“We exist to love people and equip believers with the Word of God.”

“Love People”

• Because we are co-image bearers of God; investing in the lives of people, helping them know they are loved, and teaching them to love.

Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.”

• Friend
  • Being a pillar of support and strength in all stages of life for others
    Prov 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born in difficult times.”
    1 Thess 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing."
  • Marker: Am I being a support for others?

• Investor

• Intentionally investing in the lives of others, to show them the love of Christ through your actions.

1 John 3:18 “Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in actions and in truth.”

1 Peter 4:10 “Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God."

• Marker:  Am I intentionally engaging in the lived of others?

• Coach
  • Leading and teaching others; mentoring them toward a life like Christ.

Ps. 32:8 “I will instruct you and show you the way to go; with my eye on you, I will give counsel.”

• Marker: Am I a mentor to others?
• Beloved
  • To show the love of God to others, because God first loved us

1 John 4:7-11 “Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.”

• Marker: Do I love like Christ?

“Equip Believers”

• Leading and reaching families to teach and live out the Word of God and be more like Christ

Ps. 78:4-8 “We will not hide them from our Children, but will tell a future generation the praiseworthy acts of the lord, his might, and the wonderous works he has performed. He established a testimony in Jacob and set up a law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children so that a future generation – children yet to be born – might know. They were to rise and tell their children so that they might put their confidence in God and not forget God’s works, but keep his commands. Then they would not be like our ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not loyal and whose spirit was not faithful to God.”

    Heb. 13:21; 2 Tim. 3:16-17

• Delighter
  • A desire to study and live out the Word; encouraged to know Jesus better.

Ps. 119:103 “How sweet your word is to my taste – sweeter than honey in my mouth.”

Ps. 112:1 “Hallelujah! Happy is the person who fears the Lord, taking great delight in his commands.”

• Marker: Am I studying and meditating on the Word?
• Abider
  • Walking in the Word of God; living out Christian values and morals

Ps. 119:1-2 “How happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk according to the Lord’s instruction! Happy are those who keep his decrees and seek him with all their heart.”

John 8:31-32: “Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

• Marker: Am I trusting God in all areas of life?

• Model

• Living out the Word of God so others can see through your actions, a life reflective of the gospel.

Matt 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

2 Thess. 3:9 “It is not that we don’t have the right to support, but we did it to make ourselves an example to you so that you would imitate us.”

• Marker: Is who I am a deterrent to attracting others to Jesus?
• Ambassador
  • To appeal to others – “Be reconciled to Christ”

2 Cor. 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, ‘be reconciled to God.’”

Matt. 28:19-20 “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

• Marker: When was the last time I shared the gospel

In the summer of 1954, Rev. L.B. Jones, pastor of First Baptist Church in Rockdale, appointed a committee to initiate the organization of a new church. There was an urgent need for a new congregation in town because of an increase in population. First Baptist, at that time, did not have the capacity to expand.

The deacons at First Baptist recommended to their congregation that their building fund be donated to the new church. The congregation unanimously voted its approval of this recommendation.

The first sunday school and church services were held on June 20, 1954, in the Rockdale Elementary School Cafetorium with 161 in attendance. Baylor ministerial student, Billy Grissom, delivered the messages for the day.

On June 23, 1954, the church ordained its first deacon: J.M. Coffey. The first person to be baptized into the church was Shirley Brown on September 11, 1955. The first wedding was on September 30, 1955, when Barbara Joyce Smith married George Weldon Swearingen.

On August 1, 1954, the church extended a call to Rev. A.L. Gatewood of Columbia, MS to serve as Meadowbrook’s first pastor.

Since then, Meadowbrook has taken several international mission trips, helped start a mission in Ukraine, helped start Place of Hope (pregnancy resource center), and many other projects.

Meadowbook is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention, and the Milam Baptist Association. 

We believe, as stated in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (New International Version). 

We voluntarily band ourselves together as a self-governing body of believers in Jesus Christ, equal in rank and privileges, operating through democratic processes under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, who are personally committed to sharing the good news of salvation to a lost mankind.

We believe God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God the Father is the sole creator of the universe, is all powerful, all loving, and all wise. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, by His death on the cross He made provision for our redemption from sin. He was raised from the dead, and ascended into Heaven, and is now the mediator between God and man, and will return in power and glory as the consummation of His mission. The Holy Spirit enables us to understand truth and righteousness; exalts Christ, convicts of sin, and cultivates Christian character and growth. He is our comforter, and it is through Him we receive the spiritual gifts by which we serve God through His church.

We further commit ourselves to the observance of the ordinances of believer’s baptism by immersion as a symbol of the burial of our old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus; and the Lord’s Supper as a memorial to the death of Christ and in anticipation of His second coming.