Sandy Springs Christian Church sits at the corner of Johnson Ferry Road and Abernathy Road in Sandy Springs, Georgia, just north of Atlanta. It is a congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a tradition with roots in the nineteenth century Stone-Campbell Movement that holds to a simple confession of faith: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. The church's own shorthand for its life is "a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world," and that sense of openness shapes everything from how newcomers are welcomed at the door to how the budget is divided between the congregation and its neighbors.
An Open and Affirming Disciples of Christ Home
The congregation describes itself as open and affirming. Its stated vision is "to be an open and affirming congregation that models courageous conversation, extends bold welcome, and serves our neighbor," and its mission is "sharing God's love through inclusivity, service, and spiritual growth." Three values capture the same posture: living God's unconditional love, accepting everyone as a gift of God wherever they are on their faith journey, and being open-minded, listening to and respecting one another across different backgrounds and goals.
Worship at Sandy Springs Christian Church is rooted in Christian tradition and described as broadly inclusive. Services follow the Revised Common Lectionary, with the church centering its focus on a single text each Sunday while drawing from the wider lectionary across the liturgical year. The theology is described as progressive Christian, taking the Bible seriously while recognizing the context in which it was written. Communion is offered every week, and all are welcome at the table. The congregation embraces people of all national origins, sexual orientations, races, and religious or non-religious backgrounds who seek to follow the way of life embodied by Christ. As Disciples, members apply Jesus' teaching to daily life and recognize the Holy Spirit as the one who challenges, empowers, and comforts them on the journey of faith.
The 10:15 Sunday Service
Sunday mornings at Sandy Springs Christian Church follow a steady rhythm. Adult Christian education meets at 9:00 am in the Common Ground room or the Leslie Classroom, with a coffee and visiting hour in the lobby that continues until the service begins. Worship starts at 10:15 am in the sanctuary on the upper level of the building and runs roughly an hour, with communion, music, scripture, and a sermon rooted in the contemplative tradition.
The sanctuary is rooted in faith traditions while being broadly inclusive. People dress in everything from casual wear and blue jeans to "proper church attire." Audio assistance devices and large print hymnals are available. Services are livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel at 10:15 am on Sunday mornings, and recordings of past services remain accessible through the same YouTube page for anyone who cannot be there in person. A weekly bulletin is available online for those who want to follow along.
Music for All Ages
Music is one of the most visible ministries of the congregation, and it touches nearly every age group. Susan Wallace serves as Director of Music and Arts, and Ella Lewis serves as organist and pianist. Together they lead a program with multiple ensembles.
The Praise Band performs special music during the service and welcomes instrumentalists and singers. The SSCC Choir rehearses on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 pm in the Walt Michels Music Suite upstairs and provides special music at the 10:15 service as well as at special services throughout the year. The Handbell Choir performs on special occasions, and no prior experience is required. The SSCC Kid's Choir, ages 3 to 11, performs in worship several times a year. The SSCC Youth Choir, ages twelve through twelfth grade, performs special songs of their own choosing throughout the year. Susan Wallace is open to anyone who wants to make a joyful noise, and the program holds a place for singers and instrumentalists at every level.
Christian Education for Adults
Sunday morning education for adults meets at 9:00 am. Two parallel offerings are available. The Common Thread is a newer class held in the Leslie Classroom that gathers each week to discuss the texts from the Revised Common Lectionary that do not serve as the central text for the Sunday service. Members explore the similarities and differences between paired texts, ask questions, and grow more familiar with the Bible as it speaks across the liturgical Christian year. A separate Christian education offering has discussed series such as the relationship of the Declaration of Independence to Christianity and citizenship, exploring the principles of equality, God-bestowed rights, and self-rule. Everyone is welcome to grab a cup of coffee and join in.
Nursery and Children's Worship
Nursery care is offered on Sunday mornings from 8:30 to 11:30 am, covering both the Sunday school hour and the worship service. The nursery is located downstairs on the northeast side of the building. The church employs a Nursery Coordinator and a Nursery Assistant, plus a backup provider, all certified in first aid. Two workers are always on duty, in line with safety policies. Parents are asked to notify the nursery staff of any allergies, special needs, or medical conditions and to pick up children promptly when activities end. The nursery is also available for most other church functions, with advance information about hours provided to families.
Children ages Pre-K through third grade are welcome to attend Children's Worship during the service. They are invited during the service to go to the back of the sanctuary and meet with the children's worship leaders. There they hear that Sunday's story from scripture, recite the Lord's Prayer, and take part in activities before returning to the service for communion with their families. Children of all ages are welcome to stay with their families for the entire service.
J.A.M.: Jesus And Me
For children ages 3 through fifth grade, the J.A.M. (Jesus And Me) Children's Group meets after the service on designated Sundays, gathering in Dunlap Hall from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. Pickup is at 1:00 pm, and lunch is provided. The program is designed to help children begin their faith journey by discovering God in fellowship and scripture and by encountering God in service to neighbors and community. Activities include storytelling and drama, arts and crafts, cooking, singing, and games.
J.A.M. children have participated in a range of service projects over the years. They have helped lead Vespers worship and sing Christmas carols at Campbell-Stone Retirement Center in Sandy Springs, made Halloween bags for children at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, wrapped Christmas presents for kids at Lake Forest Elementary, decorated and packed school supply bags for elementary children in need, and joined the church's sandwich-making events for those in the community without enough food. Carie Whittaker serves as Director of Children and Family Ministries and oversees this work.
Youth on Sunday Evenings and Beyond
SSCC's youth meet on Sunday evenings during the school year from 4:30 to 6:00 pm in Dunlap Hall. Katie Brewer-Calvert serves as Director of Youth Ministries, supported by adult volunteers. The evening includes games, dinner, fellowship, and faith-building. The youth program draws on John 15:16, "I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that will last," and encourages young people to encounter God in the everyday and to meet and accept others where they are on their own faith journey. Volunteer cooks, donors, and meal deliverers support the Sunday evening meals, and the youth also attend summer camp.
Every year the youth group takes a mission trip. Past destinations have included Tijuana and Tecate in Mexico, where the group has helped build homes for families in need of adequate housing, Houston, Texas, where members helped with rebuilding after hurricanes, Camp Christian, where the group assisted with summer preparation, and most recently North Carolina, where youth traveled to the Christmount facility to help repair storm damage. Every summer the youth also head to Camp Christian for a week of faith, fun, and fellowship, with CYF Conference for high schoolers and Chi-Rho camp for middle schoolers.
Outreach: From Doorstep to the Ends of the Earth
Outreach is central to Sandy Springs Christian Church's faith and identity. The congregation commits a minimum of 10 percent of its budget to help neighbors locally, nationally, and internationally. The phrase that frames this work is "from our doorsteps to the ends of the earth," and the partners reflect that scope.
Locally, SSCC partners with the Community Assistance Center (CAC) in Sandy Springs, where members volunteer every third and fifth Saturday. The church also donates food, supplies, and financial support throughout the year, including cereal, oatmeal, meat entrées, pasta entrées, rice, pork and beans, quinoa, couscous, lentils, baby diapers, and wipes. The church supports the Campbell-Stone Apartments in Sandy Springs, a senior community for adults age 62 and up, by volunteering and holding worship services for residents. Sandwich-making events provide lunches for citizens in the community. Each August the church also fills backpacks with school supplies for local students in need through the CAC.
Farther afield, SSCC has partnered with Rise Against Hunger on multiple occasions, gathering on a Sunday morning in place of traditional worship to package thousands of meals for families abroad. Past shipments have gone to Gaza, Ukraine, and Somalia, and the congregation has packaged 40,000 meals through these events in total. At about $6 to feed six people, the impact adds up quickly. The church also contributes to special Disciples of Christ offerings that benefit Disciples colleges, the region, and the start of new churches across the United States, and has sponsored the resettlement of refugee families into metro Atlanta.
Small Groups, Meals, and Conversation
Several smaller groups meet throughout the week. The Friday Morning Men's Group has been meeting at 8:00 am most Friday mornings since 1990, with the exception of holiday weekends. Breakfast is provided by participants through a weekly sign-up sheet, and the group reads and discusses a book together with no outside reading required. The group is open to adult men whether or not they are SSCC members. The Sigma/Delta Circle, the women's ministry gathering, meets on second Wednesdays at 10:30 am from September through April in the Common Ground room for a short discussion and fellowship, followed by lunch in the Conference Room. The women's ministries support ongoing projects including volunteering at the Campbell-Stone Sandy Springs Corner Shop, collecting aluminum can tabs for Ronald McDonald House, and collecting plastic grocery bags for the CAC.
The International Dining Group ventures out to local Atlanta-area restaurants to experience different cuisines about once a month. The gatherings are typically held on weekday evenings around 7:00 pm or after the Sunday morning service, and anyone with a sense of adventure and an appreciation for good food is welcome. Attendees pay for their own transportation and meals. The Young Adult Group invites anyone in their twenties and early thirties to meet right after the service at a restaurant or gathering place close to the church, often during the J.A.M. program for children, so that parents can join while their children are engaged.
First-Time Visitors
The church welcomes anyone looking for a place where they are a name, not a number, where the Bible is taken seriously but not literally, and where "all are welcome" is who they are rather than what they say.
The building has parking lots and entrances on all sides. Handicap parking spaces are available on the back (east) side of the property, and an elevator moves between floors. After the service, visitors are invited to the welcome desk upstairs in the lobby, where a small gift, refreshments, and a member of the Welcome Team will be on hand to answer questions. Communion is open to all who are present, and visitors may participate without ceremony or obligation.
The Building and Rental Spaces
The church building has grown into a multi-purpose campus with several spaces available for community use. The Whitmire Pavilion is an outdoor event space surrounded by trees, with an attached kitchenette and the option of a full commercial kitchen, full A/V capabilities, 55-inch monitors, a sound system, and two gas-powered fireplaces. The pavilion can be set up for 150 people theater-style, 96 banquet-style, or as a stand-up reception. Dunlap Hall is a multi-purpose fellowship hall well suited for banquets, dinners, or large lectures, with an attached commercial kitchen available and full A/V capabilities. The Common Ground room is a casual, private meeting room equipped with A/V capabilities and comfortable for 20 people. Rooms 120 and 121 are mid-sized classrooms with chairs, tables, and whiteboards, accommodating 20 and 30 people theater-style respectively. The Leslie Classroom is the largest classroom-style space with presentation capabilities and flexible setup for 32 to 40 people. The Conference Room accommodates up to 24 people and has full presentation capability. A commercial kitchen with a commercial dishwasher, refrigerator, stove top, ovens, food warmers, griddle, and ice machine is available as an add-on for any event, and an upstairs kitchenette works for simple food preparation and storage.
The Day School
Sandy Springs Christian Church is home to The Day School, a highly rated preschool. Kathy Gregory became the director in 2010 after being a Day School parent for five years. Classes fill up quickly each year because of the love and learning the teachers bring to the program. The Day School operates under its own leadership but is closely tied to the life of the church.
Pastors and Staff
Rev. Teddy Ivey was installed as Lead Pastor on November 3, 2024. He previously served as Director of Congregational Care at SSCC beginning in April 2021, was ordained at SSCC in August 2022, and became Associate Minister in June 2023. He grew up in Athens, Georgia, attended the University of Georgia, worked in environmental education on the Georgia coast and in the Georgia mountains, and completed a Master of Divinity with a certificate in pastoral care at McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta. His wife Lauren is a high school teacher in Fulton County.
Josh Raugh joined the staff on July 1, 2026, as Associate Pastor. A native of central Virginia, he studied at Randolph-Macon College and moved to Atlanta for his Master of Divinity with a certificate in Christian Ethics at McAfee School of Theology. He lives in Flowery Branch, Georgia, with his partner Jonathan.
Susan Wallace has served as Director of Music and Arts since 2017. She directs the SSCC Adult Choir and Handbell Choir and coordinates the Praise Team and the children's and youth music programs. She holds a bachelor's degree in music education with an emphasis in piano from Shorter College and currently serves as Assistant Choral Director at Milton High School.
Ella Lewis serves as organist and pianist. A graduate of Morris Brown College with extensive graduate work at Georgia State University, she taught in the Atlanta Public School System for 37 years and is a staff accompanist at Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University and the Music Librarian/Archivist at Morehouse College.
Katie Brewer-Calvert has served as Director of Youth Ministries since June 2023. Raised in the First Christian Church of Decatur and a former Youth Director at John's Creek Christian Church for four years, she brings a Bachelor of Arts in theatre and a French minor from Transylvania University to the role. Carie Whittaker joined the staff in December 2024 as Director of Children and Family Ministries. She graduated in 2023 with her M.Div from McAfee School of Theology and has served in full-time children's ministry for almost 12 years.
A Congregation with Wide Reach
Sandy Springs Christian Church is a single congregation with a single address, but the reach of its ministries is wide. The church has sent youth and adults on mission trips from Mexico to the Carolinas, has packaged meals for families in distant places, has sponsored refugee resettlement in metro Atlanta, has packed backpacks and made sandwiches for neighbors down the road, and has opened its Whitmire Pavilion, Dunlap Hall, classrooms, and kitchen to community gatherings. At its heart, the church is built around the 10:15 Sunday service in the sanctuary, the choirs and bands that fill it with music, and the conviction that being a disciple of Christ means serving from the doorstep to the ends of the earth.