‘It was unbelievable what God did through Andy’s life.’ Columbus pastor dies from COVID-19
A Columbus minister who served his congregation for 43 years and led the establishment of more than 500 pregnancy centers nationwide to prevent abortion has died from COVID-19.
The Rev. Andy Merritt, senior pastor of Edgewood Baptist Church, died before sunrise Sunday morning at Piedmont Columbus Regional’s midtown campus, where he was hospitalized for more than 20 days due to the coronavirus, deacon Linwood Spires told the Ledger-Enquirer.
Merritt was 68.
Visitation will be Thursday from 6-8 p.m., and the funeral service will be Friday at 2 p.m., both in the church sanctuary, 3564 Forrest Road. The service will be streamed live on the church website, edgewoodga.com.
“It was unbelievable what God did through Andy’s life, not only on the local level but throughout our nation,” Jimmy Blanton, missionary for the Columbus Baptist Association, told the L-E. “Countless — just countless — babies have been saved during his ministry and because of his ministry.”
Spires recalled the time in the 1970s when Edgewood’s leadership decided to create the Crisis Pregnancy Center, which locally is called Sound Choices.
“That was a risky thing,” he said. “It was a big step to step out, but over 50,000 babies here locally have been saved by that one ministry. And not only that, there have been more than 500 centers started across the nation as a result of Andy Merritt.”
In fact, Spires added, Merritt was speaking a pro-life conference in Orlando when he became ill.
“That was his heart, his passion,” he said. “That was his calling. He poured his life out for that. … What a better way to go than doing what God called you to do?”
And he walked his talk. Merritt and his wife, Kathy, had 10 children and 25 grandchildren.
“He invested a lot in his family,” Spires said. “He was very focused. … He believed in living your Christian faith out. He was that kind of man. That was his testimony.”
Merritt came to Edgewood in 1977 and became the 388-member church’s senior pastor in 2002, following the retirement of the Rev. David Howell.
Blanton noted Merritt’s adult children are all active in their churches, including son Jonathan as an associate pastor at Edgewood and two sons-in-law as ministers at other Columbus churches.
“His children have grown up to be Godly children and to marry Godly spouses,” he said, “and they are having a tremendous impact on our community.”
This story was originally published October 12, 2020 at 4:46 PM.
