100th Anniversary

Faith Driven - Future Focused

Greetings on behalf of The 100th Anniversary Committee of the English District and Bishop/President Stechholz. Bishop Stechholz has sent out articles to all churches in our District publicizing our celebration which began on May 15, 2011. As part of this celebration we have put together a cookbook with recipes from our District churches. Orders should be placed through your congregation. The proceeds from the sales along with all 100th Anniversary donations will go to start a new mission in the Atlanta area.


The Vision…
“I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also.” (John 10:16)

We were once a church plant. Every church had to start somehow, somewhere. We were a church plant of the English District and the Lutheran Church of the Ascension in Atlanta.

Over the years Jesus has added many souls to that part of “His pen” we call Christ the Shepherd in Alpharetta, Georgia. Some transferred to us from His other pen locations and some were lost sheep who heard our Shepherd’s Voice calling them through the Gospel. It never would have happened without the vision of Jesus becoming the vision of our District and congregations of it like Ascension.

Days of adventure and unknowns…wonder and amazement
“…and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened…” (Acts 3:10)

I remember those church planting days well. They were days of adventure and unknowns. They felt like my own personal book of Acts. There was wonder and amazement, fear of the Lord (because of the incredible things He was doing), and fear (sorry, I’m human and at times I didn’t know if we’d make it.)

We tried all kinds of ways to reach out to people: a telephone marketing campaign called “The Phone’s for You;” an outreach ministry called “Open Arms Child Development Center;” and, of course, my personal favorite, the “Soles for Souls” door-to-door canvassing through numerous subdivisions surrounding our intended church site (there was no internet to speak of). By the way, this last way of outreach surprised me in terms of the many connections I made. Some of our first members and my closest friends were discovered as I knocked on their door and the Spirit knocked on their hearts.

Now Christ the Shepherd is hearing the call of our Shepherd to experience the adventure and the unknowns, the wonder and amazement, once more. But this time as a planting congregation. And, as He provides, we would like to plant multiple churches. I believe this “pull” is a result of the Spirit’s conviction, our District’s modeling, and Dave Thiele’s guiding and prodding. We are certainly honored to receive support for this first plant through the English District’s 100th Anniversary Offering. What a blessing!

Proposal-Action-Plant Teams Move Us Forward…
“It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” (Acts 15:28)

So we move forward. But we know it is the Holy Spirit that leads. We are trying to insure that we are humble and listen to the Spirit and the Word and to one another as we proceed. We began a year ago with a Church Plant Proposal Team, who conducted seminars on church planting and townhall meetings for CTS members to share and discuss (very well attended). The result was overwhelming support by our Voters. Next step was to form a Church Plant Action Team. This Team is currently operating to move us forward in calling a pastor, identifying prime sites, determining policies and procedures, and encouraging prayer, missional education, and input from within the congregation. I see in these Team members the same kind of excitement I remember as they pursue the adventure and face the unknowns. After their work is completed we will form the , Church Plant Core Team, those folks from Christ the Shepherd who will align with the new church plant either permanently or for a season.

Looking North…Again!
“Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went…” (Acts 8:4)

Atlanta is not bound by any natural resource like an ocean, mountain, or river. It just sprawls in all directions. Ascension once looked 22 miles north to a growing suburb called Alpharetta to plant a church. We are looking into sites in counties where the sprawl continues, generally north again. Here is an example. Heading north along a corridor called ‘GA 400’ there is Forsyth County (30041) which has grown 23.8% in the last five years (40.1% of families have children) and 54.9% of the population is un-churched. Again, if we look to the northwest in Cherokee County we see a 32.5% population growth rate in the last five years (37.0% families with children) and 54.9% of the population is un-churched. Using tools like MissionInsite, prayer walks, and current members in these areas who “commute” to CTS (mainly from the north) we will be able to provide a church plant pastor a researched array of possible sites.

Our Main “Church Plant” Thing…
“You know the message God sent…announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, Who is Lord of all.” (Acts 10:36)

One of the amazing and compelling things we see (and you see it too) is how many people are disconnected from the church (a community of Christians gathered around Jesus through Word and Sacrament). Many people will identify themselves as Christians but have no church connection. Many others will say they believe in God but find God in their own way and want nothing to do with what they call “organized” religion. Still others have attached to different faith communities (Islam, Mormon, etc.) but not faith in Christ. We want our church and our church plant to reach out to these people as well as those already following Christ by faith. That means we don’t know exactly the shapes, styles, and strategies our new church plant will employ (adventure/unknowns). But we do know this: it will always share who Jesus is and what Jesus has done and why trusting Him changes everything in a person’s life and destiny. Our church plant will share the Gospel and we will pray for harvest. And we will be filled with amazement and wonder at what the Lord is doing.

But, Who Will the Spirit Call?
“He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord” (Acts 11:24)

We know the Holy Spirit will lead us in the adventure and through the unknowns of our church plant. And one of our most exciting tasks under the Spirit’s guidance is calling a church plant pastor…who will it be? We are already working on this with some names of pastors in the field, and we have been told there are also some candidates at the Seminary. If you have made it to this point in the article, I would invite you to share any names of possible candidates for developing a new church.

We Will Keep You Informed
“…they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.” Acts 14:27

On behalf of Christ the Shepherd, I want to thank you for partnering with us in this church plant effort. We will report to you on how God leads and blesses. Please keep this noble project in your prayers.

In Christ,
Pastor Kevin Elseroad
Christ the Shepherd Lutheran Church
Alpharetta, GA

Please continue also to keep the English District in your prayers during this centennial year.
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CLICK HERE to download the 100th Anniversary Presentation


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