Photo: Josh Applegate | Unsplash
At night, the worn sign looks like a beacon in the darkness out front of the modest, red-brick Mt. Hebron Baptist Church, in Hartwell, Georgia, US. It reads, “The tired. The poor. And huddled masses. Welcome home.” Pastor Grant Myerholtz is unconventional; his usual preaching attire is a T-shirt and jeans, with his double sleeves of tattoos showing. Myerholtz said, “We have the easiest job on the planet as Christians if we want to accept it. That is simply to love everybody.” His message of acceptance and inclusion is drawing a crowd to this tiny church. In an era when many houses of worship are struggling to sustain themselves, Mt. Hebron is flourishing. Barely a dozen people showed up for his first sermons in fall 2020; these days, sometimes 100 faces are looking up at him. His message is bringing people together across a wide spectrum of backgrounds and experiences. “In God’s kingdom, it doesn’t matter what color we are. It doesn’t matter what party we are. What does matter in God’s economy is how we treat one another. How we roar for one another,” said Myerholtz.
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