PERRY, Ga. — Life Church in Perry recently rebranded through a partnership with a local church, which will help them both expand their impact in the community.
Now, The Assembly currently has two campuses in Warner Robins and Perry. On Jan. 1, Life Church underwent an official name change and merged with the Assembly in Warner Robins, according to Tim McLaughlin, lead pastor at The Assembly at Perry. The partnership was initiated through conversations between McLaughlin and Darrell Yarbrough, lead pastor at The Assembly at Warner Robins.
McLaughlin mentioned that the Assembly at Perry had already been a community staple for 20 years, while Yarbrough had been lead pastor in Warner Robins for five years. When McLaughlin moved to the area, he discovered he and Yarbrough shared the same vision for the church.
“It felt like we could do more together. So I went to him and asked him to be my pastor, mentor, and he did that. And the more we talked, the more it just made more sense to come together,” McLaughlin said.
Yarbrough said McLaughlin has a heart for teaching and furthering the gospel.
“That kind of blended together, and we got to talking. And he said, ‘How would that look with both of us working this out?’ And so that’s kind of where it stemmed from,” Yarbrough said.
From there, they planned for Life Church to become The Assembly’s Perry Campus and become a satellite of the larger church.
“With his desire and his abilities, that worked out really well. So, that’s why we’ve come together. In talking with their leadership, they all agreed, which is amazing. It’s a miracle that you get all these people agreeing 100% to do it,” Yarbrough said.
Once everybody voted “yes,” the church went through legalities and finalized their partnership.
McLaughlin said Yarbrough has been pastoring for over 40 years and has grown the Assembly at Warner Robins from around 500 people to 1500. Yarborough’s heart for planting and growing churches was something McLaughlin resonated with.
“Hearing him talk about his heart to help smaller churches, help churches that were struggling or just needed direction and also planting some churches, I really liked the idea of that,” McLaughlin said.
Through the partnership, McLaughlin has the chance to run a Bible college at the church and continue his mentorship with Yarbrough.
“I love to preach but more than anything I love to teach. Coming together will give me the opportunity to teach, run the bible school and also be the campus pastor here in Perry. I’ll continue to do the things that I do here, and then continue to learn from Pastor Darrell as we grow and hopefully start new campuses elsewhere,” McLaughlin said.
And the transition has been mostly seamless, according to McLaughlin, who said the name change and some service structures are the only significant changes.
Yarbrough addressed the concern of the church growing too large, saying they are dedicated to maintaining a family feel. Those who like being a part of a bigger church can attend Warner Robins; those who want a smaller congregation always have an option in Perry.
“We want to add to the kingdom of God. Heaven’s gonna be a full place, and we want to put a lot more people there. So we hope that they see that we’re growing the family of God,” Yarbrough said. “I can tell you at The Assembly in Warner Robins, that campus, many people call it ‘the biggest little church they’ve ever been to,’ because of the family atmosphere.”
McLaughlin has personally been involved with the Perry Ministerial Association and headed up outreach to those unhoused, the police department, local high schools and the community. But he wanted to do more, something made possible by partnering with the Warner Robins campus.
“Because we’re a small church with limited resources, we haven’t been able to do as much as I’d like to do. And so now, with the merger, with coming together, we’ve got more resources, more people, and we can do more to reach this community.”
With more resources coming to the Perry Campus, McLaughlin can pastor the church more efficiently, Yarbrough explained.
“[In] smaller churches, usually the pastor has many hats he has to wear because he’s limited in resource. But now we can supply the things that he needs, so that he doesn’t have to wear so many hats. He can center in on what a pastor needs to center in on, and that’s hearing from God and presenting the gospel, communicating to families and finding the needs in the families,” Yarbrough said.
The churches offer several ministries, including a recovery ministry, small groups and services tailored for children, teens and adults of all ages, all to spread the gospel and the love of Jesus Christ.
“Jesus loves you. That’s our message. Jesus has a plan for your life. We believe in reaching up, reaching in and reaching out,” Yarbrough said. “That’s our goals. We reach out to heaven; we reach into our faith and we’ll reach out to serve others and to bring them to a saving knowledge of Jesus.”
The Assembly at Warner Robins is located at 6040 Watson Boulevard, Byron, while The Assembly at Perry is located at 100 Todd Road, Perry. For more information about the Assembly, visit https://theassemblyga.org/
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