Three Sunday Services in the Heart of Grayson
Grayson United Methodist Church sits right in the middle of town, across the street from Grayson Park at the corner of Grayson Parkway and Rosebud Road. The address, 555 Grayson Parkway, places the campus within easy reach of the small Gwinnett County community it has served since 1884. The church's motto, "A Family. Through Christ. Serving All.," is printed on every page, and the building's footprint - sanctuary, Praise and Life Center, Christian Life Center, and Heritage Chapel - matches the rhythm of a congregation that has grown alongside the city around it.
On Sunday mornings, the church offers three distinct worship services so that families and individuals can find a style that fits. At 8:45 AM, the Traditional Service fills the Sanctuary with hymns led by the Chancel choir, piano and organ accompaniment, the reciting of the Apostles' Creed, and the singing of the Doxology. At 9:00 AM, the Modern Service meets in the Praise and Life Center (PLC) and pulls from contemporary Christian music, gospel, and modernized hymns. The 11:15 AM Blended Service returns to the Sanctuary and weaves traditional liturgy with newer songs. The 9:00 and 11:15 services are both livestreamed on Facebook for those who want to worship from home. Between the first and last services, the church gathers for Sunday School at 10:00 AM, an hour designed to slow the morning down and let friendships form across every age group.
A Brush Arbor, a Steeple, and a Building That Traveled
The Grayson United Methodist Church story begins in 1884, when the congregation first met under a brush arbor. The next year, permission was granted to build a Methodist Episcopal Church South, and the members named it Asbury in the small settlement of Trip, Georgia, which would later be known as Grayson. Asbury stood largely unchanged until the early 1950s, when the road in front of the church was rerouted. To make room, the congregation built a basement for Sunday School rooms and physically moved the original building over the new foundation. Running water reached the site in 1955, allowing bathrooms to be added, and the choir loft followed in 1959.
By 1980, the population growth around Grayson made a larger building a necessity. Fundraising began on August 9 of that year and produced the Christian Life Center, where student ministry still meets today. Eight years later, the "Growing Spirit Fund" campaign launched an even bigger project, and on November 23, 1992, ground was broken for a new sanctuary. The steeple went up on November 3, 1993, and the first Sunday of Advent that year, November 28, marked the first worship service in the new Sanctuary. The original Asbury building was renamed the Chapel and continued to serve the church until 2003, when toxic mold and asbestos forced its condemnation. Members gathered hands around the old building on March 14, 2004 to say goodbye before demolition.
The "By God's Grace We Grow" capital campaign funded a multipurpose building that now houses the Praise and Life Center and a small Heritage Chapel. That memorial space holds the original pews and stained glass windows rescued from Asbury, and the bell from the first church stands on a corner of the property near where the original building once stood. When the foundation for the new building was poured, church members inscribed prayers and favorite scriptures into the concrete. A Consecration and Communion Service on January 7, 2006 dedicated the finished campus.
GraysonKids: Sunday Mornings, Wednesday Nights, and a Safe Place for the Youngest
Children from PreK 3 through fifth grade have a full week of programming through GraysonKids, led by Children's Ministry Pastor Alia Ellison. The GraysonKids Check-In Center sits inside the PLC, and the greeting team helps first-time families register through a QR code. Matching security name tags are issued to parent and child, and every volunteer has been background checked and trained through Safe Sanctuary protocols. First-time families are asked to arrive ten minutes before the program begins.
Sunday mornings offer two distinct options. GraysonKids Grow meets at 9:00 AM and combines worship, large group, and small groups by age. GraysonKids Praise meets at 10:00 AM and focuses on music, teaching kids songs and scripture that they later use to lead worship in the sanctuary throughout the year. On the first Sunday of each month, the church invites all preschool and elementary children to worship with their families in the 8:45, 9:00, and 11:15 services, and GraysonKids Grow does not meet that morning. The Sunday Nursery, for children two and under, is open at 8:45, 9:00, 10:00, and 11:15 AM and includes singing, dancing, crafts, and plenty of cuddles.
Wednesday nights from 6:00 to 7:30 PM bring GraysonKids WOW, a high-energy evening of games, crafts, Bible stories, and small group time. A nursery for children two and under is also available on Wednesday nights for volunteers and adults attending small groups. Special events such as Parents' Night Out, Trunk or Treat, and Vacation Bible School are added throughout the year.
GSM: Middle School and High School Students
Student ministry at Grayson, known as GSM, runs two parallel tracks. Middle School Director Connor Fowler leads GSM Middle School, a ministry for students in sixth through eighth grade. High School Director Anna Holman leads GSM High School, focused on ninth through twelfth grade. The two groups share a Wednesday night rhythm: students meet from 6:00 to 8:00 PM for worship, a message, fellowship, games, and small group breakout time. Middle schoolers begin in the PLC, while high schoolers gather in the GSM office and Room 3. Each week, high schoolers are encouraged to bring their Bibles; doing so enters their name into a raffle for a $50 gift card.
On Sunday mornings at 10:00 AM, both groups meet for Sunday School down the Sanctuary Hall. The high schoolers gather in the GSM Office for fellowship, a light snack, and discussion. A fall retreat brings middle and high school students together for a weekend of outdoor adventure, worship, and teaching from a guest speaker.
Adult Discipleship: Sunday School, Wednesday Small Groups, and Bible Studies Throughout the Week
The heart of adult ministry is the Sunday School hour at 10:00 AM. The church offers more than a dozen classes designed for different stages of life, each led by a member who serves as the class point of contact. Anchored in Hope welcomes women in every season and walks through life's storms together. Sisters in Christ gathers women for fellowship, study, and prayer. The Empty Nesters class brings adults from varied backgrounds into an in-depth Bible study and supports local missions. Discovering Christ in Us focuses on seeing Christ at work in everyday life. New Hope is open to adults of all ages and follows the Revised Common Lectionary, with weekly fellowship and snacks. Saints Alive and Single is a class for single senior women. Christ in Us explores books and articles, currently working through John Eldredge's Beautiful Outlaw. The Village is built for couples. The Next Steps Young Adult Class gathers people in their twenties and thirties around honest questions about faith and calling. Cornerstone is the men's group that meets at 7:00 AM each Sunday in the Christian Life Center, building lives on the foundation of Christ.
Wednesday evenings, after the Grayson Table supper at 5:30 PM, four small groups run from 6:30 to 7:30 PM. Women on the Run, led by Kristin Dockery and Amethyst Green, is a community for women balancing family and faith. A small group in Room 7 works through books together, currently studying Jesus Always by Sarah Young. Straight Street, led by Paul and Gail Frangoulis, follows the GUMC sermon series. Disciple Fast Track New Testament, led by Sean Pender, walks the entire New Testament in twelve weeks.
Bible studies and groups also meet on other days. Tuesdays bring a women's Bible study with Hulda Chung at 10:00 AM in Room 6, Grayson Women's Bible Study at 10:00 AM in Room 7, and Rev. Trenton Dockery's Book of Luke study at 6:00 PM in Heritage Chapel. Thursdays bring Sisters in Faith at 10:00 AM in Room 2. Fridays include the 9:00 AM Prayer Group in the Sanctuary and a Prayer Shawl Ministry that meets the first Friday of each month at 10:00 AM in Room 1. Saturdays are reserved for a women's Zoom Bible study from 9:00 to 11:00 AM.
United Women in Faith and United Methodist Men
Women in the church belong to a long-standing organization called United Women in Faith, made up of small circles that each focus on a mission interest. The women's ministry holds monthly programs with food, fellowship, and outreach to women and children. Sisters in Faith Bible Study, Circle of Friends, and other circles provide entry points for new members.
Men gather through United Methodist Men for special events, monthly meals, and missions. The Grayson Men Meeting and Dinner meets the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 PM in the Christian Life Center. Mixed Grits, a men's fellowship led by Tracy Gerard, meets the second Tuesday of each month at 8:00 AM at The Diner at Webb Gin. The Men's Open Table Prayer Breakfast, led by Bentley Sherlock, meets on the first and third Sundays at 7:00 AM in the Christian Life Center.
Music, Worship Arts, and Three Musical Ensembles
The music ministry exists, in the words of Minister of Music Dale Mowery, so that people walk out proclaiming "What a great Savior!" rather than "What a great choir." The Chancel Choir anchors the 8:45 AM Traditional and 11:15 AM Blended services, leading congregational hymns and offering choral anthems. Rehearsals run Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:00 PM, and no experience is required beyond a basic ability to sing. The Sanctuary Orchestra supports the Blended service and is open to high school age through adult instrumentalists by audition. The Handbell Choir plays once a month in the Traditional and Blended services and rehearses on Sunday afternoons. Reading music is required.
The 9:00 AM Modern service is led by Contemporary Worship Leader Paul Hedges, joined by a vocal team and band that includes bassist Kai Vaughn. Pianist Mary Ellen Doughty supports the Traditional and Blended services. Acolytes, children in first through fifth grade along with adults, light the candles in the Traditional services, assist with the offering, and help with first-Sunday Communion.
Weekday Preschool and Early Learning
Grayson United Methodist Church runs a half-day Weekday Preschool led by Director Shannon Norville. The school serves children in two-year-old, three-year-old, and Pre-K classes and operates from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM, following the Gwinnett County school calendar. Drop-off begins at 9:25 and pickup at 1:25. Limited openings are typically available, and tours are by appointment.
The preschool's philosophy celebrates each child as a unique creation of God and emphasizes Christian values of love, generosity, and respect. The play-based curriculum pulls from Get Set for School, Learning Without Tears, and Zoo Phonics, and includes Chapel time with a monthly Bible verse and a developmentally appropriate Bible story. The school is recognized as a Preschool of Excellence by the N. Ga Conference Preschool Association.
Stephen Ministry, Cancer Support, and the Care Network
Stephen Ministry extends the pastoral staff's care through trained laypeople. Stephen Ministers complete forty hours of training and then walk alongside individuals facing hospitalization, loss, divorce, chronic illness, spiritual crisis, unemployment, aging, incarceration, and other life challenges. The ministry is confidential and free.
A Cancer Support Ministry meets the second Monday of each month from 6:30 to 8:00 PM in Room 2, welcoming patients, survivors, and caregivers. The Care Ministry also includes bereavement meals for grieving families, a card ministry, a visitation team that reaches homebound members, and a sewing and knitting ministry that creates prayer shawls, blankets, and clothing items for the Dominican Republic.
Recreation: Pickleball, Soccer, Basketball, and Indoor Walking
Recreation is a serious part of GUMC's ministry, with the goal of learning the game, building community, and growing in faith. The Recreation Ministry, directed by Andy Webb, organizes a fall soccer league for children in PreK 4 through high school, a winter indoor walking program on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30 to 4:30 PM in the PLC, pickleball for older adults on Mondays from 2:30 to 4:30 PM, pickleball for adults under 50 on Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, and adult open gym basketball on Mondays from 7:30 to 9:30 PM. Chair yoga and exercise classes taught by Karen Brown of Be Strong Fitness run on Mondays and Thursdays at noon in the Christian Life Center.
Mission Work in the Dominican Republic and Beyond
Since 2013, GUMC has sent an annual mission team to San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic, partnering with missionaries Craig and Joanna McClure. The team of around twenty-two members spends five days on a construction project - past projects include a church building, a water purification plant, a classroom and administration building, a community kitchen, homes, and latrines. Other team members lead Vacation Bible School for local children, a women's ministry for the mothers, and distribute dresses, bags, and health kits sewn and assembled by the church's sewing ministry. The effort has helped plant several new churches in surrounding villages.
Closer to home, the church supports the Southeast Gwinnett Cooperative Ministry, which provides food and non-food pantry support to local households and limited financial help with utility and prescription expenses. The church also partners with Path United, a Loganville-based mission that empowers children living in mobile home parks to graduate high school and follow God's plan. The missionary support extends to Carey Childrey, who trains and coaches mission organizations across the globe through Paraclete Missions Group.
Becoming a Member and Joining the Family
Anyone is welcome to attend Grayson United Methodist Church, and membership is not required. Those who wish to become members take the traditional United Methodist vows to uphold the church through their prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. The GUMC 101 class, led by pastors and staff, offers an introduction to the United Methodist Church and to GUMC specifically, with a light lunch and time for questions. Classes meet after Sunday services at 12:15 PM in Room 2. For those ready to take the next step, Senior Pastor Rev. Trenton Dockery oversees the membership process.
Giving is available online through the church's Realm portal and by texting GUMCGIVE to 73256. The church livestreams its 9:00 and 11:15 services on Facebook and posts regular updates through Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok at @graysonumc.