Living Water Baptist Church may look like other churches in Oglethorpe County, but within is WorldReach Bible Institute, a school that gives its students the opportunity to delve deeper into the Bible at campuses in nine countries.
“I just never expected what the Lord was going to do,” said Derek Paul, executive director of WorldReach and pastor of Living Water. “I’m just more than blessed at what God has done through it.”
Established in 2007, WorldReach began at Prince Avenue Baptist Church in Athens.
In 2013, a new campus was opened at Living Water, and the inaugural class of 23 students began their study in Oglethorpe County.
Paul was one of the first professors when the Arnoldsville campus opened, and later headed the institute when headquarters shifted to Oglethorpe County.
From there, Paul and his team of directors collaborated with pastors around the world, and established WorldReach Campuses in El Salvador, the Philippines, Peru, Mexico, Guatemala, Uganda, Nicaragua and the United Kingdom.
Even in Georgia, WorldReach ministers to people of different cultures.
The Arnoldsville campus hosts multiple classes in Spanish, and a campus in Comer was opened to teach classes in Karenic languages (primarily spoken in Burma, also is called Myanmar, and Thailand).
Noel Duarte, director of Hispanic Ministries, said WorldReach provides the unique opportunity for Spanish speakers who might not have had the opportunity to pursue Christian studies to learn about how to study the Bible.
“Regardless of where you’re from or who you are, you have the opportunity to come learn,” Duarte said.
Students are able to take a variety of courses ranging from Bible study to preaching. Alumni have gone to become pastors and deacons at other churches, but Paul said church leadership doesn’t have to be the goal.
“We want anyone who has a desire to learn how to study God’s word,” Paul said.
Students said they have experienced spiritual growth through WorldReach, and have been given the confidence to minister to other people due to their courses of study.
“If I don’t take an opportunity that God presents me, what have I done to that person?” student and Oglethorpe County resident Cindy Taylor said. “That’s the way I think about it now, as opposed to before (WorldReach).”
Paul hopes WorldReach can not only continue to thrive in Arnoldsville, but also extend its reach across the globe. That commitment to a higher purpose is seen by Terry Griffiths, a former student turned director at World Reach.
He said the blessing of continued growth is due to WorldReach’s focus on serving God through others.
“That’s why God is blessing this ministry,” Griffiths said. “Because these guys are doing something right. It’s about Him, not about them.”