Momentum Church, Woodstock GA

Website: www.momentumchurch.tv

Services: 9:30 and 11:15 a.m. Sunday

Worship style: Contemporary

Average Sunday attendance: 225

Minister: Ross Wiseman

Denomination affiliation: In cooperative fellowship with the Assemblies of God

Mission statement: To help you journey forward through life with God, purpose and friends.

History: On Jan. 9, Momentum members will celebrate the church's fifth anniversary. Wiseman will present the vision for 2011 and Woodstock Mayor Donnie Henriques will be special guest. A year before the church's inaugural service on Jan. 8, 2006 – before Wiseman moved to the area -- he reserved worship space in a theater at Cherokee 16 Cinemas. After four years there, Momentum has moved to a permanent location off Ga. 92 in Woodstock. Members worked evenings and weekends to build out the 5,200-square-foot space on Londonderry Court, where the first service was held in March 2010.

Pastor's path: Wiseman was serving as senior associate pastor at a successful Ohio church when he felt a call to begin a new congregation in metro Atlanta. With no knowledge of the area, he and wife Amie visited Cherokee County in August 2004 to meet with the mayors of Woodstock and Canton before determining where to launch the church. "By the end of our first trip here, we felt it was supposed to be Woodstock," said Wiseman, who is a graduate of Oral Roberts University and was ordained by the Assemblies of God in 2003. He's been in pastoral ministry since March 1992.

Ministries: The church's strong community involvement began right after the Wisemans moved to Woodstock. One other family moved with them and in the summer of 2005, they started volunteering at concerts in downtown Woodstock. They began meeting folks and formed a core group that would grow into Momentum Church. Members continue to work at downtown Woodstock events, including summer concerts in the park, parades and the Halloween festival. Rather than hold Christmas Eve services at the church, Momentum members sponsor a Christmas in Woodstock community event, attended by more than 1,000 in 2010.

Close to 40 members joined in a December outreach, delivering presents to needy children in Atlanta. More than 100 volunteered at Momentum’s 10-10-10 festival. Members have remodeled a home for a diabetic woman, giving her a new kitchen, dining and living rooms, hallway and a couple bedrooms. A remodeling project at a foster home provided living areas for more children to move in.

“We have a group of people who are servant minded, not perfect by any means, but they want to love people and help them grow in their understanding of God,” said Wiseman. “Our people are quick to want to be a part of things and I’m so proud of them for that. They have a heart for living beyond themselves.”

In 2011, Wiseman is challenging members to look out for quarterly service opportunities. A renovated school bus will be an evangelistic tool to bring transportation-challenged neighbors to church and to distribute food in needy areas. The weekly children’s ministry is a strong, high energy Sunday offering. Journey groups will begin meeting the week of Jan. 16, offering small group gatherings for women, singles, married couples and college students.

Thoughts from the pastor: "We're living in a time when relationships can be strained and you can feel as if you're trying to do life on your own. At Momentum, we don't have all the answers, but we're discovering the answers together. And together, we can link arms and journey forward through life in our relationship with God, finding our purpose with friends who help propel us forward."