Radical Hospitality

The desire to invite, welcome, and affirm all into the fellowship of Christ's Church no matter their gender, ethnicity, language spoken, income, sexual orientation, marital status, ability, or age.

2

Passionate Worship

Worship in all forms opens our hearts to Jesus Christ’s love, grace, forgiveness, and freedom. Personal and corporate worship are vital to encountering God's presence and power.

3

Intentional Faith Development

Learning and living out the Gospel of Jesus invites us to go deeper in our relationship with God and with each other. Developing spiritual practices and ways to apply our faith daily helps us align with God's heart and will as well as make them a reality.

4

Risk-taking Mission & Service

Living out the love of Jesus is both practical and sacrificial. This posture invites us to consistently put our neighbors above ourselves. It moves us from a perspective of "me" toward a perspective of "we."

5

Extravagant Generosity

Generosity, not consumption, is critical to meaningful living. Generosity invites us to appreciate what we have been given vs. what we think we deserve or what we do not have. Generosity is woven throughout the character of God and we seek to reflect that same character.

Past

In the late 1960s two small churches, West Gainesville United Methodist and St. Phillip United Methodist Church (formerly called Gainesville Mill Methodist Church) were located in declining neighborhoods. Membership in both churches had declined to the point that they might close. Instead, the two churches decided to merge their congregations into a new location.

At first, the combined congregation met in Cinemas West, a theater just off Brown’s Bridge Road. Using proceeds from the sale of the two buildings, property was purchased on McEver Road and a church was built.

Additions to the church building and campus continued into the 1990's and 2000's until, eventually, the congregation outgrew that campus. In 2019, the church sold that property (now Family Promise of Hall County) and purchased new property at 5226 McEver Road.

Present

Since 2019, our congregation has been developing our new church campus to primarily serve the community more than it serves ourselves.

Our progress so far includes:

• Renovating the upper-level of the existing house (known as the "Bagley House") on the property for classrooms, office space, and meeting areas for use on Sunday morning and during the week.
• Building a multi-use pavilion that seats approximately 100 people, includes restrooms, and flexible audio/visual equipment. It is also furnished with large BTU heaters as well as oscillating fans for added comfort throughout the year.
• Developing walking and fitness trails on our campus with guided, simple exercises throughout
• Establishing pockets of areas with fire pits and modest camp grounds
• Launching our 1-acre community garden with adaptable gazebo, which will be wheelchair accessible.
• Renovating the lower level of the Bagley House for children and youth worship, discipleship, games, and programming.

Future

In 2025, we hope to accomplish the following:

• Finish furnishing our newly renovated children and youth space in the lower level of the Bagley House
• Continue updating the Community Garden with a children's sensory garden
• Use part of our campus for a sunflower field!
• and more!

In addition, not only will we continue to develop our campus to meet the needs of the community but we also hope to develop a "network" of micro-churches throughout Oakwood and the surrounding areas to develop Christian community where everyone already gathers, works, and plays.