ATLAS – Atlas Community Baptist Church has ministered for more than 150 years in this unincorporated community. With a new pastor, the congregation has taken radical steps to continue the tradition.
When they called Rev. Jim Combs to be their new pastor, they also voted to withdraw from the American Baptist Churches USA, become an independent church and reorganize their government to become the “north campus” of Faith Baptist Church of Waterford, where Combs has been senior pastor for 14 years.
“About six years ago, I started praying for a second campus for our church,” Combs said. “We had a lot of families that had been driving from this north area and other areas.”
The Atlas church had been without a pastor for some time, and called Faith Baptist last fall to inquire about an interim preacher. Combs had a vision for how the Atlas church could be helped, and he said, “Do you mind if I share a vision with you?”
On his first official Sunday, Feb. 2, there were 340 in attendance, and 14 families joined the “new” church.
Combs describes himself as “goal-centered.” While the Waterford congregation has grown to about 7,000, he said, “I’m not really interested in a megachurch.” He will continue to minister at the Waterford campus, but he will be in Atlas every Wednesday and will preach here on Sundays.
He’s seriously looking into the possibility of using a helicopter for his Sunday commuting, and that is an example of his emphasis for the new church ministry.
“I’m going to stir the pot a little bit,” he said, almost immediately urging the congregation to move forward with construction on Perry Road land the church already owns. He wants to see a youth center and gymnasium, and hopes before too long to have the church hire a children’s and youth pastor.
A Harley-Davidson aficionado, Combs plans to begin “Hogs In Ministry” for motorcyclists.
While the church will pay some of his expenses, Combs said he will take no salary from the Atlas campus, allowing the “financially stable” congregation to make progress with other projects.
“Our goal is to see a vibrant church that’s very effective in changing people’s lives,” he said. “The church needs a mind change. I want this to be a place that loves people where they’re at and who they are, so we can introduce them to the love of God.”
The gospel message is the center of his ministry philosophy, also Combs said, “I consider myself more biblical than Baptist.”
In a culture where many believe the church to be irrelevant, Combs seems anxious to prove them wrong.
“I’m convinced that the Word of God is the most practical book that’s ever been written,” he said. “The problem is, it’s not religious. Religion is basically man’s idea of how to get to God. I consider myself a non-religious man. I consider myself a man interested in developing a relationship with God.”