounds and supporting the mission. The church’s history of ministry is carried out through ordinary acts as much as public roles.
George Giddings, a community barber, was among the first members under the brush arbor and became the first deacon. Elbert Norris chaired the committee that built the first auditorium and, with his wife Rose, ministered to children through foster care and adoption. C. H. and Gerthie Maulden supported the Westwood mission during its difficult early years. William Leach helped build church facilities, began each morning with Bible reading and prayer, visited members who were hospitalized and gave away hundreds of Bibles. Carl Hawkins carried his witness into everyday work, preaching to inmates and distributing Bibles. J. R. Stephenson served the church buildings and planted flowers and trees that remain part of the campus.
Al Bogan was known as an all-time greeter and served for decades as an usher, offering a smile, humor and concern to people arriving at church. Jimmy Edwards paired a warm welcome with a willingness to pray for people in need. Norman Hyde was remembered as a gentle teacher and deacon. Jack Huffman became known for repairing appliances and lawn equipment, teaching Vacation Bible School, helping at the Toledo Bend camp and serving through Deacon Helping Hands. Chris Willcutt described him as someone whose actions embodied care for people. Their remembered legacy also includes Jim Rizer, a listener who prayed for others and served faithfully until his health limited him. Together, these lives made Grawood’s history concrete: worship was joined by welcome, repair, teaching, hospitality and mission support.
The Story Grawood Continues
Grawood’s history has moved from a lawn service to a multipurpose church campus, but its purpose remains recognizable. The church gathers for worship in Bazer Memorial Auditorium, studies Scripture in classes for every generation, feeds families together on Wednesday evenings, trains children and students, gives men and women places to belong and sends members into local and international missions. The deacon legacy of welcome and practical service continues alongside a clear emphasis on evangelism and discipleship. Grawood Baptist Church is centered on Jesus, relationships, families and leaders who reproduce leaders. Its most concise description remains its own: “Together we Live, Together we Love, Together we Grow.”