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Everybody is Welcome at Magnolia.
For over 100 years, Magnolia has served as a Progressive Witness of Jesus Christ in Statesboro and Bulloch County. At Magnolia, you find yourself in a warm, welcoming environment where you can experience real folks abiding in Community, loving each other, and loving God. We are a small congregation in a rural setting with convenient parking located near the front entrance for our first-time guests. Our Magnolia Ushers will be glad to help you find a seat for the worship service.
Beyond hospitality, Magnolia is committed to being Christian stewards of love. As such, we practice love, build the beloved community, and pursue social justice. We believe the overwhelming message of the Bible, in story after story, is that of God's radical love and welcome. Every time we think we know who's in and who's out, God does something to challenge those assumptions, unbind our hearts and minds from old ways of understanding, and draw the circle ever wider.
Our doors are wide open to people from all backgrounds, regardless of where they are on their spiritual journey. Together, we are striving to become a place where there's relevant teaching, heartfelt worship, honest friendships, constant prayer, and compassionate care. So whether you are a spiritual seeker who is just starting to ask questions about God or a committed Christian who wants to sink the roots of your faith even deeper, you can find a home here at Magnolia!
Enjoy Connection
THROUGH WORSHIP | Sunday services begin at 9:45 am. Before Worship, there is an engaging Sunday School that starts promptly at 9:00 am on the First, Second, and Third Sundays. Learn More.
THROUGH STUDY | Sunday School for all ages is on Sunday mornings at 9:00 am. Additionally, there is a Morning Devotion every Wednesday at 6:30 am. Just dial 717.908.1726 and use Passcode 1065315# to participate. Learn More.
THROUGH SERVICE | One of Magnolia's most important values is our mission to the Statesboro community. Magnolia's members are involved in a variety of church-based ministries and community partnerships. Feel free to contact our church office at (912) 225-3151 or via email with further questions. Learn more.
Impact Through Ministry
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We are #Rooted2Rise by Growing from the Ground Up!
“Simply put, wellness is the state of being in good health. From my experience, wellness is an intentional lifestyle and one of the highest forms of self-love.” — Rev. Dr. Neichelle Guidry
October comes with a word for us: Pay attention to your life.
Pay attention to your body.
Pay attention to your spirit.
Pay attention to your community.
Pay attention to what is happening around you.
To be #Rooted2Rise is to understand that flourishing does not happen by accident. Roots must be tended. Bodies must be cared for. Communities must be defended. Voices must be used.
SELF-CARE IS SACRED | Too many of us have learned how to survive while neglecting ourselves. We carry everybody else, absorb every crisis, postpone appointments, ignore warning signs, and call exhaustion strength. But wellness requires intention. Rest. Pray. Move. Drink the water. Protect your peace. Ask for help. Keep the appointment. Self-care is not indulgence. It is stewardship.
BREAST CANCER AWARENESS | This month, pink must mean more than a ribbon. It must mean awareness. It must mean screening. It must mean listening to our bodies and refusing to dismiss what concerns us. Know your body. Talk with your healthcare provider about appropriate breast cancer screening and your personal risk. Check on the women you love. Support those in treatment, those in recovery, and those carrying grief. Awareness without action is only decoration.
EARLY VOTING | YES, THIS IS BIG | Democracy also requires attention. Early voting in Georgia begins this month, and participation matters. Study the ballot. Learn the issues. Know the candidates. Make a plan. Take somebody with you.Our ancestors understood that citizenship was not passive. They organized, taught, marched, registered, prayed, sacrificed, and kept showing up because they knew silence leaves decisions to somebody else.
Do not surrender your voice. Use it.
Artist of the Month - Robert Jackson
This month’s featured artist, Robert Jackson, gives visual language to the same truth. His work celebrates Black beauty, dignity, memory, family, culture, and spiritual inheritance. In Beauti-Fro, four Black women stand with crowns high and eyes steady. They do not shrink. They do not apologize. They do not ask permission to be beautiful. In Zora, Jackson honors Zora Neale Hurston, whose work preserved the voice, humor, struggle, and brilliance of Black Southern life. Together, these pieces remind us that self-love, cultural memory, bodily care, and civic voice all belong to the same work of liberation.
Author of the Month - Dr. Melva Sampson
Our featured author is Dr. Melva Sampson, author of The Pink Robe Chronicles, a work that invites us to reflect deeply on identity, family, memory, faith, healing, and the stories that shape our lives.
We will continue that conversation at the Heart. Mind. Soul. Book Club on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, at 6:30 PM. Through an Afrocentric, womanist, and liberation lens, we will explore The Pink Robe Chronicles and consider how honest storytelling can help us name what has wounded us, recover what has sustained us, and imagine what healing can look like for ourselves, our families, and our communities.
So this October: Check your body. Check your peace. Check on your people. Check your ballot. Then act.
Keep the appointment. Make the call. Take the walk. Say the prayer. Cast the vote. Do not sleep through your own life. Do not ignore what your body is telling you. Do not surrender your voice. Be well. Be aware. Be heard. #Rooted2Rise
PROGRESS REPORT
As part of this vision, Magnolia proudly celebrates the completion of major renovations to our kitchen and fellowship hall. These renewed spaces, featuring updated appliances, cabinetry, flooring, plumbing, paint, and energy-efficient improvements, reflect our commitment to strengthening ministry, deepening hospitality, expanding outreach, and increasing our impact throughout the community for generations to come.
About Community
The Magnolia Missionary Baptist Church of Statesboro, Georgia, was organized on March 18, 1914. The pioneers of this Church journeyed from the Magnolia Missionary Baptist Church of Louisville, Georgia in search of a better life for their families. Magnolia of Louisville was organized on May 17, 1868, after the Civil War, but before the ratification of the 14th Amendment, which extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people.
For more than 100 years, this Church has stood as a physical representation of the hope and determination of the African American spirit. Magnolia has always served people through its Watch, Witness, and Worship.
At Magnolia, all our resources are utilized to provide a Christ-centered setting where people in this community can be redeemed to a personal relationship with Christ, reconciled to God and his people, restored to wholeness, to well-being, and revived for a full life involved in service to others.
At Magnolia, everyone is welcomed and affirmed!
Show Your Pride
Show your Magnolia pride wherever you go! Visit The Magnolia Shop to browse exclusive shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, and other items that celebrate our church’s spirit of faith, service, and community.
We are proud to partner with Black- and minority-owned businesses to source, produce, and distribute our products — keeping our ministry rooted in economic justice and community empowerment. Every purchase supports the ministries and mission of Magnolia Baptist Church.
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A CHARGE TO KEEP I HAVE
Magnolia Missionary Baptist Church is well served by the Reverend Dr. Francys Johnson. The pulpit of Sweet Magnolia has long provided community-wide leadership.
Over the last 26 years, Dr. Johnson has also exemplified the values of Christian service with humility before the Mount Moriah Baptist Church congregation of Pembroke. First Lady Meca Williams-Johnson’s particular success in youth programming and academic mentoring are assets to the ministries of Magnolia. Further, they are ambassadors of our faith community to the region and nation.