Learning from the Locals
In his ministry to the rural areas and small towns of North Georgia and Southeast Tennessee, Corey Pelton has practiced learning about...
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Church Planting Blog
The PCA’s Church Planting Strategy
At our presbytery’s August Church Planting Network Gathering, Chris Vogel spoke about national trends in church openings and closings and...
New Members, Milestones, and Maturity at Redeemer Athens
I knew I needed to just preach the Bible, because people didn’t want to read and discuss other books about the Bible - they wanted...
Meet Tyler Majors: Pastoral Intern at Lakeway Presbyterian
This June, Tyler Majors became Lakeway Presbyterian’s first pastoral intern. The Morristown, TN church is led by planting pastor Chris...
The Story of Christ Church
This month marks two years that Christ Church Presbyterian has been meeting for Sunday morning worship. The plant was started by Covenant...
Moving from the Mountain to Mosaic
Until joining Mosaic, Corby served as associate pastor at Rock Creek Fellowship on Lookout Mountain, GA. Corby and his wife, Rachel, have...
Corby Shields Joins Mosaic Fellowship
As you may recall from our previous newsletter, Mosaic Fellowship in Chattanooga, TN has been going through a leadership transition. We...
Testimonies From Two Churches
“We’ve been in Athens for about 16 years and consider ourselves Baptists, but we had a difficult time finding a Bible-centered church...
Church Planting Network Seeks to Support Pastors
Now that Travis Vaughn has joined the Tennessee Valley Presbytery as the executive director of church planting, he is working to build...
Cartecay Gathering Forms in Ellijay, GA
Through Corey Pelton’s Rural Church Development work, he’s had the opportunity to help a gathering of believers form in Ellijay, GA....
Two Leadership Transitions
We'd like to let you know that two churches in the TVP church planting initiative - one that has particularized and one that is still in...
Only God Who Gives the Growth
According to an article published by Barna Group a little over a year ago, “Even amidst the pandemic, church planting remains a priority...
Woodlands Gathering Launches Worship & Preserves Native Culture
After several years of outreach, events, and Bible studies, Woodlands Gathering officially launched Sunday morning worship on November...
The Lord’s Provision Throughout 2022
We are thankful for God's provision and care in 2022 among TVP's church planters, elders, and core groups. He is faithful. We hope the...
“Every dawn brings a stronger recognition that I am new in Christ.”
“What a joy it has been to first visit and then become a member at Grace Presbyterian Church. I have become immersed in the Word of God...
Redeemer Athens Launches Sunday Morning Worship
In less than a year since Curt Stapleton and his family moved to Athens, TN, Redeemer Athens reached the point of holding Sunday morning...
Gospel Moves Forward in Ooltewah: Grace+Peace Particularizes
On August 21, 2022, Grace+Peace celebrated their particularization service. It was clear that God had raised up the right men at the...
The Story of Grace+Peace
The first time Benjie Slaton, pastor of Grace+Peace, visited Ooltewah in 2018, he wanted to figure out just what the community of...
Introducing Matthew Bryant: Fundraising for Church Planting
From Jason Coffey Friends, it is an exciting time for the TVP Church Planting Movement. As we continue to work toward planting twenty...
Rural Church Development: Growing Roots
In the last six months, Corey Pelton has been hard at work building connections in the rural areas of north Georgia, western North...
Will Davis: A Young Pastor’s Story
Part of Corey Pelton’s work is to come alongside the pastors who are already leading churches in rural areas, whether they are...
Equipped for Ministry: Brad and Beth McRee
One part of a pastor’s job is to equip the congregation to serve each other and to be salt and light in the community. Brad and Beth...
Planting Seeds in Athens, TN
Redeemer PCA Athens is continuing to build their foundation so they can join God’s work of reaching the lost in Athens and restoring the...
Welcome Travis Vaughn, New Executive Director
We are excited to introduce Travis Vaughn as the presbytery’s new Executive Director of Church Planting. Travis comes to us from Atlanta...
Revitalization in Action: Grace Presbyterian in Jasper, TN
Grace Presbyterian Church in Jasper, TN entered a new season of growth with help from the presbytery’s revitalization program. Erik...
Revitalization & Planting Go Hand-in-Hand
When the Tennessee Valley Presbytery began developing our current church planting strategy, we also took time to assess the need for...
Thankful for Our Supporters: We Surpassed Our 2021 Goal!
By the Lord’s provision, we not only reached our 2021 financial goal of $415,000, but we surpassed it. The Lord used the generosity of...
A Physical Home for Woodlands Gathering
We are excited to announce that Woodlands Gathering closed on a new worship space in October 2021. (If you’re unfamiliar with Woodlands,...
“We want our kids to know and be known by the church.” – Brent and Hannah Fiddler
This past summer, Benjie Slaton, planting pastor of Grace + Peace Church, hosted a study on baptism. Through selected readings, monthly...
Two New Initiatives: Reaching Athens, TN and Rural Appalachia
We are extremely pleased to introduce Curt Stapleton and Corey Pelton. Both pastors are raising funds and preparing to head to the field...
A Year in Review
The Lord has been incredibly faithful to our church plants this year. As we’ve stepped out in faith, seeking to follow His will, He has...
Celebrating a Milestone: Restoration Southside Particularized
When a church plant particularizes, officially leaving behind its young, beginning stages and becoming a fully-functioning,...
God is at Work in Morristown
Located between Knoxville and Johnson City, Morristown is one of the many small towns scattered through East Tennessee. As a larger,...
The Beginnings of a Church Plant
While every church plant has a unique story, a similar process goes into each Tennessee Valley plant. From initial prayers to finding a...
God’s Faithfulness to Mosaic Fellowship
In March 2020, a group of 40 adults planned to gather for the first core group meeting of a new church plant. This happened to be the...
God Is at Work: Testimonies From Woodlands Gathering
Greg Baney, church planting pastor at Woodlands Gathering, has seen God working in the hearts of Native American people through the...
Reaching Native Americans
Corn harvested with members of the Woodlands Gathering community. In the United States, there are currently fewer than five Native...
From Consumers to Participants: Tyler and Lis Smith
Having been part of two different church plants, Tyler and Lis Smith, members at Grace+Peace, saw their mindset shift from thinking about...
Being Born Again: Rob and Amber Noland
God has been working in the lives and the marriage of Rob and Amber Noland, members of Grace + Peace, in breathtaking ways over the last...
Rural & Minority: Part of Our Strategic Plan
With a desire to fulfill the Great Commission, one piece of our strategic plan focuses on two particular types of church plants: rural...
Events & Outreach Highlights
As our church plants open their doors to community members, seeking to welcome newcomers while continuing to build community within their...
Pausing to Praise, & Looking Forward
New years are not just times for new resolutions – they are times to remember the previous year. They act as a sort of temporal ebeneezer...
Weathering a Year of COVID-19
Mosaic Fellowship in Chattanooga, TN 2020 was full of an array of challenges for church planters, from the pandemic to the politically...
Four Encouraging Encounters from the Front Lines of Church Plants
The work of church planting continues in the Tennessee Valley. Even better, God is at work through his church. Church plants reach people...
Four Myths About Church Planting
The Tennessee Valley Presbytery is in the midst of planting 20 churches in 10 years. We rejoice to see how God has provided resources to...
Why Church Planting: An Interview with Hutch Garmany
“One of the things you should realize is that before a church plant particularizes, and even before it begins public worship, it is in a...
Ooltewah: The Challenges of the Church in Suburbia
“Ooltewah is a place that represents the American suburban story.” Says Benjie Slaton, Lead Pastor at Grace+Peace Church. “Lots of new...
The Bookshelf: Resources for You & Your Church
Supporting Those in Ministry Far from being the only group that is concerned about supporting pastors, our presbytery is one of many...
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