Peachtree Corners Christian Church Celebrates 25 Years

could be thought of as a “retro throwback.” The growing popularity of the “MegaChurches,” with their auditorium-like chapels, thousand plus members and simulcast sermons make small, community-based churches like Peachtree Corners Christian look like a failed business plan. But according to Pastor Kathy McDowell it is the very fact that they are small that has ensured their success for the last 25 years.

The church sits far back on a 5.47 acre plot of land on Spalding Drive. A few people may remember when it was an open field, used as a maintenance facility by a grading contractor back when Peachtree Corners was nothing more than horse farms and an elementary school.

In 1985 Gwinnett County was one of the fastest-growing places in the nation, but many of the people moving into the area had no home church to call their own. Reverend Tom Money of the Disciples of Christ denomination dreamed of starting a Christian church in Peachtree Corners. Money, and 55 other Disciples of Christ and community members first met in the Good Age Building of Jones Bridge Park in June of 1985. 

It was at this meeting that it was decided to name their prospective church. Any name suggested with the word “Peachtree” was voted down because of the ubiquitous nature of the word in the Atlanta area. The congregation agreed to the name “The Kirk of the Corners.” “Kirk” is a Scottish term for church and the members believed that using the Scottish word would honor their denomination’s Scottish heritage. The Good Age Building would be their temporary home until they could purchase land in the area and build a chapel.

In July 1985 the congregation purchased the little more than five aces on Spalding Drive for $61,000 an acre. After securing an architect, ground was broken on Oct. 19, 1986. By April of 1987 the congregation grew to 100 members, but it took another five months for the chapel to be completed after several construction delays cause by an historic rainy season. On Sept. 27, 1987 the first official service was held in their new church, with 180 people in attendance.

As times changed, so did the church. In 1996, the founding pastor, Reverend Tom Money retired, with Reverend William Thompson taking the pastorship. At Thompson’s retirement in 2002 the Reverend Joe Faulconer was appointed pastor of the Kirk of the Corners Church.

In 2005 the pastor and the board decided to change the name of their church from “The Kirk of the Corners” to “Peachtree Corners Christian Church.”  Buddy Ray, a founding member of the church says, “We saw the need for the name change because the word ‘Kirk’ confused people. But, I was amused when they settled on the word ‘Peachtree’ because the founders were so against using it in the beginning.”

The church is now headed up by Reverend Kathy McDowell. McDowell is the first woman pastor in the church’s 25-year history.  According to McDowell, what sets Peachtree Corners Christian Church apart from other churches in the area is its, “warmth and small size.”

The church now averages 55 members for worship on Sundays. McDowell says that all the members know each other by name and because of that they are more likely to help one another through hard times. The church doesn’t restrict its charity only to members. Within the community they are well known for their pumpkin patch each October with the money collected going to various mission causes. The church also holds a Community Bonfire in the fall and hosts homeless families one to three times a year.

“We don’t pretend to have all the answers,” says McDowell about her church, “but we welcome all to the table.” McDowell insists that Peachtree Corners Christian Church is, “More grace than judgment.”

Currently churches of all denominations are being rocked by scandals; accused of hate-mongering, hypocrisy and abuses of power, perhaps it is this open mindedness that has kept Peachtree Corners Christian Church going for so long.