Welcome Home! You Belong Here! – We at Lanes Church don’t want that phrase to just be catchy words on a website. We sincerely want you to feel welcome here, and we hope in time that you will find this should be your church home – where you belong. We will do our best to make you feel welcome and help you belong as we learn about and worship God together, as we enjoy times of deepening friendship together, and as we follow Jesus together, both inside the church to help each other and outside the church to serve others and make a difference in people’s lives.
Pastor: Elder Dean Robbins
Brother Dean is from Savannah and graduated from Armstrong State there with a degree in history. After graduating he worked for a local business for fourteen years until becoming the Youth and Activities Director for the Statesboro Primitive Baptist Church in 1996. It was during his time in that position that he began to see the Lord leading him into pastoral ministry. In 2004, the Statesboro Church ordained him as a Minister of the Gospel, and he became the Pastor of Faith Primitive Baptist Church in Savannah, the church he grew up in and previously served as a Deacon there. In 2017, we (Lanes Church) called him to be our Pastor and he graciously accepted and has been here serving God and the Church well since then. He is married to Statesboro native, Teresa (Harville) Robbins and they have one daughter, Laura.
Personal thought from Brother Dean: “As I look back at my life, I see the Lord “ordering my steps” along the way (Psalm 119:133). First, in His gracious work in saving me from my sins. He blessed me with parents who saw the importance of being a part of a church family. And being raised in a local church, I was blessed with pastors who instructed me in God’s Word and taught me how to apply it to all of my life. God put people in my life who impacted me greatly, teaching me what it means to be a husband, father, church member and leader. Truly I can say, along with the Apostle Paul, “But by the grace of God, I am what I am…” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
Church History
Lanes Church was formed in 1831 in the ancient longleaf pine forests of southeastern Bulloch County, Georgia, near the Ogeechee River. In those days, settlement began along the rivers and creeks, and as was common, the name “Lanes Church” came from the church being near Lanes Creek.
The church location has moved several times through the years but always remained near the river and in the Stilson community. A sanctuary was erected on the present site in the late 1800’s and it still stands today (The Heritage Sanctuary.) A modern sanctuary was built in the 1990’s.
Through much of its history, the area around the church was populated mostly by farming families. In recent years the area has transitioned to being the home of a relatively few farm families (but still many acres of farmland and forests) and also being a good place for many to get away from the cities but still live close enough to commute to work.
Denomination
The church is a member of the Progressive Primitive Baptist denomination. “Primitive” here is an old-time usage of the word meaning “authentic” or “original.” In the early 1800’s some of the Baptists formed a separate denomination and chose the word “Primitive” to denote the continuation of “original” Baptist beliefs. “Progressive” means we have different practices than many Primitive Baptist churches in that we use musical instruments in worship, have Bible Study classes, and support youth camps, missions and charity organizations.