LYNN — Greg Byrd is planning to start a church in Lynn, but he is not waiting for it to open to spread the good news — or the bagels.
Byrd, with help of a small army of volunteers, coordinated a Love Your Teacher event Wednesday in which bagels were delivered to all Lynn Public Schools for teachers to enjoy before their full day of professional development.
Tony Rosenfeld of One Mighty Mill sold Byrd the bagels, elected officials contributed cream cheese, and more than two dozen volunteers delivered 2,400 bagels by 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
“Lynn is Lynn,” said Byrd, who moved to the city with his family in 2024. “If you’re doing something good, people want to be a part of it. It’s cool to see the community come together.”
Byrd, a Patterson, N.J. native, was making a decent living working in a warehouse in Pennsylvania, and his wife, a dental assistant, was pregnant with their third child. He said he felt a higher calling, which was confirmed when he went to a men’s retreat. In 2023, he started driving to Wakefield on the weekend to attend services at Restoration Church.
That solidified his next move.
“We sold the house, and there was no back-up plan,” Byrd said. “I had financial success, but this is about people having eternal success.”
Byrd plans to open Navigation Church next September. He is in the process of building a team and securing a location.
“We seek to provide hope for those on the journey,” he said. “I think the greatest hope is found in Christ.”
