Wednesday, May 7, 2003
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Wednesday, May 7, 2003 |
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New Peachtree City Community Church to hold first service Sunday By ELLIE
WHITE-STEVENS
When Gray Harwell speaks, people listen. His voice is like hot buttered toast rich, well-modulated, but with just enough gravel. Harwell speaks with compassion and love, particularly when he's speaking about the new Peachtree City Community Church (PCCC), scheduled to hold its very first service this weekend. Harwell, 56, and his wife Sandy, 55, have lived in Fayetteville since the late 1980s. Prior to moving here to pastor a church, they hosted a Christian television program on marriage. More recently, he has been in ministry to local pastors a pastor's pastor. With four adult children and two grandchildren, the Harwells will reach their 36th wedding anniversary in August. But, for the Harwells, Peachtree City Community Church is not about their 30 years of ministry experience. "You have to have God calling you to [start another church]," Harwell says. "You can't do it because you're unhappy with other churches." He adds, "It has to be built on relationships. We've attended North Point, and as Pastor Andy Stanley says, 'church exists for people to be in relationship with God and each other.'" Sandy Harwell continues, "It's not about religion, it's about relationship; that's what God wants for us with him and what he wants with each other." For that reason, the leadership team for PCCC has already begun meeting together, praying together. "The first thing the Lord said to us was to build a strong relationship with the founders, the leaders of the church," Harwell said. Every Wednesday and every Sunday for the last month, this team has gathered, often for a meal, always to pray for their new community. Last week they explained what drew them together. Tommy and Suzanne Parrish of Peachtree City needed advice on which local church might be a good fit for them, having left their former church a month or so before. In his "retirement" from corporate work, Tommy Parrish led in administration at his previous church. He was looking forward to "sitting back and relaxing." But God had other plans. The Harwells had dinner at the Parrish home with their care group, a small praise, prayer and Bible study gathering. Rather than asking the Harwells about a church, Tommy found himself asking, "Have y'all ever thought about starting a church in Fayette County?" It was something the Harwells had been praying about for several years. They always thought God would bring them the right people to start it. In an instant the group knew that this was from God. They would build a church. The Parrishes brought in other friends from the care group. Signing on right away were Bob and Diane Hartman. "Everyone expressed that we wanted to see and be in the presence of the Lord," Hartman said. His wife added, "We've been seeking a place where God's presence would be. We knew we would know when we would find it. We believe God is accomplishing something we've been praying for for years." Harwell plans to preach a series on what God wants in a church. And, to that, Suzanne Parrish says, "That's the cry of my heart, not what I want, but what God wants. It's for the Lord's glory, not ours. We want to know Him better. We want to glorify Him." Harwell says, "My first responsibility is to love the people, before preaching and teaching. If I love the people and feed them with the Word, they will be healthy and grow, and I will earn the privilege of leading them." Harwell's wife says of her husband, "I think they will see God's love in him and God's love is irresistible." Harwell says the new church wants to be a church that's passionate about God. "The presence of God changes lives. First he changes us, then our homes, then our communities, then the world," he said. To demonstrate the life-changing presence of God is the desire of the whole leadership team. They exhibit that in their words, and in the way they treat one another. They are working together to share responsibilities. Sandy Harwell says, "We can all be like Jesus, because he lives in us." Her husband added, "The people in the church are going to reach out to nonbelievers. We become an expression of Christ," The Harwells want to avoid religious "trappings " and Harwell says that the advantage to starting a new church is a clean slate. "You can direct it in the way God has put it in your heart," he says. Suzanne Parrish adds, "A lot of people reach over God to build a church. We want to follow after God." Her husband Tommy is now out of retirement, again, and has taken on the responsibility of the new administrator of PCCC. The new church begins holding worship services this Sunday at the Peachtree Wyndham Conference Center. Services start at 10:30 a.m. |
