Pastor resigns to start over

If everything works out the way Pastor Eric Taylor wants it to, the prototypical church of the 21st Century will have gotten its start in his living room.

On Feb. 3, Taylor turned in his letter of resignation to Oakey Grove Baptist Church in Evans.

His new calling is to create a church in Columbia County - one that crosses racial and denominational lines.

"People have been wanting to break out of the tradition," Taylor said. "We are very excited about breaking the racial barrier."

The first order of business for Taylor, and his 10 or so followers, was to find a location to worship. A few minutes of moving living room furniture provided ample space.

Next was a name for their church .

"We are going to call it Emanuel Faith Tabernacle," he said.

Along with some new members, Taylor said some members of Oakey Grove made the move with him.

The reason for leaving the church he had led since 1994 was simple: God told him the time had come to move on.

Since early February, Emanuel Faith Tabernacle has grown from 15 members to more than 70, Taylor said.

"It has been awesome," he said. "We have people coming from downtown Augusta."

The growth has been so significant, he will use the Martinez Community Center for Sunday worship.

"We'll be there for the next two or three months unless we outgrow it," Taylor said.

If the attendance continues to grow at its current pace, Taylor said he is looking at a third location for his start-up church.

Taylor said North Belair Presbyterian will be closing it's doors later this month. If he is able to secure that building, he will move his new church down the street from his old one.

"Getting property on North Belair Road is hard," he said. "That's where we want to be."

At Oakey Grove Baptist, Taylor was able to create several ministries. Under his guidance, the church added youth, senior, computer and health care groups and Christian Education Ministries.

This is a trend Taylor said he wants to begin with his new church.

"We really want to focus on the youth," Taylor said. "There is a lot of work we can do there."

To help him reach the area youth, Taylor wants to teach middle school social science in Columbia County.

Regardless of where he takes his church, the goals will be the same.

"We want to show that God's kingdom is open to everyone," Taylor said.