By CAROLYN CARY
Contributing Writer

The name for Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church in Peachtree City was selected because it represented Christ as the central part of the lives of those establishing the Lutheran mission, a comforting shepherd who reached out to those who were hurt and in need.

Peachtree residents, Jimmy and Margo Booth, first appealed to the Division of Missions of the Lutheran Church in the early 1970s. The Rev. John Weber was sent in September 1974 as mission developer. Word went out to interested persons and calls were made door-to-door to locate people interested in the Lutheran church.

The Waldemar Zimmermans and the Sapper family were among the first to answer the call.

The Webers conducted a meeting in their home two weeks after their arrival with the Booths and Alice Sapper in attendance.

The first worship service was Dec. 1, 1974 and even though it was a cold day, mixed with rain and snow, 80 people were in attendance. The service was conducted at the Glenlock Recreation Center, with a portable altar made by Zimmerman.

In February 1975, charter membership was opened and remained open for five months.

Sunday School classes were first conducted in June 1975 and it was also this month that the first service for the official organization of Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church was conducted, having taken place at the First Presbyterian Church of Peachtree City.

The congregation purchased 3.1 acres of land at the intersection of Ga. Highway 54 and North Peachtree Parkway.

The church then met in a warehouse until its first building was completed in 1978. The church is now on its third fellowship hall and has just added additional Sunday School rooms and a new administration area.

The church, which began with 80 members in 1974, grew to 500 members in 1984, now enjoys a membership of 1,700 persons.

The Rev. John Weber was born and reared in Red Oak, Iowa. He began to feel pulled into the ministry in grade school.

He is a graduate of Rock Island College in Illinois with a major in psychology. He then was graduated from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, with a master's in divinity.

Serving for four years at the Fox Point Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, he then received the call to Peachtree City in 1974.

He has been married to Ginnie since 1967 and they met in college. They are the parents of a son, Brent Weber, who lives in Suwanee and is a facility manager for a Presbyterian church, and a daughter, Britt Weber, who teaches kindergarten in Fayette County. Brent and his wife have two children, Skyler and Brodie.

“The focus of this church has always been to bring the gospel beyond ourselves,” said the Rev. Weber. “Our part in the community has always been a big part of that focus.”

Services are each Saturday at 7 p.m., Sunday at 8:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. with Sunday School at 9:45 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The church is at 101 Peachtree Parkway North and can be reached at 770-487-8717.