Jim Holmes
On October 5, 1976…at about 7:30 pm…on the campus of LSU…I knelt down beside my dorm room bed and prayed to receive Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. I was 21 years old at the time, and I had no idea at how vastly my life and eternity would change. I just knew that I was lost and that Jesus was the Savior of the world and that I wanted Him in my life. It is not an overstatement for me to say that not once since that wonderful day have I ever “gotten over getting saved!”
I was born on July 17, 1955 in Augusta, Georgia and I grew up in Aiken, South Carolina. My parents were Frank and Mary Louise Holmes. They raised my brother and me in a Christian home, and we were active members of St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church located in downtown Aiken. My parents owned and operated a jewelry store during my growing up years. We grew up next to a public golf course, and my father introduced me and taught me how to play golf. Golf would become a huge part of my life, and our Lord would later use golf to bring great blessings into my life.
Upon graduating from Aiken High School, I went to LSU in 1973 on a golf scholarship and graduated in 1977. It would be during these years that I would profess Christ as my Savior. Upon graduation I played professional golf for three years.
In 1980, I met the love of my life, Mary. She was the ladies golf coach for LSU, and we were married in May of 1981. Shortly afterwards, we returned together for me to play another year of professional golf, and during this time the Holy Spirit confirmed God’s call upon our lives for ministry. We moved to Wake Forest, N.C. where I attended and graduated from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree in 1986.
We have four grown daughters, two sons-in-law, and two grandsons: Maggie (Jesse), Jamie, Sarah (Sean) and Abbie. We have been blessed to serve five churches: Enon Baptist Church in Oxford, N.C.; Decatur Heights Baptist Church in Decatur, Ga.; Benton’s Crossroads Baptist Church in Monroe, N.C.; Harvest Baptist Church in Monroe, N.C.; and currently Helen First Baptist Church in Helen, Ga.
My life verse is Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any man hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him….” My ministry model is the servant model of Jesus. My deepest desire is to follow Him and to model His example of sacrifice and service within and through His Church…the Body of Christ. My constant prayer is for all that I meet to see Jesus in me and for Him to do the greatest work of drawing all men unto Himself.
20 years at HFBC
On July 1, 2020, HFBC celebrated 20 years with Pastor Jim Holmes as Lead Pastor. Due to Covid-19 we were unable to have an anniversary party, so we celebrated during a sweet Sunday service on June 28. .