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New Beginings in Atlanta, USA
At first glance, Atlanta, Georgia, would seem the last place where another church would be needed.
Atlanta is in the region of the US known as the Bible belt and there are churches on almost every corner. So why plant another? The city is home for many large Christian congregations and home of Christian conferences, concerts, conventions, counsellors, clinics and clergy, and that is just covering the letter ‘c’ in the alphabet!
At the same time, Atlanta is one of the fastest growing areas in the nation, with the population in the Metro area reaching almost five million. Traffic in Atlanta has a reputation for being horrendous Monday through Saturday, but travel on Sunday before noon, the time Christians traditionally worship together, is tellingly light.
Atlanta has a cosmopolitan and international feel with 100 languages represented in the school district where Jubilee Church is meeting. The largest Buddhist temple in the world is currently being constructed in Atlanta, while new suburbs are regularly being built, creating more communities with spiritual needs. In all, approximately 400 people move to the Atlanta area every day, enough to make a couple of churches!
Jubilee Church led by Carl Herrington (left) in the Northwest Metro area of Atlanta was launched publicly on 14 August 2005 with a great sense of purpose. Our vision is to plant relational communities that are Spirit-filled, Bible-based and are committed to the mission of making disciples of all people groups in Atlanta, the Southeast, the US and the nations.
Jubilee started with about 50 people moving to the area, including many children, from seven different Newfrontiers churches. The first family arrived in January of 2004, having planned the move from the East Coast before even knowing the church plant was happening. Most others came later in the year. We started gathering for worship, prayer and fellowship from house to house, in some cases seeing each other for the first time at these meetings! Each person and family that has moved for the church plant, or been added to the church from the local community, has brought a new gift and fulfilled a need in our church body.
Our preparation for the public launch of Jubilee exemplifies the teamwork and community we have been developing over the past year. A team of volunteers from Missouri joined church members for a week of outreach before the launch. During that week we hosted two backyard Bible schools for children, gave free car washes, invited neighbours to a celebration with games and food, and distributed water bottles with church information to people exercising in a public park.
On the day of the launch everyone worked well together to set up the nursery, sound, coffee and cookies for guests and an information table in the high school cafeteria and classrooms we are renting. There was a full band, much appreciated after our beginning days of a cappella worship! Plus, there were guests attending who seemed to enjoy the meeting. There were 64 people; 39 of them were part of the original plant and everyone else was either a first-time visitor or had joined us since our arrival.
Our goal is to recapture a Biblical view of church that is different from the church experience of most people in the South. The church we envision is more than a meeting on a Sunday morning. Jesus says in Matthew 16:18 that He is building the church. Then, in Matthew 28:18-20, the Great Commission to preach the Gospel and make disciples is given. As we make disciples we are involved in building God's church. All believers have gifts to use in building the church, so we want to welcome all people. Our true success will lie in seeing Jubilee Church become a worshipping community for people from all nationalities, people groups and social classes.
Thank you for your support and prayers as we have started and continue to pursue what God wants to build in the Atlanta area.
For more information, please see our website at www.jubileechurch.us
Trinitarian. |
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