By Kyle Roberts
The five-year marker for The Springs has always been in the back of Pastor George Lee IV’s mind.
In fact, it was right around the same amount of time into a previous church-plant ministry, the Church of the Champions in Grambling, when their head pastor left to pursue ministry in a different state, which was a huge factor that ultimately led to the dissolution of the church.
“The five year mark has always been a checkpoint for my heart,” Lee said, recounting his time at the Church of the Champions. “I had wondered if we’d make it five years and what it will look like beyond that?”
Now Lee only sees a bright future for The Springs ministry, a multi-generational, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic church planted by Temple Baptist, where Lee is on full-time staff.
“God is faithful because we’ve established a foundation here that won’t just be for five years, it will be farther into the future,” Lee said. “It’s a reminder of where God has brought me and where God has brought my family.”
After officially opening its doors for its first Sunday-night service on March 31, 2019, the Springs has become a beacon of hope in the Barnett Springs community, nestled nearly Highway 80 between Ruston and Grambling.
“Facility-wise, we are not in a large building,” Lee said. “But God has been able to do so many things through this small space we have; we’ve been able to make an impact on the community.”
Just a few weeks after opening for service, Ruston would have an EF-3 tornado rip through the town in the middle of the night, which heavily impacted the homes around The Springs, leaving nearly every household without power in the Cypress Springs and University Hills neighborhoods.
Miraculously, you could say, the only building that never lost power in the aftermath of the storm was The Springs.
“We became a disaster relief hub and helped provide thousands of meals to folks in our community,” Lee said. “Volunteers would come into meet and help serve in the community. God showed me throughout that process that it’s not about how big of a building you have or how many people you have: it’s about whether or not those that are there have committed to seek (Him) and follow (Him) wholeheartedly.
“If that’s our barometer, then God is going to do even more.”
Crowded into Roma’s party room on Wednesday, nearly 30 members of different backgrounds, ethnicities and generations shared a meal and recounted how the last five years of ministry have had impacts on their individual lives. Members of all ages and even students from overseas talked about how they feel at home at the church.
“It’s one thing to try to describe The Springs to somebody,” Lee said. “It’s entirely different when you experience The Springs and see so many countries and cultures represented in our faith community. There’s an atmosphere of authenticity and folks are receptive to that. Other ministries are taking note of what we’ve done and are challenged by that– not from a sense of competition, but in the sense that this is what heaven will look like. They’re asking us how to get there and what to do differently so their congregations and worship will look for like heaven.”
Mary Benefield and her husband Mike have been coming frequently since 2021 after serving for years at a sister church in Ruston, as well as missionaries overseas.
“We felt God pulling us toward The Springs,” Benefield said. “It’s been a blessing to us in all areas. Having lived overseas, having a multi-cultural ministry has made a real difference. We feel like its a glimpse of what heaven will be like.”
After the closing of The Church of the Champions, Donte Reddick and his family relocated to Atlanta for a fresh start. It would not be long, however, before Reddick felt the same call as Benefield to come back and be part of The Springs with Lee, who he is very close to.
“The Lee’s are like a second family for us,” Reddick said. “When we left Ruston, we were hoping to find a church like (The Church of the Champions), because it was a church committed to discipleship and putting God first. I believe The Springs is committed to these things, as well.”
Reddick also shared how the community of the church has ministered to him, his wife and children.
“We feel like we can go through anything because we have a community praying for us,” Reddick said. “We have had overwhelming love and support, and it’s contagious. You want to go where you feel the love of Christ.”
Not lost on Lee is the fact that literal five-year service will be Easter Sunday, a day devoted to the resurrection of Jesus Christ that all believers celebrate as their eternal hope.
And the hope is that there will be many more milestones for The Springs to celebrate well into the future.
“We still want to reach more of our community,” Lee said, looking forward. “There are still folks who are not plugged into a church, and we want to reach them. We don’t want to grow just physically, but we pray that we will grow spiritually and be a church of disciples and devoted followers of Christ.”
The Springs will hold its five-year service on Easter Sunday at 1601 South Barnett Springs Road in Ruston.
