History of Christ United Methodist Church

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Christ United Methodist Church is a young and growing church.  CUMC is situated on 9.5 acres of beautiful farm land in Roswell.  Our location is in an area that has exhibited tremendous population growth and continues to be a popular place to live and raise a family.  This fact affords CUMC many possibilities.  It is our goal to become a medium sized church, retaining the warmth and intimacy of a small congregation while offering programs and services to meet the needs of a large congregation.  We have a strong professional staff and an equally strong lay involvement.  It is exciting to be a part of a young and growing church, to help lay the foundation, and to make an impact in our community.

Our church was chartered in 1969 as North Fulton UMC, and the sanctuary was situated on Warsaw Road at the present site of the Fulton County Senior Citizens Center.  As Roswell rapidly expanded in size and to the West, membership at North Fulton fell to about 40 families.  At a church conference, June 8, 1988, the members voted unanimously to sell the Warsaw Road property and purchase the Mayes farm at the corner of Bowen and Woodstock Roads, and on September 18, 1988, the membership voted unanimously to change the name of the church to Christ UMC.

The first service at the current location was held in the living room of the farmhouse on August 20, 1989 with Rev. Jeff Ross presiding.  We grew steadily to the point where we had to knock down walls in the farmhouse to accommodate our parishioners.  As growth continued so did our need for space, and in January of 1993, with a membership of about 60 families, we moved the sanctuary from the farmhouse to a triple wide trailer.

In 1994 we experienced rapid growth for the next few years.  With about 200 members and visitors attending worship every Sunday, plans were made and executed to build a multi-use facility to house our growing congregation.  The groundbreaking ceremony was held on January 12, 1997. 

The old sanctuary was deconsecrated on October 19, 1997, and the trailers, which were in the way of the construction, were sold to another church.  Between October and December of 1997, we worshipped in a big tent which was often referred to as “the tabernacle in the wilderness”. 

On December 21, 1998, we held our first service in our new sanctuary. In June of 2000, Rev. Chuck Savage was assigned to Christ UMC as Pastor.  We have experienced tremendous growth since that time.  God has nurtured and upheld us in the past, and our future is in His hands.

The Rev. Keith Lawder Joined Christ Church in June 2008. Keith is married to Mary L. Lawder, RN, who serves as a Parish Nurse and Director of Cancer Ministries for the Atlanta Roswell District of the North GA Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Christ Church is an open and affirming congregation, and we welcome anyone who desires to be a part of the Body of Christ.

We invite you to become an integral part of Christ United Methodist Church.  You can help us shape the future growth and ministry of OUR church.

For the History of the United Methodist Church, click here