Mt. Vernon Presbyterian Church

Website: www.mvpchurch.org.

Services: 9, 11 a.m.

Worship Style: Creative worship at 9, traditional at 11.

Minister: Rev. Joe B. Martin

Denomination Affiliation: Presbyterian Church USA

Mission Statement

“To deepen our relationship with God, share our faith in Jesus Christ, and serve others as inspired by the Holy Spirit.”

History

The 7 ½-acre property was purchased in 1953 for the first Presbyterian church in the Sandy Springs area. On Feb. 28, 1954, 40 people met in a local school auditorium for the first worship service. The official organization of the church took place in May 1954, and church members renovated an old mansion on the property into a worship space. Over the years, recreational, educational, worship and school buildings have been added to the campus.

Pastor’s path

“I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know that being a Presbyterian minister was what I was supposed to do,” said the North Carolina native, whose grandfather was a Presbyterian minister and parents were elders in the church.

After graduating from Davidson College in 1989, he enrolled in Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Va., where he graduated in 1995. He’s currently a candidate for a Doctorate in Ministry at Union Seminary.

Martin’s first position after ordination was associate pastor at First Presbyterian in Knoxville, and he served as pastor and head of staff at Northside Presbyterian in Chattanooga before joining Mt. Vernon’s staff on Jan. 1 of this year.

Ministries

The church's school, which has 740 students in preschool through 12th grade, is a strong mission of the church -- and was an attraction for Martin when considering the position at Mt. Vernon.

The pastor and his wife, also an ordained minister, are very involved in the school -- he coaches middle school baseball and she is a teacher and basketball coach. Their sons are in seventh and ninth grades there.

Helping children is a strong focus of church members.

“We have a very active mission-oriented congregation in which members of all ages engage in ministries to help others outside of the church, from Sandy Springs to Zambia,” said Martin.

For three weeks each summer, Mt. Vernon hosts more than 100 Latino preschoolers who take part in Los Niños Primero, an educational ministry that prepares the youngsters for elementary school. The program, in its 10th year, has incorporated as a nonprofit 501(c)3 that enlists the help of dozens of teenage volunteers each summer.
A Saturday quarterly program called Continuemos has been added for parents and children, offering classes in art, dance, cooking and parenting. The young students also participate in a year-round church choir.

In Lusaka, Zambia, Mt. Vernon members have built Garden Presbyterian School for children up to 6th grade. Each year a new grade is added, and each summer the church sends a mission team to Zambia.

Thoughts from the pastor

“We are trying to listen actively to scripture, our tradition, and one another as we seek God’s call for us to meet the needs of others in the world, and we’re having a lot of fun doing it.”