They believe God has called us to this new endeavor and have been willing to support the new church financially.” “However, the key to where we are today is the generosity of the people who came with us. “We left with less than 10 percent of the assets,” Miller recalled. The joint statement issued by the two congregations said that the two separate churches should “go forward in their respective ministries to the glory of God and in service to Jesus Christ, with no further action relating to gracious separation.” A few other concessions were made to the New Church. The New Church was given $150,000 to begin its ministry. Representatives from FPC-Peachtree City and New Church (Evergreen) gathered March 26, 2013, to discuss and negotiate the settlement process, and after a week the sides reached a compromise that allowed FPC-Peachtree City (PCUSA) to retain the real property and most of the assets.
![peachtree presbyterian church peachtree presbyterian church](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e4/69/1d/e4691d3ac4e810000e6b3296ea05b94b.jpg)
The church actually entered into the Gracious Separation Process with the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta (PGA) in the fall of 2012, a move that was designed to allow the congregation to leave as one.īut the PGA, working through the dismissal process with the congregation, deemed a minority at FPC-Peachtree City to be the true church, Miller explained, and it became apparent that the exit from PCUSA to ECO would not come as a united body. Miller said there never was intent to see FPC-Peachtree City split as it did. At what rate, I don’t have a clue, but we’re simply taking things one faithful step at a time,” Miller said. Moving forward, the church has the goal to “follow, share and serve Christ” while building the kingdom of God in the Peachtree City community and beyond. The congregation actually has shown some growth, with approximately 10 percent of its members coming from affiliations other than FPC-Peachtree City. Membership at Evergreen after a year away from the PCUSA is 330, with an average worship attendance of approximately 300. We determined that the ECO was the group we needed to affiliate with.” “They recognized that we left in order to uphold the authority of Scripture, and we felt we needed to be a part of a group with like-minded core values. “I think what attracted people to come with us was our theological commitment to stay true to our convictions about the Scriptures,” said Miller, 59, who has been in the ministry for 33 years. More than 400 people, not all from FPC-Peachtree City, attended that first service on March 31, 2013, when Evergreen – then known as New Church, Peachtree City – met for the first time at the Peachtree City United Methodist Church Annex located at South Peachtree Parkway after leaving their sanctuary on Willow Bend Road approximately 30 miles southwest of Atlanta. “People have embraced that as we have launched this new adventure and are excited to be part of it.” “We feel a greater freedom in our new direction,” said Evergreen Pastor David Miller, who retired as the Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor at FPC-Peachtree City on Palm Sunday last year to become the founding pastor of Evergreen Church, which he considers a “hybrid” church more than a new plant. Now, a year later, this body of believers continues to worship and serve together under a new name, Evergreen Church. The new congregation had its first worship service on Easter Sunday of 2013.
![peachtree presbyterian church peachtree presbyterian church](https://www.denisreggie.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Atlanta-wedding-peachtree-presbyterian-capital-city-club-downtown-denis-reggie-photographers-1224-702x1024.jpg)
Standing firmly in their commitment to uphold the authority of Scripture, more than half the congregation of First Presbyterian Church of Peachtree City, Ga., walked away from their building and property to become the 51 st congregation to join ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.