I was asked to write a news release for West Rome Baptist Church about the calling of Jarrod Roberts as pastor on May 4, 2008. The text from that release follows.
ROME, Ga....West Rome Baptist Church named Rev. Jarrod Roberts as its pastor Sunday. Roberts had served as the church's interim pastor since July, after replacing Dr. Glynn N. Stone, Jr., who moved to Longview, Texas to become senior pastor at Mobberly Baptist Church.
Roberts joined West Rome Baptist's staff as associate pastor in 2002, and has been responsibile for overseeing, among other ministries, WRBC's college, young adult and small group ministries.
"I'm very excited to be a part of what God is doing here at West Rome Baptist Church," Roberts said. "I know God has huge plans, not just for this church, but for Rome and Floyd County."
"God has called my family and me here, and over the past six years this has become home," he said. "It's become very personal to me that everyone in Rome and Floyd County knows that no matter what has happened in their life, good or bad, God has a plan that's bigger and better for them than any plan they could have for themselves, and that they can have a relationship with God."
That message is gaining momentum. In the past nine months, West Rome Baptist has seen 134 new members and 73 baptisms.
Roberts also serves as the lead pastor at XL, which meets Sundays at 6 p.m., at the former Church at Northside building, located at 3006 Martha Berry Highway, just north of Mount Berry Square Mall. He will continue in that role, as well.
Prior to coming to Rome, Roberts served as the minister to college students and single adults at Fielder Road Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas. He was licensed to the ministry in 1990 at Central Baptist Church in Bryan, Texas, and ordained in 1994 at Highland Terrace Baptist Church in Greenville, Texas.
The Greenville, Texas native is a 1990 graduate of Texas A&M University and earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1994 from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.
Roberts and his wife, Tiffany, have three daughters: Taylor, 7; Jordan, 6; and Makenzie, 18 months.
