Todd Wright’s decision to become a pastor was a sudden one that surprised many people around him.

As a child growing up in Tallapoosa, Wright had never considered a life as a pastor. He had married his childhood sweetheart, Lisa Wood, after he graduated from Haralson County High School, and the two were living their dream on a 26-acre farm. They were young – he was 18 and she was 16 – and still in high school.

“I intended to be a mechanical engineer and was going to college to be a mechanical engineer,” Wright said. “On the way to college one day I had a very serious car accident that just sort of rocked my world, and God used that as, I guess, a mechanism to see life differently and my purpose and calling in life much differently than what I had previously anticipated.”

Just 18 months later, in 1984, he was ordained and started preaching at area churches. He took every opportunity he could to preach, but felt he needed more education and eventually decided to attend Luther Rice Seminary in Lithonia. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biblical studies while preaching.

“It was definitely a big, new adventure for us,” Lisa Wright said. “I grew up on a small, little farm and Todd did, too. So, our dream had always been when we got married we would have a farm.”

But God had different plans for them. They sold the farm to head off to school, their first move away from home.

Wright started out at his home church, Riverside Baptist, as an associate pastor. Then for about 18 months he served at One Way Baptist Church in Augusta. His first post as senior pastor was at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Jonesboro where he served for 10 years before coming to Midway Macedonia Baptist, where this month he and the church are celebrating his 25th anniversary as a pastor.

Initially at Midway Macedonia as associate pastor, his job description was whatever needed to be done – teaching Sunday School, picking up members in the bus, directing the choir, anything that was needed. Now the Rev. Wright’s ministry is more focused on leading the church, preaching and international missions work and that is a focus that has evolved over the years.

Midway Macedonia and its members are constantly involved in evangelization. His goal for the church is to keep it moving outward, beyond the church walls.

“When a person comes to know Christ, we’ve got to teach them that now their purpose is to help reach somebody else,” Wright said. “There’s a huge conflict and a real challenge there for the people who are inside the four walls of the church. Are we going to focus all our attention there or upon a community that’s in desperate need where divorce is common, drug addiction is common, immorality of all types is common?”

That challenge is one he’s preached to members of Midway Macedonia Baptist Church for years. Since 1987, Wright has been involved with international missions and leadership training. He is a conference leader for International Leadership Institute and also teaches leadership here in the community and the members have responded. They are involved in at least 100 missions a year all over the world.

Lesa Allison has been attending the church since 1997 and said Wright’s leadership has allowed she and her husband to grow in their faith.

“One of the things that I love about Pastor Todd is that he’s always challenging us,” Allison said. “To go out into the community and to be the hands and feet of Jesus, it kind of gives you a different perspective. It’s not just like you come and you sit in a building and you get fed and you go home and really there’s nothing in your life. My husband and I have seen just huge changes in our perspective on our community and others.”

That change is one of the joys of Wright’s ministry. He loves to see his church members discover their purpose in life and learn to share with others. It doesn’t matter to him if their purpose is to evangelize or to help others in need. It’s seeing that act of giving create meaning and passion in their lives.

“I mean, the whole purpose of Christ coming, He could have stayed in heaven, but He came and gave Himself away,” Wright said. “I believe the happiest people in the world are those who are investing and giving their lives away to make a difference to help somebody else.”

Lisa Wright marvels at the work her husband has done in the past 25 years. It’s amazing to her to see the passion that he has for his ministry. In the 13 years since taking over at Midway Macedonia, he has helped transition the church to a multi generational, multicultural church. The congregation attendance has grown from about 200 people to more than 1,700 each week. In 2008, the church was the fastest growing large church in the Georgia Baptist Convention.

“It’s just amazing to see what God can do with a simple boy because Todd was a very shy boy in school,” she said. “Just to see that once you say, ‘Here I am.’ You see what he does now, he stands in front of 1,800 people every single week and speaks. That’s a God thing.”

The growth is because of Wright’s passion and his ability to skillfully communicate with diverse groups of people. He tells life stories that people can relate to and he’s never afraid to share his own personal foibles.

“He’s a visionary leader,” said Sarah Pointer, a church member for nine years and creative pastor’s assistant. “He just adapts to where people are.”

Wright’s message, that God loves everyone at every point in their lives, is one he can get across to people because of his creative and personal speaking style, she said.

Five years ago, the Wrights were able to purchase another farm – 53 acres – in Roopville. So, they are again living on a farm, this time with their two daughters, Hannah, a sophomore at the University of West Georgia, and Olivia, a senior at Carrollton High School.

“We’re back to doing what our dream was to start with,” Lisa Wright said. “God was good to us to still remember our dreams and to let us enjoy them now.”

Midway Macedonia will be celebrating Wright’s 25th anniversary on Sunday, Sept. 27, at the 9:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. services.