First Presbyterian Church of Griffin: A 1841 Congregation with a Hunger-Filling Mission on Macon Road

A 173-Year-Old Family of Roots, a Mission for the Hungry

On the north side of Griffin, Georgia, just past the curve where Macon Road meets the older streets named for the city's founder, a white-columned church building has been ringing a single bell every Sunday morning since 1978. The congregation that meets there, First Presbyterian Church of Griffin, traces its beginning to a small gathering in November of 1841, when six Presbyterians sat on sacks of corn in a Broad Street warehouse and constituted themselves a church. That meeting, led by the Rev. Henry L. Deane, became the first entry in the records of a body that has now been worshiping in Griffin for more than 180 years.

First Pres, as the church is affectionately known locally, is part of ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians, a denomination of more than 400 churches committed to building flourishing congregations that make disciples of Jesus Christ. The church's own mission statement, refined in recent years after months of prayer, study, and discussion among its elders, reads: We exist to invite hungry people to be filled with joy in Christ Jesus. The mission is built around three words. To invite is the call to action. Hungry people is the missional who. To be filled with joy in Christ Jesus is the missional objective.

The pastor, Austin Thomas, has put it this way: the elders realized the church has always loved to feed people, whether within the building or beyond it, and that the language of spiritual hunger in Scripture carries a depth that nothing in this world can satisfy. Every invitation the church extends, in his words, is meant to be an invitation to Jesus, not to an institution or a program.

Sundays at 11:00 on Macon Road

Worship at First Pres happens in a single Sunday service at 11:00 AM in the sanctuary on Macon Road. The prelude begins around 10:55 AM, and the service concludes by 12:15 PM. The style is described by the church itself as blended: a mix of traditional hymns and contemporary praise songs, supported by a choir and a praise team, with liturgy, Scripture read in the assembly, and a sermon grounded in the Bible.

Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of every month, and the table is open to everyone present. Visitors are gently welcomed but never singled out. No one will be asked to stand, raise a hand, or introduce themselves to the room. The music runs the full range from classical hymnody led by the historic Pilcher pipe organ to newer songs backed by a guitar-driven praise team.

There is no dress code. On a given Sunday one might see jeans and a polo alongside a suit and tie. Visitors are simply asked to come as they are. An offering is taken, but visitors are not expected to give; the offering is described as the act of worship of the church's own family, and visitors are guests at the table.

What the First-Time Visit Looks Like

Visitor Parking signs stand directly across from the main entrance; those spaces are set aside just for first-time and returning guests. Friendly greeters meet arrivals in the lobby and point them to the Welcome Center on the right. There, volunteers can answer questions about restrooms, seating, and the location of the nursery.

Families with children begin the service together in the sanctuary. Before the sermon, children are dismissed to age-appropriate programs, beginning in the nursery for infants through age three, moving to a preschool class for ages four and kindergarten, and to elementary groups for first through fifth grade. The children's wing is secured and camera-monitored throughout the morning, and a uniformed off-duty law enforcement officer is present during services. Every volunteer who works with children has passed a background check and ministry training.

On the way out, guests can stop at the Connection Table in the lobby, pick up a welcome gift, and complete a connect card. There is no follow-up pressure, just an open invitation to learn more.

FPC Griffin Kids: From Nursery Through Fifth Grade

Children's ministry at First Pres is built around three rooms that meet every Sunday morning during the 11:00 AM worship service.

• Nursery (infants through age 3). A safe, nurturing environment with digital check-in that gives parents a real-time pager if they are needed. Background-checked volunteers care for the youngest children in a secured space.
• Preschool (ages 4 through kindergarten). Children learn big truths in age-appropriate ways through story, song, and hands-on activities. The curriculum is gospel-focused and designed to help young hearts understand they are known and loved by God.
• Elementary (grades 1 through 5). Older children engage Scripture through dynamic teaching, small-group discussion by grade, prayer, and age-appropriate application.

On a first visit, families are encouraged to arrive 10 to 15 minutes early. The Kids Ministry check-in kiosk is located in the hallway to the left as families enter the building. The kiosk takes about a minute and produces a name tag for the child and a matching security tag for the parent. Children are released only to authorized guardians.

Beyond Sunday morning, families are invited into Community Groups that gather at 9:30 AM each Sunday for shared study and connection.

Three Streams of Discipleship for Adults

Discipleship at First Pres is organized around three deliberate streams, each rooted in the conviction that every follower of Jesus is meant to be growing.

• Personal Discipleship. The first stream is the one-to-one life with God. The church teaches that every believer should be equipped with the spiritual disciplines of prayer, Scripture reading, and worship, and should be growing in personal intimacy with Christ. The expectation is that disciples know God for themselves and are known by God.
• Communal Discipleship. The second stream is the life lived with other believers. Discipleship is not a solo project at First Pres; the church teaches that God gave the church as a community for mutual encouragement, comfort, and strength. Small groups, choirs, prayer gatherings, and men's and women's discipleship groups are all expressions of this stream.
• Missional Discipleship. The third stream is the life lived outward. Disciples are called to make disciples, and the church teaches that every invitation should be an invitation to Jesus and no other. Members are encouraged to invite friends, family, neighbors, and strangers into relationship with Christ, both through structured church outreach and through ordinary daily life.

The practical rhythms of communal discipleship include the weekly Griffin Bible Study on Wednesday mornings, Choir Practice on Wednesday evenings, Men's Discipleship on Thursday mornings, the combined Mens/Womens Discipleship groups on Wednesday evenings, and the early-morning FPC Prayer gathering each Thursday.

A Mission to Fill, Not Just to Feed

Hunger is the through-line of the church's identity. In the mission statement the word appears three times: hungry people, filled, and joy. In Austin's letter to the congregation about the new mission statement, he writes that the elders recognized God has uniquely positioned First Pres to love feeding people, both inside and outside the building, and that Scripture's language of hunger is about a deeper spiritual emptiness that the world cannot satisfy. The invitation, he argues, has shifted from invitations to a building to invitations to Jesus. Worship itself, in the language the church uses, is an act of being invited by God, and every Scripture reading carries an invitation from the Lord to listen.

The values the church publicly names are fellowship, substance, welcoming, kingdom, and worship. Fellowship means a faith-based community open to all seeking truth. Substance means the church is more interested in what it stands for than what it is against; it is not in the business of entertainment. Welcoming means the church refuses to judge, recognizing that all are sinners saved by grace. Created is the conviction that every person has value, deserves respect, and bears the image of God. Kingdom is a pledge of allegiance to the kingdom of God above every earthly loyalty. Community and worship round out the list with love for one another and joyful celebration.

What We Believe

First Pres is a confessional Presbyterian church. The statements of belief are organized into ten articles.

• The Trinity. God exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a being of unimaginably wonderful power, goodness, and love.
• Creation. The world exists because God created it, belongs to him, and is to be cherished and cared for.
• People. Every human being has dignity because each one was made in his image, and great worth because each one is valued by God beyond measure.
• Sin. The world has pain and suffering because human beings have fallen and are estranged from God, from one another, from themselves, and from creation.
• God's Redemptive Plan. God does not intend sin and suffering to have the last word; he is at work to redeem and reconcile what he has made.
• Jesus. God has expressed himself uniquely in his Son Jesus, who lived, taught, died, and rose again. Jesus is master, teacher, savior, and friend, and now reigns forever with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
• The Bible. God has revealed the truth about himself in the Old and New Testaments, which are the church's unique and authoritative guides in faith and action.
• The Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is now available so that the Christian can be closer to God than the air he breathes.
• The Church. The Church is the community through which God wants to bring love, healing, and growth to the human race, and to which he calls those willing to follow Jesus.
• Eternity. Christians live in hope that one day Jesus will return, love and justice will prevail, and God will set the world right.

The church also affirms the Apostles' Creed, reciting it together as part of historic Christian confession.

A Journey from an 1841 Warehouse to the Macon Road Campus

The history of First Presbyterian Church of Griffin is unusually well-documented, and the church tells it openly as part of its own story.

The founding took place on November 27, 1841, when three ministers of Flint River Presbytery, the Rev. Michael L. Dixon, the Rev. Henry L. Deane, and the Rev. L. W. Corbin, met with six charter members: Dr. James S. Long, Mrs. Jane E. Long, Miles Garrison, Mrs. Garrison, Mrs. Bishop, and Mr. Thomas H. Spruce. Dr. Long was unanimously elected the first ruling elder, and the Rev. Henry L. Deane accepted the call as the first stated supply pastor. The new congregation met in a Broad Street warehouse, sitting on sacks of corn and other goods. Within five months the church had grown from six members to ten, a 67% increase, and by the end of Deane's three-year ministry the rolls had reached thirty-eight. The first infant baptized was Sidney Clopton Lanier, who later became the poet laureate of Georgia.

The first church building was built in 1848 on an acre lot granted by Gen. Lewis Lawrence Griffin, the founder of the city. The total cost was about $2,000; the Church Extension Committee of Presbytery gave $150 of it, with the remainder contributed by members. The building was dedicated in October 1848, and the Griffin Presbyterian Sunday School opened on October 22, 1848, with ten teachers and forty-six pupils.

By 1888 the church had outgrown the original building, and a new sanctuary was begun in the spring of that year. The cornerstone, engraved with the words Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief Corner Stone. - Ephesians 2:20, was moved with the congregation and still sits on the current grounds. The first service was held in the new sanctuary on November 4, 1888. By February of 1890 the building was entirely free of debt, and the pastor at the time, the Rev. G. B. Strickler of Atlanta, preached the dedicatory address from Luke 8.

The Civil War years were difficult. For much of the war the church was without a pastor, and services were often suspended for months at a time. Refugee members arrived from other congregations, including the Chickamauga Church, whose members had been forced to flee their homes. The Rev. James C. Patterson, who also served as president of the Synodical College for Women in Griffin, served as interim pastor on several occasions during and just after the war.

In 1906 the church began supporting its first missionary, Miss Josie Woods, who served in China. In the early 1900s the women of the congregation organized under the name The Ladies Benevolent Society and later as The Women's Auxiliary, and they were recognized at one point by the Atlanta Presbyterial as the leading auxiliary among fifty-five churches for the work accomplished in a year.

The Pilcher Organ and the Sanctuary's Long Memory

One of the most distinctive pieces of the current sanctuary is the Pilcher pipe organ purchased in 1894 for $1,425. It was the 25th organ built by the Henry Pilcher Organ Builders of Louisville, Kentucky, and was originally powered by manual bellows. A hydraulic pump driven by city water pressure was later added, with the predictable side effect of flooding the basement on many occasions. In 1978, when the church moved from its second building on North Hill and Chapel streets to the present Macon Road campus, the organ was completely rebuilt and moved into the new sanctuary, where it is still played every Sunday. In 1993, John Farmer of North Carolina reworked the pipes and added another rank for a fuller, richer tone, and a height-adjustable bench was installed for the comfort of the organist. All original parts of the organ, including the bench and the mirror, have been preserved.

The 1888 cornerstone and the church bell, purchased in 1871, also made the move. Both can be seen on the current grounds, silent witnesses to the generations that have gathered there.

The current campus on Macon Road was a major step of faith. In February 1967 the Building Planning Council recommended consideration of a new location, and in April the congregation voted 127 to 81 to move. Five acres at the corner of Macon Road and Futral Road were purchased in September of 1967. Architect's plans were adopted in 1975, and in 1977, after years of meetings, the congregation committed to building at a total cost of $560,000. The groundbreaking took place on October 2, 1977. On September 10, 1978, the last service was held in the old church building. After worship, members went home for lunch, returned at 2:00 PM with trucks and station wagons, and in four hours moved everything movable to the new building. The first service in the new sanctuary was held on September 17, 1978, and the dedication ceremony took place on November 19, 1978. The stained-glass windows from the second building were moved into the new sanctuary, and the cornerstone from 1888 was placed near the bell. An Activities Building was added in 1981, and on Thanksgiving Eve 1991 the church celebrated 150 years of ministry with a community service that brought together pastors from Baptist, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Christian, and Presbyterian churches, along with the Salvation Army.

On September 28, 2012, First Pres joined the Fellowship of Presbyterians, which later became ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.

The Wider Griffin Community

First Pres extends its ministry to the wider community through several partnerships and rhythms.

The most consistent of these is the monthly FPC Serves: Food Pantry rotation, in which volunteers from the church spend a Saturday morning serving at Five Loaves Two Fish Food Pantry, 202 East Broad Street in Griffin. The pantry is one of the local efforts that addresses the very real physical hunger in Spalding County, and the church's involvement there is an expression of the broader conviction that feeding people, body and soul, is part of the congregation's identity.

The Kirkin o the Tartan, a Scottish-American worship tradition in which families and individuals receive prayer for the year to come, is another outward expression. The annual Covenant Partner lunches, held twice a year, celebrate those who have formally joined the church in the previous months. The annual Kirkin service is held early in the year.

Christmas and Easter at First Pres have their own distinctive rhythms. On Easter Sunday there are two services: a Sunrise Service at 7:30 AM followed by a pancake breakfast at 8:30 AM, and a later Easter Worship Service at 10:00 AM. A children's Easter egg hunt follows the 10:00 AM service, and members traditionally bring flowers to place at the cross.

Covenant Partnership and Becoming a Member

First Pres uses the term Covenant Partner rather than member, because the church believes the relationship it seeks with the people who join is more meaningful than mere membership. As the church puts it, a Covenant Partner is first and foremost in covenant relationship with Jesus Christ through his life, death, and resurrection, and then also in covenant relationship with the body of believers. Partners are not consumers but carriers of the gospel to one another and to the community.

The path to Covenant Partnership is a five-session course built around five sermons on what it means to be a Presbyterian Christian. The five sessions cover why we need grace through Jesus Christ, what it means to be elect, the meaning of being a covenant partner, the call to serve, and what obedience looks like in daily life. Each session has a set of reflection questions that can be downloaded and worked through privately.

After completing the course, those interested in becoming Covenant Partners meet with the pastor and two elders. Twice a year the church holds a Covenant Partner Lunch to celebrate those who have joined in the previous months. The ECO Presbyterian Constitution and the church's liturgy for welcoming them are available for anyone who wants to read them ahead of time.

Weekly Rhythms Beyond Sunday Morning

The week at First Pres has its own steady pulse, designed to support the three streams of discipleship described above.

• Sunday morning, 9:30 AM. Community Groups gather for shared study and connection. Children begin the 11:00 AM service in the sanctuary and are dismissed to their classrooms before the message.
• Wednesday morning, 8:30 to 11:30 AM. The Griffin Bible Study meets weekly for expositional study and prayer.
• Wednesday evening, 5:30 to 6:30 PM. Choir Practice prepares the music for the following Sunday's worship.
• Wednesday evening, 6:00 to 8:00 PM. The combined Mens/Womens Discipleship groups meet for teaching, fellowship, and prayer.
• Thursday morning, 6:30 to 7:30 AM. FPC Prayer gathers early for a focused hour of intercession.
• Thursday morning, 8:00 to 9:00 AM. Men's Discipleship continues the weekly rhythm of brotherhood and Bible study.
• Saturday, by month. FPC Serves: Food Pantry sends a team to serve at Five Loaves Two Fish Food Pantry on East Broad Street.

Other named rhythms include a Church Workday, occasional Session Spiritual Growth Meetings, the annual Kirkin o the Tartan, and a Congregational Life Team that oversees the pastoral care and connection ministries of the church.

Leadership

The congregation is served by a small staff and a session (governing board) of elected elders.

• Austin Thomas, who also serves as the church's primary preaching pastor and has been the regular voice of the congregation through most recent sermon series.
• Sylvia Hollums, Worship Director, who oversees the music ministry and leads the choir and praise team.
• Elders currently named on the public roster include Bob Bugg, Bonnie Pfrogner, and Ina Jones. The Session is described as the church's governing board, elected by the congregation to provide spiritual and operational oversight of all ministries and mission. Ina Jones has also preached on a number of Sundays, most recently in the Rebuild and Renovate series.

The Session is also supported by ministry teams, including a Congregational Life Team that meets regularly to coordinate connection and pastoral care. Office Manager Emily Watson keeps the calendar and communication flowing, and the church office can be reached at 770-227-2055.

Listening and Watching from Anywhere

Worship is livestreamed each Sunday through Altar Live, and a Watch Online option is available for those unable to attend in person. Sermon audio and video are archived on the church's YouTube channel and organized by series. Recent series have included a long expositional walk through the Gospel of Mark, a study of the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6, a series called The Word Still Stands on the Bible's continuing work in the life of the believer, a year-long focus on prayer that included movements of prayer and the prayers of biblical figures, and an Advent series on the riches and beauty of the Lord. The current series, Rebuild and Renovate, is a walk through Ezra exploring what it means to be a people rebuilt for God's mission.

Giving to the church is available online, and prayer requests, questions, and general comments can be sent through the contact form on the church's main page.

An Invitation That Has Lasted 180 Years

From a warehouse on Broad Street in 1841 to the present-day campus on Macon Road, First Presbyterian Church of Griffin has been a steady presence in the life of the city. Theologically it is a confessional Presbyterian congregation in the ECO tradition. Practically it is a blended, intergenerational, family-friendly church that takes seriously the call to feed both bodies and souls. Its mission statement is short enough to be remembered and broad enough to drive decades of ministry: We exist to invite hungry people to be filled with joy in Christ Jesus.

Whether one comes from a long Presbyterian background or no church background at all, the doors are open, the parking spots are marked, the table is set on the first Sunday of every month, and there is a chair in the sanctuary. The church's own welcome is simple: come as you are.