St. Luke Lutheran
Church
McDonough, GA
Pastor Kenneth Albright
Georgia Churches Merge, Change,
and Pass It On...
Living Word, Jonesboro, Georgia, was a 35-year-old congregation that
was land-locked—a maintenance ministry in a changing community.
Abundant Grace was a mission church, 14 miles away in McDonough,
which had experienced a series of set-backs.
A merger was suggested, which appealed to both of the pastors and
the two congregations. A joint leadership team was formed that
really hit it off. They formed a vision and mission statement which
everyone had an opportunity to help shape, renamed the new
congregation, and brought it to a final vote in December of 2002.
The new church—St. Luke Lutheran Church—meets in the storefront that
was formerly Abundant Grace’s space. They are now under contract on
a 22-acre property less than 2 miles from the current temporary
location.
The Walking Together Appeal, a capital funding appeal of the
Southeastern Synod, and a
loan from The Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA tided the new
church over until it was able to sell the previous church property.
When the sale occurred, St. Luke tithed the proceeds to help two
mission congregations: Oromo Lutheran Church in Decatur, Georgia,
and the Hispanic ministry at Christ Lutheran in Oakwood, Georgia.
They were also able to set aside funds for a new position to develop
programs and encourage discipleship.
The entire merger process took about 3-1/2 months, a pretty rapid
time frame to bring the congregations together. But, St. Luke is now
very positive about its future. As a result of partnerships and
cooperative efforts, the ministry is thriving and additional
programming has been initiated. The current challenge is adjusting
to the move from a pastoral-size congregation to a program-size
congregation.
Says Pastor Albright, “This has been an incredible transition from
death to life for both congregations.”
