Kidz Zone at Parables Church in Meridian.

Parables Church was planted in the fall of 2012. It was planted with the focus of teaching through Chronological Biblical storytelling.

In the Spring of 2014, Pastor Terrence Roberts was on a mission trip to Northwest Indiana, training church re-planters and church revitalizers how to use Biblical Storytelling in their efforts to reach people in their communities. It was during this mission trip that Pastor Roberts felt God strongly impress upon him to go back to Meridian and to do this work at home. The Lord also provided him with the church, Eighth Avenue Baptist Church.

Parables Church began sharing the campus with Eighth Avenue Baptist Church on June 1, 2014. Committed to building relationships with the members of Eighth Avenue, Pastor Roberts encouraged Parables members to begin to attend Sunday School with Eighth Avenue members. During this time he also started “Fifth Sunday Fellowship” a joint worship experience with both churches. For two years Pastor Roberts waited for instructions from God regarding what to do next. On Easter Sunday during the joint morning worship service, he once again felt God’s leading to move forward. Pastor Roberts wrote a letter to the Membership of the Eighth Avenue Baptist Church sharing a desire to begin the process of joining the two churches into one single church committed to the mission of reaching the lost in the Tuxedo community and beyond. This trial period was called “Unity Summer.”

During the end of the Summer, the leadership of Eighth Avenue Baptist Church approached Pastor Roberts about permanently combining the two churches into one church. Jan. 1, 2017, Eighth Avenue Baptist Church’s remaining membership officially joined Parables Church.

Replanting is still a relatively new concept in churches across the United States. But it is an opportunity to continue the rich legacy of an established church by infusing it with the vision and passion of a young or newly formed church plant. With the joining of the two churches, God gets the glory.

About the church:

Name: Parables Church.

Pastor: Terrence Roberts, five years.

Denomination: Southern Baptist.

Founded: October 2012.

Members: 50.

Address: 801 C St., Meridian 39301.

Contact Info: questions@parableschurch.com. website: ParablesChurch.com. 601-207-2232.

Service Time: Sunday 11 a.m.

Cheryl Owens coordinates Worship Site Profile, which appears Saturday in The Meridian Star. Recommend your church to cowens@themeridianstar.com.