Mission:

First African Church is an Africentric Christian ministry that empowers women, men, youth, and children to move from membership to leadership in the church, community, and the world.

History:

From it’s inception the members of First African resolved to be an African-centered Christian ministry. As an African-centered Christian ministry, we boldly embrace all African cultures in the process of establishing a Christian identity. We remain steadfast in our conviction that neither God, our Creator, nor Jesus, the Christ, ever intended for the Church to be or become a culturally or socially exclusive institution. Further, we remain cognizant of the fact that Jewish and Christian traditions rest firmly on east African cultural and theological foundations.

We dare proclaim that God is Black (in the sense that God was first conceived in the hearts and minds of African people), and that God Son, Joshua ben Joseph, was an African man in every sense of the word. We affirm that the church is comprised of people who have faith in God through the Christ, and are mystically united to God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

First African Presbyterian Church is quickly approaching its tenth anniversary. God has richly blessed us. We have grown from 48 prospective members in April of 1993 to nearly 700 in January 2003. We have established ministries that effectively nurture our members spiritually, culturally, and intellectually. We remain steadfast in our commitment to be a holistic church, meeting the multifaceted needs of an emerging African American middle class constituency. We remain committed to our vision of providing an Africentric Christian ministry to the metropolitan Atlanta area and the Church catholic. In order to remain strong and keep our vision alive into the next century First African must develop and commit to a progressive strategy for growth in several areas.

The essence of progressive, African-centered, church growth is found in loving, trusting, caring relationships. For the next five years we will redouble our efforts, through the board of deacons, to build deeper relationships with and among all of the members of First African Presbyterian Church. The members of First African will be taught and encouraged, through the sessions leadership, to seek opportunities for ministry and mission among Africans enduring the Diaspora in North America as a first level of priority. And we will work diligently to build lasting, reciprocal, relationships with African entrepreneurs, politicians, institutions, and community leaders.

The presence of children is vital to our present circumstance as well as our vision for the future. We will therefore establish a Saturday School for the spiritual and cultural nurture of our children, a computer lab to introduce them to new and emerging technologies, and continue to implement Rites of Passage programs to develop righteous African consciousness and conduct.

First African will become an incubator of African-centered leadership and a spawning ground for African American business enterprises. A leadership seminar will be established to teach a systems approach to leadership and engender self-confidence in prospective leaders. We will further teach entrepreneurial skills to youth and adult members of First African and the broader community.

As in all truly African cultures, the elders are of vital importance to our community. We will establish ministries for the care and nurture of our elders, honor them, and provide them with avenues to interact with our children as well as with the broader membership of the church.

Worship is the center-piece of Church life. The worship center of First African Presbyterian church will reflect an African cultural heritage, vis. a vis. the preaching, teaching, art, liturgy, and style of worship.

Education remains that ministry in the church that supports and under girds each and every other ministry of the church. The dearth of Christian education materials that reflect an African-centered world view compels us to create our own. Monies will be made available in the budget for Africentric Christian curriculum writers, artists, and editors.

First African will also become a church deeply engaged in mission efforts throughout the Diaspora and on the continent of Africa. In conjunction with the Interdenominational Theological Centers department of Missions, we will equip and empower our own missionaries, endowing them with both the spiritual acumen and practical skills needed to proclaim the good news of Africentric Christian ministry around the world. We will support their efforts with our prayers, tithes, and offerings.

Finally, First African Presbyterian Church will be a church planting ministry. We will populate metropolitan Atlanta with African-centered Christian Churches with the ultimate objective of creating a cadre of Churches espousing the Africentric Christian message. It is our fervent prayer and constant hope that the Lord our God will give us strength to achieve this bold vision for ministry by the year 2003.

Vision:

After conducting preliminary feasibility studies, the New Church Development Commission engaged the task of searching for a New Church Development pastor. The racial composition of the community surrounding the former Salem Church dictated that the committee limit its search to an African American pastor. In March 1993, the New Church Development Commission submitted a recommendation to Presbytery Council that Reverend Mark A. Lomax be called to serve the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta as a New Church Development pastor for the former Salem Church.

Reverend Lomax began his work on April 15, 1993. Along with his family, an Elder from a sister congregation, and approximately fifteen African American members of the former Salem Church, Reverend Lomax began the work of evangelizing the community surrounding the church.

The first service of worship was held just two weeks later, April 29, 1993. Forty-eight of the seventy-three people present expressed interest in helping to develop a new congregation. A steering committee consisting of twelve people was immediately formed. Less than a week later, the Reverend Vanessa G. Knight, a second year theological student at Columbia Theological Seminary, was hired as a summer student intern.

The steering committee, in cooperation with the Reverends Lomax and Knight, developed mission and vision statements, and lead the congregation through the process of selecting an appropriate name for the church. The steering committee also provided leadership in nominating and electing the very first class of elders for the emerging congregation.

The Lord blessed the new congregation mightily. By the fall of 1994, there were more than eighty people expressing interest in becoming charter members of the new church. By December, there were nearly one hundred fifty persons. On the second Sunday of December 1993, the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta issued an official charter to the new congregation. The name, First African, was officially adopted and the Reverend Mark A. Lomax was installed as the pastor of the new church.

The church continued to grow throughout 1994. The Couples Ministry was largely responsible for this growth. They developed the idea of a Friends and Family Sunday. The members of First African were encouraged to invite un-churched friends and family members to church for worship every third Sunday. The number of members almost doubled as a consequence of that effort. There was also growth in program ministry. Two Elders began developing the church school and Christian Education ministries. Two Elders provided leadership for the Worship Life ministry. Two Elders led the Community Concerns ministry. One Elder served as Treasurer and one Elder served as the churches first Clerk of Session. And two served as co-chairpersons for the Buildings and Grounds ministry.

The growth of the church during 1994 compelled the session to form a board of Deacons. The deacons were to be responsible for the pastoral care of the members and developing ministries of compassion for the community. The first class of deacons consisted of nine members. They provided valuable leadership by keeping in touch with members, initiating the At Home with First African visitation program, and getting the church involved with A.B.L.E. (Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment).

In 1995, the church continued to grow in spirit and truth. Additional members were added to the ministry, an atmosphere of love became the permanent ethos of the congregation, and members grew deeper in their understanding of the gospel and African and African American cultures and histories. Furthermore, in June 1995, First African ordained Vanessa Gail Knight as its first associate pastor. Reverend Knight, while fighting cancer, went home to be with our Lord almost exactly one month after her ordination. In 2001, the First African Community Development Corporation built a Community and Cultural Arts Center dedicated to Rev. Knight. We hired a competent staff, and have implemented distinctly African-centered activities and programs. This Center is the catalyst for positive social, cultural, economic, and political change among African people and, ultimately, all people in metropolitan Atlanta.

First African is profoundly blessed to be a part of a worldwide spiritual revival among African Christians who are convinced that the psychological, spiritual, emotional, and cultural chains of oppression must be broken in Jesus name. Eyes have not seen, nor have ears heard all that God has in store for First African, its surrounding community, and the metropolitan Atlanta area.