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By NOAH WORTHAM | Staff Writer

NORTH SHELBY – North Shelby Baptist church is readying to celebrate its 30th anniversary in the community.

North Shelby Baptist Church will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a worship service and lunch on Sunday, Nov. 5.

“It’s a big deal for the church,” Pastor Jared Cornutt said. “We have charter members who are still around who were here years ago when the church was started. I think it’s a neat chance for them to look back at the last 30 years and see what’s happened and see that the fruit of their labor was not in vain.”

Cornutt said charter members have seen the church grow from being in a strip mall next to a Domino’s Pizza to just a small church building into now, where North Shelby Baptist has a large building, 30 acres of land and the church has grown from a membership of less than 50 people to more than 600.

“They (the charter members) can’t believe that 30 years goes by as quickly as it does, and a lot of them have expressed how grateful they are that God has been faithful to this church,” Cornutt said. “That’s the most common theme I’ve heard from church members, is they’re excited that we’re still here 30 years later and that they’re doing more than they were doing 30 years ago and they’re really looking forward to the next 30 years to see what God’s going to continue to do because he’s been faithful to this church for so long.”

Normally, North Shelby Baptist Church holds two services, but for the anniversary it will hold one service and will have special videos from several Southern Baptist organizations. A former minister of music at the church will be returning to lead worship alongside other former ministers and Cornutt will deliver a message focused on the anniversary.

“I’m going to talk about what God has done in the last 30 years at our church (and) we’re going to look forward to the next 30 years,” Cornutt said. “And then we’re going to have a big lunch afterwards for everyone who attends to wrap the day up.”

Cornutt said the anniversary service is open for the public to attend.

Having joined the congregation as its pastor only seven months ago, Cornutt expressed that the church has lovingly welcomed his family.

“I can say with total sincerity and honesty that this church has welcomed us and loved us,” he said. “It really does feel like a family. The people know each other. It seems like every week we are at somebody’s house eating or they’re at our house.”

Cornutt said the church’s mission statement is “Loving God, loving one another, sharing Jesus with the world.”

“We really feel like it’s our job as a church to love each other,” Cornutt said. “We love each other because we are a church who has made a covenant together that we’re going to do that. We also love our community right here in Shelby County.”