For Rockdale Baptist Church, the search is finally over.

This Sunday, the church’s pulpit will be filled with a permanent senior minister for the first time in two years when Pastor Billy Moss preaches his sermon.

Moss, a Cobb county native, said a friend of a friend recommended the church to him. A little over a year ago he began to feel a bit restless, and he believed God was calling him to a new challenge.

"I’m excited to get a new assignment from God. I tell people to always be open to what God wants for you…if I’m going to preach it, I have to live it," he said. After prayerful consideration, his wife Wendy, a part-time special education teacher to orthopedically-impaired children in Cobb County, was on board. They plan to move with their three children, ages 12, 9 and 15 months, to Rockdale County once their home in Marietta sells.

The six member search team, made up of three men and three women representing a cross section of the church, is confident they finally found their man. After receiving some 500 resumes for the position, search team member Jimmy Hicks said Moss’ energy was the first thing that stuck out to them. "He’s a very dynamic individual with a lot of excitement and energy that will be contagious to the congregation," he said.

Another plus in Moss’ column was his experience leading a church during a growth campaign. He doubled membership and oversaw the building of a new worship center at Noonday Baptist Church in Marietta, where he presided for eight years. "His vision has an emphasis on the community and bringing in the lost. His challenge will be changing the lip service into action," said Hicks.

A graduate of Kennesaw State University who earned his Master’s of Divinity from the Decatur campus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Moss was called to the ministry when he was just 18. During his undergraduate years, he was the youth minister at Burnt Hickory Baptist Church. While in seminary, he ministered to college students and singles there. With RBC’s roughly 1,000 members, Moss’ initial challenge will be getting to know people and identify talents.

Moss’ first sermon series will be "The Perfect Church," based on the early church in the second chapter of Acts when "there were no obstacles and none of the baggage a church has after a long period of time."

So far in his career, Moss said God’s calling for him has been to "older, established churches to help breathe new life into them."

The method Moss plans on employing to achieve his goals is love. "The most effective way to reach people is to love them and build relationships with them. Dog responds to love, how much more so will people if you just love on them and make the effort. Church growth is not complicated, but it’s brutal hard work. I’m excited about what God is doing, and that I get to be a part of it," said Moss.

Rockdale Baptist Church is located at 1295 Smyrna Rd. For more information, call (770)483-7628 or visit www.rockdalebaptist.org.