Cumming First United Methodist Church

Phone: 770-887-2900

Website: www.cfumcga.com

Sunday Services: 8:45 a.m. and 11 a.m. traditional, 9:51 a.m. contemporary, 1:30 p.m. Hispanic/Latino Servicio en español

Average Attendance: 1,200

Senior Pastor: Rev. John L. Cromartie, Jr.

Denomination: United Methodist

Mission Statement:

“Through worship and service and showing God’s love for all, we strive to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

History:

The church began as a mission in the early 1800s and purchased its first site in 1832 from the town of Cumming. The handful of families that gathered in a log cabin near the square in Cumming has grown through five sites to the present location with more than 3,300 people.

Pastor’s Path:

Cromartie is a graduate of Emory University, University of Georgia School of Law, and Candler School of Theology. He practiced law, both privately and in Legal Aid. In 1988, he was ordained as a deacon and an Elder in 1992. He served as an Associate Pastor at Peachtree Road United Methodist from 1990-1997, when he joined the Cumming staff. The avid hiker completed the Appalachian Trail in 2004 and hikes portions of the trail each summer. He has also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania on two different occasions.

Ministries:

The church’s worship services are dedicated to helping each person grow in his or her relationship to God through praise, worship, study and reflection. With that foundation, the members are challenged to reach out to the community in service.

A strong United Methodist Women’s group offers spiritual growth and leadership opportunities, and supports women and children’s missions locally, district-wide, and worldwide through its programming and semi-annual consignment sale. The mission outreach works locally through the food pantry and within the Hispanic community, nationally in Henderson Settlement in Appalachia, and internationally in Honduras, Ecuador, and with overseas military members among other areas. The church’s halls stay busy with children involved in the weekday preschool program, Upward Sports program, Scouting, “More than Sunday School,” children’s choirs, and a variety of summer camps.

Each year during Lent, the One Great Day of Service (set for March 24) sends church members out to work on projects as close as Cumming and as far north as Camp Glisson in Dahlonega and south to St. Francis’ Table in Atlanta. Each year, the church feeds hundreds of neighbors at the Community Thanksgiving Dinner. Other opportunities to serve and grow include Stephen Ministry, Walk to Emmaus, grief support, Rainbows, Bible studies and other small groups.

The church’s largest service area is the Intercessory Prayer Ministry. Each week, a group reviews the prayer requests and passes them along to the more than 400-person intercessory prayer team, who not only prays, but writes handwritten notes of encouragement. This ministry currently is being used as a model for other churches wanting to start a prayer ministry.

Thoughts from the Pastor:

“We are a dynamic church committed to worshipping God and serving others. Jesus said: worship God with all your heart and love your neighbor as you love yourself. We take these words to heart and dedicate ourselves to serving others. Come visit us, register for One Great Day of Service, attend the Arts Festival in April – visit us, worship with us and serve with us.”