White Oak Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church stands along Gordon Road in southern Coweta County, set between Newnan and Peachtree City and not far from the small communities of Sharpsburg and Moreland. The brick and stucco campus sits a short drive from the historic streets of downtown Senoia, in a stretch of Georgia where Scots-Irish families settled in the 1830s and where, by tradition, the very first gathering of this congregation took place under the shed of an old cotton gin. Nearly two centuries later, White Oak continues to hold to the same Reformed convictions that shaped those founding families, and it gathers around the same central act: the preached Word of God, the singing of Psalms, and the shared confession of the Westminster Standards.
A Mighty Tree Since 1836
The story of White Oak runs back to 1830, when several Scots-Irish families, descendants of settlers from Counties Down and Antrim in Ireland, migrated from the Abbeville, Newberry, and Laurens Districts of South Carolina into the White Oak community. They were Psalm-singing Presbyterians, and for a time they joined the Newnan Presbyterian Church. Because of the difficulty of traveling that distance, they longed for a place of worship nearer home.
In 1836 the Associate Reformed Presbyterians of the White Oak settlement purchased a log meetinghouse called Smyrna from the Methodists, but the small body could not yet be supplied with a pastor of their own denomination. On Saturday, October 21, 1837, the White Oak congregation assembled after the morning sermon, adopted the Westminster Confession of Faith, consented to be governed by its discipline, and were solemnly set apart and constituted into a church called White Oak Presbyterian Church. Robert Russell and James Thompson were installed as ruling elders, and the Reverend Joseph Young Alexander, appointed by the Flint River Presbytery, served as the first pastor. Among the founding families were Young, Bowers, Walthall, Leslie, Stewart, Hunter, Tolbert, Bryson, Chalmers, Russell, Johnson, and Carmichael. White Oak has continued without interruption in that same community ever since, marking 175 years in 2023 and earning a featured article in the ARP News.
Three Gatherings on the Lord's Day
White Oak schedules three services each Sunday. Morning worship is held at 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. in the main sanctuary, with the same order at each service. The 11:00 a.m. service is livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel for those unable to attend in person. The service follows a straightforward, Bible-centered pattern: the Word is read, the Word is preached, and the congregation sings Psalms and hymns drawn primarily from the Trinity Psalter-Hymnal and the ARP Psalter, with occasional supplements of older and newer songs. The Lord's Supper is celebrated on the first Sunday of every month.
At 9:45 a.m., the Sunday School hour fills the education building that adjoins the sanctuary. Classes run until 10:30 a.m. and are open to every age.
Evening worship takes place at 6:00 p.m. and is conducted more casually than the morning services, with a time of prayer, singing, and teaching.
On fifth Sundays of the month the two morning services are combined into a single 10:00 a.m. service in White Oak Hall, the gymnasium at the back of the property, followed by a fellowship luncheon.
Sunday School for Every Age
White Oak takes Christian education seriously, and the Sunday School hour reflects that. Children's classes run from Pre-K through fifth grade, with current studies moving through God's Story, Jesus is God, Pleasing God, and Listening to Jesus. The opening minutes of the children's hour are set aside for Scripture memorization using Songs for Saplings. Middle and high school students meet together on the second floor for discussion-based study, Scripture and catechism memorization, and prayer with one another; their current curriculum walks through the Westminster Confession. Adults gather on the first floor of the education building for everything from inductive book studies to topical and doctrinal classes; recent offerings have included The Life of Moses, Christ in the Psalms, The Threefold Office of Christ, and Genesis. Nursery is provided for children ages 0 to 2 during Sunday School, and for ages 0 to 3 during both morning services.
White Oak Wednesday Connect
During the academic year, from September through May, the church gathers on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. for White Oak Wednesday Connect. A fellowship dinner opens the evening, after which an all-ages hymn sing moves into breakout Bible lessons at 6:00 p.m. organized by age. The program is designed for the whole family and is one of the central midweek rhythms of the church.
Bible Studies Through the Week
Outside of Sunday and Wednesday, the congregation meets in smaller circles around the Scriptures. Women's Bible studies run three times each week. A Tuesday morning study from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. works through Rebuild: A Study in Nehemiah by Kathleen Nielsen and D.A. Carson. A Thursday evening study from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. follows From Garden to Glory by Courtney Doctor, tracing the storyline of Scripture from Eden to eternity. A Friday morning study from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., meeting every other week, walks through Colossians: At His Feet; this study offers childcare for children ages 0 to 4. In addition, the Sisters in Christ Bible Study gathers on the third Tuesday of each month from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Men meet in two regular settings: a Wednesday morning Bible study at 10:30 a.m. in Room 111, and a Thursday evening prayer group at 7:00 p.m. Occasional men's fellowship breakfasts and outings are scheduled throughout the year.
Middle and high school students meet on a flexible schedule during the school year and summer for Bible study and fellowship.
What White Oak Believes
White Oak is part of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian denomination and holds to the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms. The church summarizes its convictions in five points: the Bible is the Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice; God is the Creator and sovereign ruler of the universe; Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only Savior from sin; the Holy Spirit enables believers to begin and continue the Christian life; and salvation is by God's grace, received through faith and not earned. These convictions shape the preaching, the curriculum, and the songs.
Missions Far and Near
White Oak supports an unusually broad network of mission work, locally, across the country, and around the world. Local partners include Angel's House, Bridging the GAP, the Coweta Community Food Pantry, and Coweta Pregnancy Services. Home-mission support flows through Outreach North America, the ARP's denominational church planting agency, as well as Bonclarken, the ARP camp and retreat center in the North Carolina mountains, Camp JOY, which hosts retreats for individuals with special needs, and the Erskine John and Sarah Ellen Carson Scholarship for theological students in the global south. Foreign mission work includes the medical and educational ministries of Christian Hospital Sahiwal in Pakistan, support for missionary families in England, Germany, Wales, Uganda, Scotland, and Lithuania, and partnership with SEED Ministry, PAK7, Third Millennium Ministries, and the denomination's international missions agency, World Witness.
Leadership
White Oak is served by a Senior Pastor and an Associate Pastor, working alongside a session of elders who shepherd the spiritual life of the congregation and a board of deacons who care for its physical needs and mercy ministries. Jonathan Holst became Senior Pastor in July 2024. A native of Wales, he first came to the United States to study at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in South Carolina, where he received his Master of Divinity. After a season planting a church back in Wales, he served for more than fifteen years as a pastor in Connecticut before coming to Senoia. He and his wife Sherry have three children.
Ronny Hull, the Associate Pastor, grew up in Marietta, Georgia, and met his wife Laura in Athens while working at a custom metalworks shop. Encouraged by his pastor and elders, he pursued a calling to ministry and received his Master of Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary in 2022, with ordination following in 2023. Ronny and Laura have three children, Ronald, Shepherd, and Margery.
Visiting White Oak
The church campus sits at 2796 Gordon Road, with the main entrance marked by the portico and education building directly across the street from the Memorial Garden plot. Additional parking is available behind the church and adjacent to White Oak Hall, with overflow accommodated across the street in the paved Memorial Garden area. Visitors with children will find nursery care for ages 0 to 3 during both morning services, and children's classes during Sunday School. The dress is whatever feels appropriate for a traditional Presbyterian service, and the congregation is glad to welcome guests. Online giving is available for those who wish to support the church, and the church encourages members to also place something in the offering plate during the service as a witness to children and to one another.
Songs and Sermons
Music at White Oak centers on the Psalter. Each month the church highlights a song of the month and links recordings and sheet music for anyone who wants to learn or sing along at home. Recent months have featured translations of the psalms and new hymns from Keith and Kristyn Getty and others, all drawn from the same Reformed and devotional tradition that shapes the rest of the worship. Sermons can be heard on SermonAudio or watched on the church's YouTube channel, and a current bulletin is posted for those who want to follow along with the order of service.