Name: Norcross First UMC
Address: 2500 Beaver Ruin Road, Norcross GA 30071
Phone: 770-448-4142
Website: www.nfumc.org
Services: 8:17 a.m. traditional with communion, 9:25 a.m. contemporary, 11 a.m. traditional and 11 a.m. Hispanic service in chapel
Average Sunday Attendance: 750
Minister: Rev. Terry Fleming
Denomination Affiliation: United Methodist Church
Mission statement:
“Seeking, strengthening, sending.”
History:
The church was founded in 1875 in downtown Norcross. In 1965, the congregation bought 9 1/2 acres on 2500 Beaver Ruin Road, the site of the present building.
Pastor’s path:
Fleming, who was born in Newnan, heard a “crystal clear” call to ministry at age 16.
“I was praying in my bedroom one night when, for the only time in my entire life, I heard God speak. God said, ‘I want you to preach in the Methodist church,’” Fleming said. “I said, ‘Come again?’ and I heard the voice a second time.”
With that directive, Fleming enrolled in Asbury College, graduated in 1983, and spent two years in seminary at Asbury before going to Candler School of Theology, where he finished his master’s degree in 1987.
The pastor has served churches up and down Hwy. 27 in West Georgia, from LaGrange to Chickamauga, before moving to Gwinnett in 2001. After seven years at McKendree UMC, he joined the staff at Norcross in 2008.
“I set my path and have never deviated,” Fleming said. “If God hadn’t made it crystal clear, I would have left many times.”
Ministries:
Fleming describes Norcross First as a very mission-oriented church, with active projects reaching from across the street to around the world.
Through partnerships with area schools, members give care baskets filled with supplies to teachers. A program called Half-Hour Heroes provides mentors for students at the GIVE Center West, an alternative school in the Gwinnett Country district.
A mission team is in Gulfport, Miss., helping rebuild the community that was damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
This year, members have traveled to Russia, Kenya and Nicaragua. When a team is away on a mission trip, that country’s flag is hung in the sanctuary as a reminder to members.
Last year, a couple decided to move to Namibia, on the south Atlantic coast of Africa, and serve as full-time house parents in an orphanage. As soon as they get acclimated, a mission team will travel there.
“This church has a real family feel to it,” Fleming said. “For a church of its size, it feels more like a small family. These people love each other really well.”
Thoughts from the pastor:
“I think the world needs the church to be the church, to be loving, giving and to hold out the story and the person of Jesus. That’s what we try to do all the time here at Norcross.”
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