A Church Built Around a Simple Sunday Rhythm in Albany
Sherwood Baptist Church gathers on a single wooded campus on Whispering Pines Road in Albany, Georgia, where 309 charter members established the congregation in 1955 after First Baptist Church's Northwest Albany mission received land as a gift. Today the church holds one Sunday morning worship service at 9:30 am, then fills its buildings with Connect Groups for every age at 11:00 am. The motto on the front of its mission is short: "Sherwood Baptist Church exists to see people awakened by the gospel to a life of knowing Christ and making Him known."
Six pastors have shepherded the church since its founding. The current senior pastor is Paul Gotthardt, who was called in 2021 after Michael Catt retired following 31 years of service. The other lead pastors include Executive Pastor Jim McBride, Discipleship and Pastoral Care Pastor John Spencer, Connections and Local Missions Pastor Ken Bevel, Next Gen Pastor Tim Johnson, Worship Pastor Seth Brasher, Children's Pastor Mark Scardino, Student Pastor Dalton Moore, Communications Pastor Brian Kelley, Media Pastor Dan Mingo, and Sports and Recreation Pastor Philip Joyce.
Sundays at 9:30: What a First-Time Guest Finds
Visitors arriving on Sunday morning are directed to guest parking at the main entrance lot at Doncaster Drive and Acker Drive, with additional spaces in front of the atrium on Barnesdale Way. Handicapped parking sits in front of the Faith Building and in blue-cone spots near the fellowship hall entrance. Shuttles run to any of the church entrances for those who park further out, and members of the Connection Team stand at every door to point the way to the Worship Center. The Welcome Desk in the Atrium and an orange Connection tent at the main entrance are staffed before and after the service so guests can be met in person. The morning dress code runs from jeans to suits; the church invites everyone to come as they are.
Adults who are 60 or older can join a Connect Group at 8:15 am before the service. The 9:30 am Morning Worship is a single combined gathering with choir, orchestra, and praise team. Spanish translation of the sermon is available through headsets requested at the Tickets desk in the Atrium. After the service, Connect Groups meet at 11:00 am for preschoolers, children, students, college students, and adults of every age, with a Spanish-language Reconciliation class held in Worship 101.
The Source Bookstore and Cafe are open from 7:30 am to noon on Sundays (closed during the worship service). The cafe serves coffee, biscuits, pastries, and lunch options, and its indoor playground for toddlers through 5th graders is also open on weekdays.
Preschool and Elementary: Foundations Laid on the First Floor of the Joy Building
The Preschool Ministry on the first floor of the Joy Building cares for newborns through kindergarten every Sunday at 9:30 am and 11:00 am in Wee Care, and again on Wednesdays at 6:30 pm for Wee Care and AWANA Cubbies. Self-serve kiosks and a welcome desk handle check-in, with adhesive security tags linking each child to a parent. The preschool hallway is lined with oak and pine murals and six large paintings that tell the gospel story from Creation to the Resurrection - the church's way of walking parents and children through the message visually. Preschool Director Kristin Crosby oversees the program, and Lifeway curriculum shapes the lessons.
Children in grades 1 through 5 begin in the worship service with their parents at 9:30 am, then move to grade- and gender-specific Connect Groups at 11:00 am in classrooms on the second floor of the Joy Building. On Wednesday evenings from August through May, the Sherwood Kids Clubhouse gathers 1st through 5th graders for large-group worship, small-group Bible time, and recreation in the gym.
Two specialty ministries serve children with extra needs. The Buddy Ministry welcomes children with physical or mental differences in Joy 215 at 9:15 am and 10:45 am each Sunday. First Steps, held the first Sunday of each month in Joy 209, partners with parents whose children are beginning to ask questions about salvation.
Students: From Middle School Lunch Tables to MDWK on Wednesdays
Student Ministry at Sherwood runs in the Hope Building for grades 6 through 12, with Dalton Moore as Student Pastor and Sam Seitz as Student Ministry Associate. On Sunday mornings at 8:15 am, students gather for an introductory six-week course called This Is the Gospel Training, followed in the fall by Equipped, a leadership and discipleship track. At 11:00 am, boys and girls divide into grade-specific rooms for Sunday Connect Groups.
Wednesday nights belong to MDWK (Mid-Week). The student cafe opens at 5:30 pm, middle schoolers meet at 6:15 pm in Hope 106 while high schoolers hang out, and the schedule flips at 7:05 pm for the high school service in Hope 204. On combined nights the two groups meet together in Hope 204. Pick-up is at 8:00 pm for middle schoolers and 8:15 pm for high schoolers. MDWK Worship is led by the Student Worship Team.
Two flagship weekends anchor the year. PULSE is a middle-school retreat designed around identity in Christ. SLU 101, run through Student Leadership University, is a four-day high school leadership experience.
Wednesday Nights: Studies, Rehearsals, and ESL Under One Roof
Wednesday is the busiest night of the week at Sherwood, with adult Bible studies and rehearsals running simultaneously from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm in the same building. The Truth Project, the 13-lesson worldview study with Dr. Del Tackett, meets in its rotation. Future Glory by Ed Hindson is a 10-week study on end-times prophecy. Financial Peace, built around Dave Ramsey's biblical approach to budgeting and debt, meets during the same window. Explore the Word is the long-running prayer and Bible study class taught by Curtis. Sherwood Worship Rehearsal gathers the choir and orchestra in the Choir Room and Worship Center.
English as a Second Language (ESL) runs Wednesdays at 6:30 pm for adults learning English. Mi Experiencia con Dios, a 12-week Spanish-language discipleship study, runs in the same time slot.
Women's, Men's, and Senior Adult Life Stage Ministries
Women's ministry at Sherwood is built around three weekly touchpoints. On Sunday at 8:15 am, women 65 and older meet for Ruth's Shining Light in the Fellowship Center. At 11:00 am, women 50 and older gather for Abigail. On Tuesdays from 9:30 to 11:00 am, with childcare provided and workbooks sold in The Source, women work through Precept studies on Psalms, a Kelly Minter study on Ruth, and The Way of Wisdom. On Wednesday nights at 6:30 pm the women's studies continue with Breathe (Priscilla Shirer on Sabbath rest) and Forever For Our Good (a walk through Deuteronomy). The ministry also created a Bible-tagging resource that women can use individually or in groups.
Men's ministry offers a senior men's class at 8:15 am Sunday (Men Under Construction), a Wednesday night Lead Strong Bible study at 6:30 pm in the Fellowship Center, and Devoted to Jesus, a Thursday morning study at 9:00 am in the Hope Center at the Coke Plant led by Ken Bevel. The class walks through assurance of salvation, abiding in Christ, prayer, trials, and loving others.
Senior adults meet at 8:15 am for single-gender and couples classes (Encouragers, Men Under Construction, Ruth's Shining Light) and at 11:00 am for additional couples classes such as FaithSeekers, Living Word, Barnabas, and Logos, with age-graded groupings from couples in their 20s through their 80s.
Young Adults: Sunday, After-Service, and Thursday Nights
Young adults begin their week at the 9:30 am worship service in the main Worship Center, then move to the Forge Room (Faith 211) at 11:00 am for a Sunday Connect Group with table discussion around God's Word. A Thursday night Community Group at 6:30 pm shares meals, studies Scripture, and serves the community; the rotating location is shared through the Young Adult GroupMe chat. Tim Johnson, the Next Gen Pastor, oversees the ministry.
Worship: A Choir, an Orchestra, and a Wednesday Rehearsal
The Worship Ministry treats singing as a way of life, not just a Sunday activity. Choir and orchestra rehearse Wednesday nights at 6:30 pm in the Choir Room (Worship 107) and the Worship Center. Worship Pastor Seth Brasher leads with Worship Associates Anna Dunne and Trent Hester. The Sherwood Worship team has released original recordings, and the music is available on Spotify and Apple Music.
Local Missions: The Hope Center, Alpha Pregnancy Center, and Legacy Park
Sherwood runs much of its local outreach from three external sites. The Hope Center at the Coke Plant, on Pine Avenue, occupies an 80,000-plus-square-foot facility donated by Coca-Cola Bottling Consolidated and is directed by Corey Eason. The space hosts men's and women's Bible studies, food distributions, sewing and life-skills classes, and Serve Days. Alpha Pregnancy Center, led by Executive Director Jessica Sheets, ministers to women facing difficult pregnancies with counseling, alternatives to abortion, and the gospel, with affiliate locations in Donalsonville, Camilla, and Worth County. Legacy Park, on Old Pretoria Road, is a 40-acre sports complex with baseball and softball fields, soccer fields, a 110-foot cross, and a pavilion, run by Sports and Recreation Pastor Philip Joyce.
Other local partnerships include Albany Biblical Counseling (Director Gary Hadden), which offers one-on-one discipleship from Scripture; The Lord's Pantry, which distributes free groceries and clothing in Dougherty County; and Rehoboth Ranch, a Christ-centered residential refuge for men working through addiction. On designated Serve Days each month, hundreds of Sherwood members spread across Albany for prayer walks, food deliveries, and visitation.
Sherwood Christian Academy, the Residency, and Church Planting
Sherwood Christian Academy (SCA) is the church's K-12 school, offering an education integrated with a Christian worldview. The school began as Sherwood Baptist Christian School in the 1980s and was renamed Sherwood Christian Academy in the 1990s, with upper-grade classes now housed on Old Pretoria Road. SCA Eagles athletics is one of the school's public faces.
The Sherwood Residency Program (SRP) is a pastoral residency directed by Patrick Sebesta, with residents serving in ministry teams across the church. Sherwood's national and international missions arm, This Is the Gospel, directed by John LaGrange, has helped plant dozens of churches in cities from Portland to Miami to Israel. The church also runs an annual Meet the Need giving campaign to fund these missions and capital projects.
Beliefs and Heritage
Sherwood's doctrinal statement affirms the Bible as the wholly truthful, inspired Word of God and the sole and final authority for faith and practice. There is one God revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The church teaches the historic Baptist convictions: mankind created in God's image and fallen into sin; salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ; regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification; the resurrection of the just and the unjust; the church as a local body of baptized believers led by pastors and elders and served by deacons; believer's baptism by immersion; and the Lord's Supper as a symbolic ordinance. On the family, the statement holds marriage to be the lifelong union of one biological man and one biological woman and children to be a blessing from the moment of conception. The church belongs to the Mallary Baptist Association and the broader Southern Baptist Convention.
The Campus and the Building
The main campus at 2201 Whispering Pines Road includes a 2,250-seat Worship Center, a 300-seat Chapel, a Family Life Center with a gym, the Joy Building that houses the preschool and children's floors, the Faith Building with adult classrooms, the Fellowship Center, the Hope Building for student ministry, and The Source Bookstore and Cafe. A directional map is available for download. The campus sits across the street from the Lehman Strauss House, which hosts visiting guests, and near the Vance Havner House, which houses missionary families on stateside assignment. Spaces are also available for rental for weddings, funerals, and other events.
Giving, Media, and Staying Connected
Tithes and offerings can be given online through the SecureGive portal, placed in the offering plate during worship, or mailed to the finance office at the church address. Giving envelopes are available on request. Sunday services are livestreamed, and a sermon archive, sermon notes PDFs, and the Sherwood Podcast are available online. The church also has its own mobile app, available for iOS and Android, and shares content through Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, and Spotify.