Coming Together!
September 17, 2007
We are pleased to announce that The Greater Atlanta Church of Christ (GACC) and All Nations Church of Christ are merging to form the Metro-Atlanta Church of Christ (MACOC). The new church will be co-lead by Mike Patterson and Frank Davis who will serve as evangelists along with Les Johnson and Speech and will consist of two geographic regions/congregations, All Nations Church of Christ (ANCOC) and the Greater Atlanta Church of Christ (GACC). Over twelve months of prayer and discussion have been involved in making this decision, and it is our firm conviction that our congregations will be stronger together than they are separate. Our leadership groups are wholeheartedly united, not only in spirit and doctrine, but we share the same vision, the same passion, and the same views on methodology. We are excited about this opportunity to start over and work side by side to build a ministry that will glorify God.
Our prayer is for complete unity among all the congregations that comprise God’s kingdom in metro-Atlanta and we do not believe that being one corporate entity is necessarily the only means for God’s people to be united. One ministry or many, God calls us to love each other and to work together. God has called all of His people to a great vision, the vision of evangelizing Atlanta, the Southeast, and the whole world, and regardless of structure, unless we find ways to increase congregational cooperation, we will not accomplish this goal.
Why are the GACC and ANCOC coming together? To evangelize the world. Our conviction is that our best chance of evangelizing a metropolis such as Atlanta is to merge our efforts under the banner of one church. Our feelings are not exclusive about this matter and, we extend an open invitation for any like-minded congregations to join us. We know there are many leaders who feel differently, and we respect their opinions and their congregations, but it is our belief, that in the area of preaching the gospel, there is certainly strength in numbers and we pray that, in joining, the ripple our two congregations are now making will become a tidal wave of hope as the Spirit multiplies our efforts and helps us to fill this city with the unadulterated gospel of Jesus. The question that faced us as we pondered this decision was simple: What would result in the most souls being won? It is our belief that together as one congregation we will have the greatest impact. Merging certainly has risks and for us being separate was the safe choice; it was the comfortable choice, but we know that we will never win the world unless we put aside our individual agendas and are willing to risk it all.
God’s Blueprint
For this church to be truly God’s church, Acts 2:42-47 must be our standard not our ideal. We must be devoted to the word (the apostle’s teachings), individually and collectively. We must be devoted to the Lord’s supper (the breaking of bread), to prayer and to fellowship. We must have close one another relationships that extend far beyond simply seeing each other at church. We must expect evidence of the spirit’s power in our congregations and expect the Lord to add to our number. If there comes a time that this passage does not describe us, there is something wrong, something dangerously wrong, and we must take radical actions to correct it. If Acts 2:42-47 is the blue print for God’s church (and we believe it is), deviation from it will lead us on the path of being a counterfeit kingdom. This must never be. There are a few core teachings that we must embrace to ensure that we restore God’s pattern…
-We will preach biblical conversion (John 3:3-6).
-Discipleship is a prerequisite of membership (Luke 9:23).
-God’s people are committed to the body (Hebrews 10:23-25, 32-34).
-Every member must be committed to one another relationships (Matthew 28:19-20, Proverbs 18:24, 27:17).
-Every member must be involved in a small group ministry (II timothy 2:1-4).
-Every member must be committed to the mission (Luke 19:10).
-Christians must date Christians only (II Cor. 6:14-18).
-Spiritual Leadership
Basic Philosophy
We’re merging. Good. So, what does that mean practically? Merging means we are becoming one church, one family. No matter what our initial structure, that structure is subject to change as the church grows and the needs evolve, but our overall philosophy will be consistent; we are one. We will share talent, finances, wisdom, and leadership. We will also share problems, challenges, weaknesses, etc. This is a marriage and like any marriage, when we are joined, we inherit each other’s strengths and each other’s problems. We have one heart, one mind, one mission, one standard, and a sincere desire to see the whole church prosper.
Having said all of this, our plan redefines what we call a church and defines it along Biblical lines. God’s church is a people not a structure, not a corporation. If we are one people called out to one standard and mission, then we are one church. We are very excited with our plan to come together and form the Metro-Atlanta Church of Christ (MACOC) family.
Moving forward, we will be one church with multiple geographic regions, also known as congregations (In our opinion, congregation is a more user friendly term when dealing with non-members). Currently, two congregations comprise the MACOC: Greater Atlanta Church of Christ (GACC) and All Nations Church of Christ (ANCOC). Over time, if other churches merge with us and as we plant new ministries, congregations from all over the greater Atlanta area will be part of the MACOC umbrella. The objective is to evangelize the city and meet the needs of the church, both now and as it grows by providing the means to be one unified ministry, with ministries throughout Atlanta; yet, to also have the intimacy of smaller congregational ministries. Each congregation is sub-divided into house churches, in order to better shepherd its membership, and as each ministry expands, larger local congregations may be sub-divided into regional ministries (For example: GACC may be divided into Campus, Fayetteville, and Atlanta, regions or ANCOC may be divided into Snellville, Stone Mountain and Conyers regions, etc.). We will evolve according to the needs, trusting that God will make all this increasingly clear with time.
Our hope, as we grow, is to forge unity and to enjoy the benefits of being a big church while still empowering the local ministries. The MACOC is one church with two congregations. In time, we may be one church with 10 congregations, 30 congregations, or even100 congregations. As leaders, our vow is to not be married to structure or methodology but to always let the spirit lead us to adapt our structure to the needs. Yet, regardless of what the future holds. we are pledging that there will be a few constants: We will be one church, Jesus will be Lord of this fellowship and we will wholeheartedly strive to evangelize Atlanta, Georgia, the Southeast, and the whole world in our lifetimes. If we remain true to this, we will be His church and a vessel for the Lord’s glory.
Welcome to the Metro-Atlanta Church of Christ!
Sincerely,
Mike Patterson & Frank B. Davis
Lead Evangelists MACOC
