Today we’d like to introduce you to Deedee Muehlbauer.
Hi Deedee, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Mt. Gilead Methodist Church is located in Woodstock, Georgia, about 45 minutes north of Atlanta. Presently, the congregation averages 25 people each Sunday. Some of our oldest church members remember coming to church in horse drawn wagons. One church member, whose property used to be adjacent to the church, remembers going in a horse drawn wagon to downtown Woodstock to have their cotton milled. It would take them all day to go the seven miles and back. Woodstock was once a rural area but is now a booming suburb of Atlanta.
A great great granddaughter of one of the previous pastors used family records to remember the history of Mt. Gilead. She spoke at the church in 2019 and again in 2022 to tell about the history. Originally, a 3-acre tract was purchased for $5 in 1843. An additional acre was added in the 1950s to create the 4 acre tract the church now occupies. The earliest recorded pastor was H.P. Pitchford in 1845, an itinerant pastor who served for at least a year. The church met on the church grounds, but it wasn’t until 1882 that the first church was built. Between 1952-1953 the old church building was taken down to build the new church building. Many materials from the old church were used to create the one today. The first service in the new sanctuary was on Easter Sunday, 1953. From 1956-1958, new Sunday school rooms were added off of the back of the sanctuary. In 1972, another addition was added for Sunday school rooms, bathrooms, a partial basement, and kitchen. In 2024 Mt. Gilead renovated the sanctuary and exterior as well as restored the original wood floors. They have also renovated most of the addition from 1972 and will renovate the rooms off of the back of the sanctuary soon.
Attendance has moved in peaks and valleys. A picture from the original church building shows fifty people standing in front of the church. Approximately 70-80 people attended Mt. Gilead during the 1980s but declined once the children grew up. Mt. Gilead has struggled since the 1990s with attendance. It hit all time lows during Covid to between 10-15 people but has begun to climb over 20 this year with a record attendance recently of 75 in August of 2025 where we had five people baptized. We have been praying for God to move in our church. We see God’s Spirit moving in ways that we have not seen in quite some time. Love abounds among the members and it shows when we have visitors that continue to worship with us. Through the Holy Spirit the church family continues to grow and become more involved in worship, outreach and missions. We have been praying for God to move, and we can see the evidence of that.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s never a smooth road for a church. Attendance ebbs and flows. Involvement ebbs and flows, and pastors change; but Mt. Gilead has remained firm. The church began in 1843, and God is active and using us to continue to reach our community.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a church that experiences community. We emphasize God’s Word. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to follow God’s will and we embrace a desire to reach the world for Jesus. Even though we
are a small church we are big on community and the Lord. There are some large churches in our area
that are doing some great things in our community. If you attend one of these churches, you can
worship God, but miss out on any real sense of community. Mount Gilead Methodist Church is a place
where you are warmly welcomed and known. Recent studies show that people may have thousands of
friends on Facebook, thousands of followers on Instagram, a cell phone full of contacts, but feel extremely lonely and disconnected.
We exist to glorify God to make disciples by building and serving our community, to connect them to the of Jesus.
We offer Life Groups at 10am and a blended worship service at 11am on Sundays. We have a youth program that meets on Wednesday nights.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
The age of the mega church is on the decline. According to recent polls, more people are coming back to church, but they are looking for community and connection. They are looking for
something real. Even though the digital age provided common interests to come together, it is the face-
to-face interactions that are paramount for true connection. We are seeing that Faith-based movies
continue to make an impact in our entertainment industry, and big-name personalities are expressing
their faith in Jesus at a growing rate. Not too long ago, a movie called “God’s Not Dead” came out; the
church isn’t dead either. The Holy Spirit is alive and well and moving throughout Christianity. We feel the Holy Spirit moving at Mount Gilead Methodist Church, and it’s exciting to be a part of that. Mt. Gilead is here and ready to help people get connected
and experience the love of God.
Contact Info:
- Website: mgmethodist.com
- Youtube: @mgmethodist
Image Credits
Russell Holcombe Deedee Muehlbauer
