First Afrikan Church sits on Salem Road in Stonecrest, just east of Atlanta in DeKalb County, and it is one of the clearest local expressions of Africentric Christian ministry within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The congregation gathers each Sunday at 10:00 a.m. around a vision shaped by its founding pastor, the Rev. Dr. Mark A. Lomax, and continues today under transitional pastor the Rev. Carlton David Johnson. Its tagline - "Find Your Identity, Live Your Purpose" - captures what members say they have been doing for more than three decades: holding worship, learning, and service together in a way that places African history, language, and spirituality at the center of Christian discipleship.
From Salem Presbyterian to "First African"
The congregation's roots are older than its name. In August 1991 the session and members of the former Salem Presbyterian Church elected to dissolve their congregation, and at the stated fall meeting of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta the petition was officially endorsed. The New Church Development Commission of the Presbytery decided to develop a new congregation on the Salem site, and in March 1993 it submitted a recommendation that the Rev. Mark A. Lomax be called to serve the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta as a new church development pastor for what was then called "New" Salem Presbyterian Church.
Reverend Lomax arrived on the field on April 15, 1993 and, along with committed family members, friends, and a few former members of the dissolved Salem congregation, began evangelizing the surrounding community. The first worship service was held two weeks later; forty-eight of the seventy-three people present expressed interest in helping to develop a new congregation, and a twelve-person steering committee was formed. With Minister Vanessa G. Knight, the committee developed mission and vision statements and led the process of selecting a new name. On the second Sunday in December 1993 the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta issued an official charter, the name "First African" was adopted, and Rev. Lomax was installed as pastor. In 2025, after thirty-two years of service, Rev. Lomax retired as pastor and the church's "Our Pastor Emeritus" page was established in his honor.
Sunday Worship at 10:00 a.m.
Worship is the heart of the week. Services are held every Sunday at 10:00 a.m., both in person at 5197 Salem Road in Stonecrest and online through Facebook Live and YouTube Streaming. The 2026 worship theme is "Pressing on with Purpose," and the order of service follows a thoughtful liturgical rhythm that members describe as both traditional and Africentric in character.
Worship Life is its own Ministry Council at First Afrikan Church, made up of the Sanctuary Choir, the Drummers, the Tamba Issa Dancers, Liturgists, Media, Ushers, Shihle, and Tana Dhari Security. Together these teams are responsible for the content, context, and aesthetics of worship, and they carry the music, movement, and visual texture that give the service its particular feel. The Sanctuary Choir leads the congregation in a repertoire drawn from the African American sacred tradition and from classic hymnody. Members know "We've Come This Far By Faith," "Great Is Thy Faithfulness," "Holy, Holy, Holy," "Lord Prepare Me to Be a Sanctuary," "Lean on the Everlasting Arms," "I Need You to Survive," "I'm Pressing on the Upward Way (Higher Ground)," "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah," and "I Will Trust in the Lord" by heart, and many of these songs are posted with full lyrics on the church's Songs of Worship page.
The Liturgical Calendar: Akoma Ntoso and the Season of Green
First Afrikan Church follows a written liturgical calendar that members can study using a "Liturgical Clock" image available on the site. The current season is "Return / Victorious Living," and the symbol for the season is Akoma Ntoso - an Adinkra symbol from West Africa that represents understanding and agreement. The liturgical color for the season is green.
Members are invited to think about liturgy in the original sense of the word. The church explains that "liturgical" comes from the Greek leitourgia, a combination of leit from laos ("people") and ourgos from ergon ("work"). Liturgy, in this reading, is the public work of the people done on behalf of the people, and the order of public worship at First Afrikan Church is shaped by that conviction.
Wednesday Night Bible Study on Zoom
Midweek teaching happens on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom, using Meeting ID 860 4125 9075 and Passcode 346573. The current series, Fall & Winter 2026, runs in two parts: September through October on the theme of "Sacrifice," and November through December taking an in-depth look at Jesus, "Yeshua the Christ, our Afrikan Messiah."
The September-October portion uses the NRSVUE translation of the Bible and traces sacrifice through the Old and New Testaments. Week one looks at Genesis 22:1-19, the binding of Isaac; week two at Matthew 25:31-40 and 1 Peter 4:8-11, the sacrifice of service and zawadi (gift); week three at Psalm 50, the sacrifice of praise, worship, and thanksgiving; and week four at Galatians 2:15-21, Christ the ultimate sacrifice. Teachers anchor each session in the wider experience of the African diaspora, naming Patrice Lumumba, Medgar Evers, Harriet Tubman, Malcolm X, Cecile Fatiman, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Queen Nzinga as historical figures whose sacrifices have shaped Black life. Members are also encouraged to bring the names of family members - parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, godparents, cousins, and close friends - into the conversation.
Ministry Councils: Member Development, Member Care, Resource and Visioning
Ministry Councils are designed to get a high level of cooperation for achieving specific missional goals across the ministry. Each team is comprised of at least two elders, a deacon, a trustee where appropriate, appropriate ministry leaders, and ministers. Four councils organize the work of the church.
Member Development
This council is responsible for assuring that members are equipped for the work of ministry. It includes the Caribbean Ministry, Creation Care, Black Belt, the Center For Afrikan Biblical Studies (CFABS), FACAT, Heshima Rites of Passage (Girls), and Kijana Rites of Passage (Boys).
Member Care
This council provides care for members and teaches them how to care for one another and the broader African community. Its teams are Disciples of Service, Friends & Family, Harambee, and Sempiira.
Resource and Visioning
This council develops the strategic plan and makes sure human and financial resources are available for the work of the ministry. Its teams are the Property Commission, the Treasurer, and the Trustee Board.
Worship Life
This council - already described above - shapes what happens in the sanctuary on Sunday morning.
Rites of Passage and Youth Ministry
Two parallel ministries serve the young people of the congregation. Heshima is the Rites of Passage program for girls, and Kijana is the Rites of Passage program for boys. Both are designed to walk children and adolescents through African-centered teaching about identity, responsibility, and adulthood. The Kijana program has its own support community and periodically posts "Kijana Needs Your Help" updates as part of its fundraising. In recent years both programs have been tied into the Jesus and Justice Youth Adult Advocacy Conference, a multi-day gathering held at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur that brings younger and older members of the church together with the wider community for advocacy training.
The Caribbean Ministry
The Caribbean Ministry has a distinctive presence at First Afrikan Church. It runs an annual school fundraiser that supports the Holy Spirit Catholic School in St. Patrick, Grenada, selling raffle tickets leading up to a raffle drawing each fall. Past fundraisers have included a popcorn sale through Double Good and a Mother's Day donation drive coordinated by Sister Eva Marie James. The ministry is also the congregation's most visible point of contact with the African diaspora beyond the U.S. mainland, and members describe it as a way of staying connected to Caribbean family, food, and education.
FACAT and Civic Engagement
FACAT (First Afrikan Church Action Team) is the political and civic arm of the congregation. Members regularly partner with community organizations on voter registration drives, and they participate in events such as the September Legislative Breakfast held at Chapel Middle School in Decatur and the Annual Collard Greens Festival at Hillside International Truth Center in Atlanta. The Announcements page also carries a Litany for Women's History Month that the church wrote and uses in worship, naming Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Jarena Lee, Nannie Helen Burroughs, Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Pauli Murray, Shirley Chisholm, Katie Geneva Cannon, and Bishop Vashti McKenzie as witnesses whose faith and labor the congregation seeks to honor.
Pastoral Leadership: Lomax and Johnson
The Rev. Dr. Mark A. Lomax is the founding pastor. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio; a Master of Divinity from Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio; and a Doctor of Ministry from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He has served as an associate professor of homiletics at the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) in Atlanta since 1998 and previously pastored Davidson United Presbyterian Church in Davidson, North Carolina and Westhills Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. He has served on Presbytery and General Assembly committees, as Interim President-Dean of the Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary, and is a published author with ecumenical and interfaith appeal. In 2025, after thirty-two years, he retired as pastor.
The Rev. Carlton David Johnson is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, and currently serves as Transitional Pastor. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Emory University with a concentration in literature of the African diaspora, and after a twenty-seven-year career in project, operations, and client services management, he returned to academia for a Master of Divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Center and a Master of Theology from Emory's Candler School of Theology. His research focuses on the impact of African American preaching on grief and mourning. He serves as Director of the Office of Global Ecumenical Partnerships in Presbyterian Life and Witness, and previously as Director of the Office of Racial Equity and Women's Intercultural Ministries and as Associate Director of the Office of Theology, Formation, and Evangelism. He also serves as a Staff Chaplain with Grady Health System and is Chaplain of the Atlanta chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Within First Afrikan Church he has been active in the Bantaba Men's Fellowship, Kijana Boys Rites of Passage, the Fawohodie Ministry to the Incarcerated and Their Families, and the Music Ministry.
Mission, Memory Verse, and Daily Verse
First Afrikan Church describes itself as an Africentric Christian Ministry, called by the Creator and led by the spirit of the Ancestors to shape consciousness, serve the needy, welcome the marginalized, and address social and ecological injustices and all other forms of structural and systemic oppression. The congregation's standing memory verse is Isaiah 43:2 (NRSVUE): "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you." A daily verse in the same translation appears on the church's homepage.
Giving and Stewardship
Tithes and offerings can be given online through PayPal via the Give & Donate page, sent through Zelle using the address fapc2@firstafrikanchurch.org, mailed to 5197 Salem Road, Lithonia, GA 30038, or brought in person on Sunday mornings. Members are also invited to submit a 2026 Stewardship Pledge in conjunction with the Legacy Campaign. The church notes that using Zelle or PayPal helps First Afrikan Church save on transaction fees, allowing more of each gift to go directly into ministry.
Becoming a Member, Prayer, and Pastoral Care
Anyone interested in joining First Afrikan Church can do so through the "Become A Member" page. Those who need prayer, a conversation, help with groceries or prescriptions, or assistance accessing the weekly sermon from a computer can submit a Request for Prayer and Other Support form, where they can select the kind of help they need. The congregation takes seriously the call to walk with members through ordinary and extraordinary moments alike.
Songs the Congregation Sings
Music is woven into worship, Bible study, and the newsletter, and the Songs of Worship page collects many of the church's signature songs. "We've Come This Far By Faith," with its refrain "Can't Turn Around," is a regular rallying song. "I Need You to Survive" by Hezekiah Walker and the Love Fellowship Choir is sung as a statement of mutual dependence. "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" and "Holy, Holy, Holy" anchor the classic hymn tradition, while "Lord Prepare Me to Be a Sanctuary," "Lean on the Everlasting Arms," "I'm Pressing on the Upward Way," "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah," and "I Will Trust in the Lord" round out a repertoire that is at once contemplative and joyful.
Staying Connected
Worship services stream live on Facebook and YouTube every Sunday at 10:00 a.m. The Wednesday Bible Study meets on Zoom at 7:00 p.m. The church posts a monthly e-newsletter that members can subscribe to through the Newsletter Sign-up page, and announcements - from the Caribbean Ministry raffle to the Fall Bible Study series - are posted regularly. First Afrikan Church also has an active Instagram presence and a dedicated YouTube channel where past services are archived. Whether someone shows up in person at 5197 Salem Road in Stonecrest or joins the service from home, the same liturgy, music, and preaching that have shaped the congregation since December 1993 are waiting for them.