Middle Georgia native Plaxico leads active congregation at Byron United Methodist Church
BYRON -- When the Rev. Tyler Plaxico became pastor of Byron United Methodist Church in 2013, he was new to Byron but not to Middle Georgia.
And he was new to the active congregation but not to the spirit that's carried people there along through decades past.
Plaxico and his wife, Elisha, are both from Macon. He attended Stratford Academy through ninth grade, went to boarding school in Chattanooga and attended undergraduate and graduate schools in the Southeast.
He practiced law in Macon for two years after graduating from law school at Mercer University.
It was then he felt called to the ministry.
Growing up in Methodism, Plaxico began directing young adult ministries and was associate pastor at Riverside United Methodist Church while a full-time seminary student at Emory University's Candler School of Theology.
After graduating there in 2009, he was sent to serve in Wrightsville, about 60 miles east of Byron. After four years there, he came to serve Byron UMC and enrolled in a doctoral degree program at Mercer University.
He said Elisha is a nurse in Macon, where their two daughters attend school, so his life keeps him hopping between the two Middle Georgia communities.
"My greatest joy is helping guide people into a life-changing relationship with Jesus," Plaxico said. "Lives can be made different through God's grace. That fits in very well with pastoring here in Byron because I'd say this church is a very missional church. This church is much more outward focused than inward focused. It's an outwardly focused, family-friendly church and has been that over the past 20 or more years. That's a real testimony to God and to the people here."
He said the outward focus has brought growth but that the church has retained a small-congregation, family feel while becoming large.
"I guess we're a big church with a small church's heart," he said. "That gives us the advantage of being able to have the programming of a larger church but the heart of smaller one. I haven't seen anything quite like this anywhere else."
And, Plaxico said, growth hasn't come from "trying to grow."
"It's the fruit of obedience to the gospel message," he said. "That's how I see it. The gospel is clear that Christ lives in and through us and that through his power we're empowered to do the work of loving and serving others, reaching out to them. It hasn't been, 'What can we do to grow?' It's been, 'What can we do to love people and share the message of the gospel?' It's as a byproduct that we've grown."
He said it's also out of a simple desire to heed Jesus' call to love and serve others that Byron UMC has been able to cross racial, economic and other boundaries through the years.
He said an example of ongoing, thriving ministries that have come into being through gospel-obedience -- even sometimes at a risk to the church -- would include:
Camp Vinson Valley summer program, now in its 20th year. It serves up to 150 children a day all summer long, helping families and delighting children from Peach, Bibb, Houston and other counties with outdoor fun, crafts and Bible lessons
Tuesday and Thursday Good Samaritan ministry from 2-4 p.m. that offers food to hungry Byron families and limited assistance with utilities as well as the invitation into a prayerful relationships with Christ and the church as well as counseling and direction to assistance from other area agencies
Pre- and post-school programs for children
One of the area's largest children's ministries
Being Middle Georgia's Operation Christmas Child hub and processing centering for more than 15 years with 100 or more church volunteers handling 30,000-plus gift-filled shoe boxes on their way to needy children in many of the most troubled parts of the world. Some 1,000 to 1,500 of those come from Byron UMC itself
Many more outreaches to the community as well as discipleship ministries within the church for people of all ages.
"As far as our future, for us it's to continue doing what we're doing and to continue doing it for the reasons we're doing it. I'm sure God will continue to bless the fruits of loving relationships and service to Christ as he sees fit. We have no plans to do otherwise. And really, growth is the byproduct, not the goal."
Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com.
Address: 103 West Heritage Boulevard, Byron
Phone: 478-956-5717
Leadership: The Rev. Tyler Plaxico, senior pastor
Worship: 10 a.m. Sunday school, 8:45 and 11:00 a.m. worship
Website: www.byronunitedmethodist.com
This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 10:05 PM with the headline "Middle Georgia native Plaxico leads active congregation at Byron United Methodist Church ."