After years of study and planning, the Southeastern Synod, on the recommendation of the Division for Mission in North America, agreed to send a mission developer to Carrollton in 1978. Pastor Gregg Kaufmann, who had been the pastor of Christ Lutheran in Stone Church, Pennsylvania, arrived that autumn. The DMNA identified 25 families that were interested in the establishment of a Lutheran church in Carrollton.
Operating out of an office provided by the Presbyterian Church, Pastor Kauffman named the prospective church “Grace” and scheduled a pot-luck, get-acquainted dinner at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in November. Similar meetings followed during the next several months, each of which also included a tutorial in the Lutheran liturgy for those who had not been raised in the church. During this period a steering committee, called the Service Committee, was formed. Mr. Jim Scott chaired the committee and would subsequently be the first Council president. Soon, too, a Worship Committee was formed to plan the service. In the meantime, the Synod purchased the 3 acre tract on which Grace now stands for $89,500.
In April 1979, Pastor Kaufmann led an Easter sunrise service in the overgrown field where Grace would eventually stand. Three weeks later on Mother’s Day, May 13th, Grace’s initial service was held in the gymnasium of the original Oak Mountain Academy. Charter Sunday was held in November and 61 adults signed Grace’s charter.
After 17 months at Oak Mountain, Grace moved to a store front on the corner of Brown and Stewart streets. Once Grace reached the mandated 45 households in 1982, it formed a five member building committee. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in June 1983 and construction began soon thereafter. The first worship service was conducted in Grace’s current location in January 1984.
Grace Lutheran Church is a sanctuary church where truly ALL are welcome, is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), Southeastern Synod, and continues to actively serve the people of the Carrollton area through its outreach with the Atlanta-area Hunger Walk, the Carroll County Soup Kitchen, The Open Hands Ministry, the men’s and women’s shelters of Carroll County, and by faithfully sharing the gospel of Christ to those most in need of His message of hope and love.
(Many thanks to Dr. John Ferling for his contribution on the history of Grace Lutheran Church.)
