A Nazarene church in the Newnan-Peachtree City area was the dream of a gentleman who was transferred with his job from Akron, Ohio to Newnan, Georgia. When he was unable to find a Church of the Nazarene, Loel Handley visited several churches of other denominations but never felt at home in any of them. He called the Georgia Nazarene Church District Office to ask if there were any plans to organize a church in this fast growing area.

About that same time, Rev. Ernie Hinson, pastor of the Manchester Church of the Nazarene, asked his congregation to become involved in helping to plant a new church. He took his idea to the District Home Mission Board where he received permission to study the feasibility of the organization of a church in the Coweta/Fayette area.

Meanwhile, another transplanted longtime Nazarene, Johnnie Mae Welch, attended the Georgia District Camp Meeting where her former pastor, Rev. Jack Dell, introduced her to Rev. Hinson. They discussed the possibility of her opening her home for Sunday afternoon meetings. After much prayer, the meetings began at her home in Newnan.

Bruce and Tracey Holman attended those meetings and agreed to have Sunday School and services in their home when Johnnie Mae was in school in Athens every weekend. This continued for several months. Even though there were only four to six people in attendance, they all knew that God had a special plan for them.

While this was happening, Rev. Theo Carter, who had just retired from the ministry for the second time, began to feel that God still had work for them to do. He and his wife began working with the fledgling group.

God was still working out his plans. The Peachtree City Church of God, which had grown to the point that they were stretching the limits of their church on Highway 34 between Newnan and Peachtree City, had their church for sale and was involved in the building of a new facility.

The Carters’ son, Danny, noticed the “For Sale” sign and contacted his father. After looking at the church and talking with its pastor, Rev. Carter, who served on the District Home Mission Board, suggested that the tiny Nazarene group look into the possibility of having Sunday afternoon services and Thursday evening services in the Church of God building.

With the approval of the Georgia District, contacts were made to Nazarenes who lived within a 25 mile radius of the church. An agreement was reached with the Church of God pastor to share the facility with them. Now the group was actually meeting in a church with Sunday School at 2:00 p.m., followed by a worship service. Thursday evenings saw the group meeting for mid-week services.

God began blessing the tiny group. With many prayers of thanksgiving, the excited Nazarenes saw the attendance grow to 15, then 25, then 35. How wonderful to see the birth of a new congregation!

Soon, an offer to purchase the building was accepted by the Church of God and the Nazarenes moved into the orange shag carpeted sanctuary with the yellow windows. It was completely beautiful to the group because God had provided it for them.

On April 14, 1996, Dr. Harold Latham, the Georgia District Superintendent, officially organized the church with 23 charter members and 7 children. The following appointments were made by Dr. Latham:

Rev. Theo Carter - Pastor
Dirk Steenbergen - Sunday School Director
Jodi Williams - NYI Director
Loel Handley - NMI Director
Mel Moreland - Treasurer
Bruce Holman - Trustee
Donna Williams - Steward

The church had one organized children’s class and one organized adult class in Sunday School. With Rev. Carter’s leadership and God’s blessings, however, both Sunday School and church attendance grew.

As more and more people joined the fellowship, several building improvements were made. New carpeting, an enlarged platform area, and padded pews made a huge difference in the appearance and the comfort level of the sanctuary.

What a thrill as new babies were dedicated. Landon Steenbergen was born to Dirk and Ruth in July 1997. Gary and Kristi Huff presented Sydney Huff just a few weeks later. Since that time, the Lord has blessed our church family with many additions to individual families. The church nursery has always been a thriving, busy place and Baby Day is big event in the yearly church calendar

In June 1998, after suffering a heart attack, Rev. Carter decided that it was again time to retire. The church called Rev. Steve Dennis, his wife, Kelly, and children, Lauren and Easton. He assumed the pastorate in September of 1998. The church was fortunate to have the Carters continue as members.

From June 1998 until his resignation in May 2000, Rev. Dennis led the church through continued growth in membership and additional building improvements. New windows in the sanctuary allowed more of God’s light to flood the sanctuary and a new baptistry was used for our first baptismal service. Teasha Thomason Stone and Ed Kilmer were the first to be baptized.

The church called on Rev. Carter once again to serve as interim pastor until the Lord sent the Hines family to us. Pastor Jeff has been a role model, a friend to all, and a wonderful spiritual leader. He and his family have moved right into our hearts.

Attendance milestones have been an exciting part of the new church. What a time of rejoicing when we broke the 50 mark, then the 75, then the 100. We now average over 100 in Sunday morning services. Sunday evening services are averaging 75 and Sunday School attendance averages over 80. We are about to start our sixth class for children. Attendance in the teen class has just taken a gigantic leap. We have three adult Sunday school classes.

We have a organized children ministry under the direction of youth pastor, Jason Wilson. Our children are busy with children’s church, a wonderful Kingdom Kids Choir (directed by Dianne Hunter), and a rapidly growing quizzing program. Jason and Gary Huff, our worship leader, have both been called into the ministry. Brian Williams, who now pastors in Iowa, accepted his call while a member of the church.

The music ministry has grown with a full choir under the direction of Kristi Huff. The number of instrumental musicians has grown from one to six. God has truly blessed this area of the church.

The NMI department, under the direction of Ronnie Fody, is a vital part of the church. We, who are so blessed, are excited to be involved in spreading the good news of salvation around the world through the missions program.

The Lord has truly blessed us financially and budgets have been paid every year. A church van was purchased in record time. The church has given liberally to special projects, such as Hurricane Katrina relief.

Over the past nine years, there have been many highlights as the church family has laughed together, cried together, prayed together, and grown together. We have welcomed to new babies and new families. We have bid farewell for a while to those beloved ones who have been called home. We have witnessed miracles that could only have happened by God’s hand.

We are a growing, vibrant church who understands that he who called us together is constantly equipping us to do his work here in this place. God worked in mysterious ways as he brought each of us here to be a community of believers. We give him all glory, and honor, and praise.