A 170-Year Story on Lawrenceville Highway
Rehoboth Baptist Church sits on Lawrenceville Highway in Tucker, Georgia, where the same congregation has been gathering since 1854. The story began when members of Indian Creek Baptist Church in Stone Mountain felt led to plant a new mission in the small community of Rehoboth, about five miles northeast of Decatur, where roughly ten families lived. On Saturday, August 5, 1854, the church was chartered at the J. B. Johns Schoolhouse with a sermon by Rev. S. B. Churchill, a presbytery formed by Churchill, Samuel Bryant, William H. Roberts, and James H. Weaver, and the receiving of twelve charter members. The next morning, revival services began and ran for more than three weeks, with twenty-one baptisms. Two of those new believers were enslaved people, and a fourth new member by letter was also enslaved, a quiet but real witness in a divided nation. The name itself comes from Genesis 26, where Isaac's third well is named Rehoboth because, as he said, "the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the Land." Room for everyone has been the idea ever since.
By Christmas of 1854 the first church building was up at $119, and Rehoboth has remained on its original location on Lawrenceville Highway ever since, growing through four sanctuaries built over the years. Today the church carries the name Rehoboth Church Family, marks its 170th anniversary in 2024, and is led by Senior Pastor Troy Bush, who began in 2012 when the church was struggling with significant debt and declining membership. Under his leadership, Rehoboth has reorganized, relaunched, and grown into a thriving, diverse congregation. Its doctrinal home is the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, and it partners with the Southern Baptist Convention and other networks for missions and church planting.
Sundays at Rehoboth: Bible Fellowships and Worship
Sunday is the heartbeat of the week. At 9:15 AM the Education and Children's Building fills with Bible Fellowships, small groups that meet weekly for prayer, fellowship, and the study of God's Word. Adult Bible Fellowships gather by class, while children are placed in classrooms by birthdate and grade for their own small group Bible Fellowships that include stories, crafts, and activities. Students in middle and high school gather in the Student Ministry Suite for fellowship, games, teaching from one of the adult leaders, and small group conversation. A nursery is available for babies whose parents are attending an adult Bible Fellowship.
The Sunday morning worship service begins at 10:30 AM in the Sanctuary and runs about an hour and fifteen minutes, ending in plenty of time for lunch. Pastor Troy usually preaches and teaches from God's Word each week in an engaging, practical style. Musically, the church pulls from a wide range of styles: contemporary praise, contemporary Christian music, classic hymns, gospel, and southern gospel are all in the rotation. The team uses guitars, drums, keyboards, and singers along with creative elements such as spoken word, storytelling, drama, and visual art. On some Sundays the worship team leads in the heart languages of the church family, and congregants have heard songs in Spanish, Russian, French, Amharic, and Swahili alongside English. Childcare is provided for babies through kindergarten during the service, while children in first through fifth grade attend with their families. The whole sanctuary is wired for assistive listening; devices are available at the back table for a three dollar donation and let worshipers plug in their own wired headphones and set their own volume.
Wednesdays Around the Table
Wednesdays at Rehoboth are built around shared time. Dinner is served in the Fellowship Hall at 5:30 PM, with options to order in advance on the website or bring a meal from home. Registration for dinner is required so the kitchen knows how many to prepare for. At 6:30 PM, three streams begin running in parallel.
Adults move into Disciple Group studies. Recent groups have included "After God's Own Heart," a study through 1 Samuel led by Pastor Bobby in Room A; "Theology for the Church," an in-depth look at the person and work of Christ, the atonement, the church, and the return of Christ, led by Pastor JD; and "Gospel Ignite," led by Pastor Troy, which begins with a four-week journey to bold evangelism followed by "Armor Up," four weeks on standing firm in spiritual warfare.
Rehoboth Kids runs from 6:30 to 7:45 PM for nursery through fifth grade. Children hear the Bible story and sing Scripture together, and then split by age: kids under five enjoy guided playtime, while kids five and older dive deeper by acting out the parables through drama, props, and discussion. A nursery is open for babies and toddlers whose parents are in Wednesday Bible study or prayer gatherings. The kids Wednesday program runs September through November and again February through May.
Rehoboth Students, for middle and high schoolers, begins at 6:00 PM with dinner provided in the Student Ministry Suite. Programming runs from 6:30 to 7:45 PM and includes worship, teaching that speaks to real life issues, small groups, and time in the gym for basketball, pickleball, and other games. The Wednesday rhythms for students are organized around two seasonal tracks: The Haven, a space for girls to grow into righteous and respected womanhood while learning practical skills such as using power tools, baking, basic car maintenance, gardening, and finance for life, and The Forge, a parallel track for boys covering many of the same hands-on skills alongside conversations about manhood. Pickup is by 7:45 PM, and parents are responsible for getting students home.
Rehoboth Kids: From Nursery Through Fifth Grade
Rehoboth Kids aims to give children a deeply rooted confidence in the character of God so they follow him throughout their lives. The ministry partners with parents and caregivers in the discipleship of their children by providing environments, curriculum, and resources that center on the gospel. Crystal Girton directs the ministry, and the team has its own Facebook page, Rehoboth Kids on Facebook.
Beyond Sunday Bible Fellowships at 9:15 AM and childcare during the 10:30 AM worship service, the kids ministry gathers on Wednesdays during the school year. Safety is taken seriously. All volunteers are required to pass a background check and complete a Safe Child Orientation. First-time visitors provide basic child information and an emergency contact at the front desk and receive a security card that must be presented at pickup; regular families use electronic check-in. Parents and caregivers are asked to remain on campus, attending a Bible Fellowship and the worship service, while their children are in class.
Students in Middle and High School
Rehoboth Students exists specifically to invite middle schoolers and high schoolers to follow Jesus, discipling them to mature and multiply. The team is led by Student Team Leader Alex Vickrey.
Sunday mornings run from 9:15 to about 10:30 AM in the Student Ministry Suite, with hangout time, a short Bible teaching from one of the adult leaders, and small groups where students can talk openly about the questions they carry. After the teaching time, students walk over to the sanctuary for the worship service. Following the service, the gym opens until 2:00 PM for lunch (provided by the ministry), basketball, soccer, touch football, wiffleball, and pickleball, all supervised by adult volunteers.
Wednesday nights run from 6:00 to 7:45 PM with dinner, worship, teaching, and games. In addition to the seasonal Haven and Forge tracks mentioned above, students also take part in special events such as the Students Pumpkin Pentathlon, Trunk or Treat, Students Nintendo Night, summer camps, and weekend camps. Volunteer drivers and chaperones are regularly needed, especially for overnight trips. To keep students safe, they must be picked up and driven home; carpooling is encouraged.
Women, Men, and Mentoring
Rehoboth Women centers on growing in God's Word, mentoring, serving together, and praying for one another and for the lost. The flagship gathering is Ladies Lunch, a relaxed monthly meal held on the first Tuesday of each month at noon at Matthews Cafeteria in Tucker. There is no program, no pressure, and no sign-up, just a table to gather around. A Tuesday morning women's Disciple Group, led by Brenda Wise, meets at 10:30 AM during September through November and February through April. Mentoring relationships are also available through Tina Bush, who can be reached at the welcome table in the sanctuary or by email.
Rehoboth Men gathers around its annual Act Like Men Conference, a two-day event held at the KSU Convocation Center, where men from Rehoboth and other area churches come together to be built up in their walk with Jesus. Men's Gathering steak nights and other events run throughout the year, with guest speakers such as Victor Marx, the world's fastest gun disarmer, who spoke at the March 10 gathering on making a difference against human trafficking. Men also serve as greeters, ushers, set-up and food prep volunteers, and in guest follow-up.
Music, Sports, and the Life of the Body
Rehoboth worship teams lead gospel-centered worship each week through singing, playing, and audio and visual media. The church has a rich legacy in worship stretching back more than a century, with a contemporary and intergenerational style that brings hymns and brand-new songs together. The band and praise team rotate, so the musical mix varies from week to week. Auditions are available for soloists, praise team members, choir, band, and orchestra, and the ministry also runs audio and visual teams for slides, sound, and platform support.
Sports and recreation have long been part of the Rehoboth fabric. The church has partnered with Top of the Key, founded in 1992 by Olympian Debbie Miller-Palmore, to bring year-round basketball training to athletes Pre-K through 12th grade. The partnership serves over 2,000 youth annually in Metro Atlanta through training, camps, and leagues. Adult services include the gym, which is open for Senior Social on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00 to 11:00 AM for ages 55 and up, with walking, pickleball, coffee, snacks, and 1950s music on the radio.
Loving Loud: Food Pantry and Community Outreach
LoveLOUD is Rehoboth's umbrella for the church's love of its Tucker neighbors in word and deed. 300,000 neighbors live within ten minutes of the campus, and the church sees the gospel's call to care as ongoing. Over the last twelve months, LoveLOUD helped twenty families with housing and utility needs, fed over 2,600 families through the Rehoboth Food Pantry, provided food for COVID-19 test-site workers, provided food and drinks for faculty and staff at two local schools, and coordinated an Easter event at Clarkston Station with 3,000 Easter eggs for 140 kids and teens.
The Rehoboth Food Pantry is the clearest weekly expression of that care. It is a drive-thru, no-contact food pantry open to anyone in need on the first and third Wednesdays of each month from 1:00 to 3:00 PM. The distribution point is the covered breezeway between the Sanctuary and the gym, the buildings closest to Tucker and furthest from I-285, and signs on the property guide guests to it. Volunteers serve as shoppers who purchase needed food and bring it to the church, packers on Wednesdays from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM, and distributors from 1:00 to 3:00 PM. Donations of non-perishable foods and toiletries can be dropped in the bin under the blue awning during office hours (Monday through Thursday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and Friday, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM) or on Sunday mornings from 10:00 AM to noon.
Other LoveLOUD efforts include air purifiers and school supplies for local schools, food and drinks for teachers and staff, a block party at Clarkston Station, outreach events fighting sex trafficking at local hotels, a developing foster care ministry at Rehoboth, and serving assisted living communities near the church. Volunteers also serve one hour a week through Arise2Read at Brockett Elementary School to help second graders develop reading skills, working to make the community a place where every child is literate, valued, and able to reach their God-given potential.
Global Disciple-Making and Mission Team Housing
Global disciple-making is one of Rehoboth's five 2030 Vision areas, alongside inviting others to follow Jesus, developing strong men and women of faith, investing the gospel in public, private, and home education, and launching the Rehoboth community center. The church partners with church planters to start new churches in the US and around the world and supports missionaries globally. Being on mission begins in prayer for people of all generations and all nations and in aligning time, talents, and finances with God's purposes to make disciples globally, starting at home in Atlanta.
Rehoboth also opens its campus to outside mission teams. The Christian Life Center has four sleeping areas, divided for men and women, with bunk beds that sleep sixty plus room for sleeping bags and air mattresses. The sleeping area is upstairs, with a kitchen and dining area on the lower level, and the building is attached to the gym with a full-size basketball court available by request. Mission teams can serve alongside Rehoboth in children and family outreach, including block parties, a multi-ethnic Vacation Bible School and Activity Camp the first week of June that is inclusive of special needs, an activity day camp, and partnering with ethnic churches to reach refugees and immigrants in Atlanta. Senior adult mission teams serve and encourage residents and staff at assisted living facilities through music, crafts, storytelling, personal visits, small gifts, and worship services.
Rehoboth Preschool Academy
Rehoboth Preschool Academy is a Christian full-day preschool in Tucker, near I-285 at Exit 38, licensed by Bright from the Start. The program is directed by Nicole Buskey and serves infants through pre-kindergarten with a Creative Curriculum that meets Georgia Early Learning and Development Standards (GELDS). Small group sizes with low teacher-to-student ratios, a covered drop-off and pick-up area, and ample parking make mornings manageable for busy families. Three meals are included each day and meet USDA nutritional guidelines, with morning snack at 9:15 to 9:30 AM, lunch at 11:45 AM for infants and toddlers and 12:00 PM for preschoolers, and afternoon snack at 2:30 to 3:00 PM. All staff are 100 percent first aid and CPR certified, with at least two years of experience, and either hold or are working toward a Child Development Associate credential.
Weekly chapel, Bible stories, and values-based teaching are integrated into daily learning to encourage a relationship with God from an early age. Tours are available Monday through Friday from 9:30 to 11:30 AM and 3:30 to 4:00 PM. Full-day care runs from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM, with part-time options including a half day from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, two full days on Tuesday and Thursday, three full days on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and a drop-in option at $70 per day when space allows. Rehoboth church members receive a 15 percent discount, with multi-child, educator, first responder, and healthcare worker discounts also available.
Core Commitments and Beliefs
Four core commitments shape everything at Rehoboth. Maturing means striving to become more like Jesus each day, growing in understanding and obedience through the study of God's Word. Family means living life together, loving and caring for one another as they follow Jesus as family. Serving means seeking to love neighbors and those around them through meeting physical and spiritual needs. Multiplying means inviting others to follow Jesus and seeking to make disciples of all people.
The church's beliefs are summarized in its own statement of faith, drawn from the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. The Bible is God's Word to all people, written by human authors whose words were miraculously guided and protected from error by the Holy Spirit. God is the Holy Creator, revealed in three Persons as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God eternally existing as three Divine Persons. All people, made in God's image, are worthy of dignity and respect, but rebelled against God and became sinful rebels. Forgiveness and salvation come only through Jesus Christ's death on the cross, and salvation is received by submitting to him and trusting in him to save and free from sin. The church is called to proclaim the gospel and make disciples of all nations, following the Great Commission. Mercy and justice compel the church to love neighbors and the community, opposing evil and unjust systems, with special concern for orphans and widows without family.
Plan Your Visit
Sunday morning worship begins at 10:30 AM in the Sanctuary at 2997 Lawrenceville Highway, with Bible Fellowships for adults and Rehoboth Kids and Students classes at 9:15 AM. Guest parking is reserved in front of the Education and Children's Building, the building with the blue awning, with additional handicap parking in the same area. Guests attending Bible Fellowships or dropping off young children (kindergarten and younger) before the service enter through the door with the blue "WELCOME" awning. Guests attending the worship service without children to drop off enter through the white doors facing Lawrenceville Highway.
Dress ranges from suits and dresses to blue jeans and shorts, and the church says it best: dress comfortably, because it is hard to worship if your shoes are too tight. Services run about an hour and fifteen minutes. Children kindergarten and younger are welcome to enjoy classes and childcare during the worship service; children in first grade and older attend the service with their family. The 10:30 AM service is livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook for those who want to follow along from home, and past services are archived online.
Free transportation is available for college students from Georgia State, Georgia Tech, and Emory. The Welcome Center can be reached at welcomecenter@rehoboth.org or (770) 939-3182. Giving is available online through Realm, by texting RCF to 73256, in person during the service by check or cash, or by mail to PO Box 2997, Tucker, GA 30085. Resources on how to become a Christian, what baptism means, and how to pursue church membership are available in the Resources section of the church's site, and a 2026 Soul Care Guide, based on Psalm 119, can be downloaded for a month of personal study. A year-round food pantry, Find Hope Counseling referrals, and weekly Senior Social times round out the practical ways Rehoboth serves its neighbors on Lawrenceville Highway and beyond.