When the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church asked the Rev. Jim Ellison if he wanted to start a new church in his home county, he didn't hesitate to say "yes."

Some three years later, Providence United Methodist Church, where the Rev. Ellison is the senior pastor, has an average Sunday worship attendance of over 300. The church congregation is looking forward to Sunday, Nov. 22, when it will hold the first worship service in its own facility, located in Fayette County on Bernhard Road just outside the Peachtree City limits. Until that time, worship services are being conducted at Braelinn Elementary School on Robinson Road, where the church has met for the past three years.

The Rev. Ellison is not only a Fayette county native, he comes from a family with a long history in this area. He is the son of Calvin and Marie Ellison, and Ellison Road in Tyrone, where he grew up, was once the driveway for his great grandfather's home.

He also married a local Methodist minister's daughter, Beth Parrish. She is the daughter of the Rev. Gary and Ann Parrish. Gary is the senior pastor of Newnan First United Methodist Church. The Ellisons have two sons, Will, four; and Ben, one.

Graduating from McIntosh High School in 1986, he was a member of the school's third graduating class. Among his high school accomplishments was playing for the McIntosh Chiefs football team, and he fondly remembers during his senior year the team recorded its first winning season on the gridiron, defeated arch rival Fayette County for the first time, and went to the playoffs.

Following high school, the Rev. Ellison attended Young Harris College, receiving an associate degree in religion, then earned a bachelor's degree from LaGrange College, and was awarded a master of divinity degree from the Candler School of Theology of Emory University in 1993. While attending LaGrange College and Emory, he served as youth minister for Fayetteville First United Methodist Church.

Ordained in the North Georgia Conference in summer of 1993, the Rev. Ellison was assigned to LaGrange United Methodist Church as associate pastor.

"A few months after I went to LaGrange," he remembered, "I was asked about starting the new church in Fayette County, and during my last year in LaGrange, I was allowed to spend one day a week working on the new church."

Working to start a core group, he concentrated on people he had known while growing up in Fayette County and on people who had once gone to church, but who for various reasons, were no longer attending.

"Our major target group," he said, " consisted of couples with children who were currently unchurched. Many of these families had some church background, but had stopped attending, and now that they had children realized that church is important to their family life."

On Sunday, Dec. 7, 1997, groundbreaking was held on the church's first facility, an 18,200 sq. ft. multi purpose facility which is basically a gymnasium surrounded by Sunday School space. This is the first phase of Providence United Methodist's 12-year building plan for its 108-acre site on Bernhard Road. Phase II will be educational facilities, the third phase will be the sanctuary, and Phase IV will be additional educational space.

Explaining the reason for starting with a multi-purpose building, the Rev. Ellison said, "At this stage of our growth, we couldn't justify putting our money into a facility that we will outgrow in the near future.

Having the gymnasium ties directly into one of Providence's primary specialties, sports ministry. This will not only be a valuable facility as the church works with children and youth, but will also be utilized by adults and by the entire community.

"We plan to offer basketball and volleyball leagues for young people and adults, not only for our church, but for the entire community. And, the size of our property will allow us to build soccer and softball fields," said the Rev. Ellison. The sports ministry will be benefited by the fact that four members of the coaching staff at the nearby Starr's Mill High School are members of the congregation.

In addition to the senior pastor, the Providence United Methodist staff consists of a youth director, a children's director, a music director, a children's music director, a care ministries director, and a pianist, as well as administrative staff. The church can be contacted by calling 770-487-3821.

This year, Providence United Methodist is focusing on Bible study, prayer and small groups. The church is offering what the pastor calls "solid Biblical teaching" for children and youth.

"The young people are responding by bringing their parents in with them, and this has been one of the biggest tools in our evangelism program," the Rev. Ellison said.

He also pointed out that Providence United Methodist is a "tithing congregation," with 10 cents (off the top) of every dollar given going to missions. The church has also been active in community outreach, and recently joined with members of Peachtree City United Methodist Church to build a Habitat for Humanity home in Riverdale.