J. M. Childers

Dr. John Murry Childers became pastor of First Baptist Church of Washington, Georgia on  January  1999. His desire is that First Baptist Church would become a vibrant missions-sending church. He agrees with the statement that the strength of the church is determined not by its seating capacity, but by its sending capacity. After several years of service to the church John was called by the South County Baptist Church in St. Louis, MO, and accepted the call on November 1, 2005.

Biography of J. M. Childers

John received his Bachelors degree in Journalism from the University of Georgia in 1983. While at UGA, he was Sports Editor for "The Red and Black" student newspaper. He continues to enjoy sports. He earned a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas in 1987 and a Doctor of Ministry degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 1998. John's doctoral emphasis was on Spiritual Leadership. "One of the greatest needs in the church today," John says, "is strong, servant-driven leadership".

Before coming to Washington, John served as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Vienna, Georgia for six years. His greatest memory of that time was watching FBC of Vienna give birth to a new Hispanic Baptist Church in Vienna. The Iglesia Bautista Filidelphia now averages approximately 100 in worship each Sunday. John also served as associate pastor of the First Baptist Church of Monroe, Georgia

About SCBC
Since leaving Washington, John has been pastor of South County Baptist Church, which began in 1988 with 238 charter members. We moved into our present building in March of 1994. South County Baptist Church is affiliated with the St. Louis Metro Baptist Association, the Missouri Baptist Convention, and the Southern Baptist Convention.

Since its founding in 1988, South County Baptist Church has been “a People of Vision and Faith”. We believe that God has called the church to set the pace for our culture by intentionally building bridges to connect with our community and by living lives which reflect genuine Christ-likeness in all we do.

Our ministry is focused on meeting the needs of individuals and families seven days a week. Our Bible Study and Worship are geared for all ages with an emphasis on Biblical preaching and quality Christ-focused worship. Sunday Morning Small Group Bible Study is offered for everyone from bed babies on up.

We offer a vibrant AWANA ministry for children and preschoolers on Wednesday nights; and we have two MOPS groups which provide support and encouragement for mothers of preschoolers.

SCBC’s active sports program includes softball and basketball for children and adults; and an archery ministry called Christian Archers of Missouri (CAMO).

South County continues to build on our dynamic youth ministry as well as an exciting ministry for senior adults.

Our Women’s Ministry meets the needs of women of all ages through the ‘Woman to Woman’ mentoring ministry, a dedicated women’s prayer ministry, an annual retreat, and a variety of seasonal events designed especially for women.

We are happy to share our facilities with both the Filipino-American Christian Church (SBC) and a brand new church called CrossPointe which meets at 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays at SCBC.

In our first two decades, SCBC has helped plant at least seven churches throughout the greater St. Louis area. In addition to FACC and CrossPointe, we are currently working with The Refuge, a one-year-old church in the growing area of Antonia, MO. We also maintain an ongoing ministry at the Greentree Manor Mobile Home Community near Arnold, MO.

Our outreach to immigrants includes free English classes on Wednesday evenings along with partnerships with multiple ethnic ministries including Arabic, Bosnian, Vietnamese, and of course our Filipino ministry. We have maintained an active furniture ministry for more than a decade, and support Feed My People ministries with donations of food and clothing