In 2002, Rev. Sunny C. John arrived as a student at Columbia Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia and contacted Mr. Satheesh Thomas and Mr. Santhosh Thomas. Their families were settled in Atlanta already. Although they were members of STECI, they were worshipping in other churches. They formed a worship group here. This is the beginning of Atlanta Parish.
Mr. Reji George and family from Chattanooga, TN joined the group. Mr. Subin Mathew, Mr. Sam Abraham and family, and Mr. Samji Oommen and family also took part in our worship services. Bishop M.K. Koshy visited Atlanta and conducted a Holy Communion service in August 2003. In August 2005, Bishop T.C. Cherian visited and conducted a convention and a Holy Communion service. The arrival of Mr. Thomas John and family from Bombay via Virginia has given the parish a lot of heartiness and encouragement.
When Bishop M.K. Koshy visited again in August 2007, our church was recognized as the Atlanta parish. In November 2007, the Sabha Council approved the Atlanta Parish and Rev. Sunny C. John as the first Vicar. Achen went back to JMBC after completing his doctoral thesis in Counseling from Columbia Seminary. In July 2008, Rev. Dr. Paul J. Pathickal was appointed as the second Vicar of the Parish. Because Achen lives in Teaneck, New Jersey, he came to Atlanta once a month. When he was not able to come, he deputed other presbyters to the parish.
In August 2009, Bishop Thomas Abraham visited our parish. Rev. Jobi Mathew of Dallas Parish was appointed in May 2010 as the third Vicar. Rev. Dr. M. J. Thomas (Administrator of the North American region of the Bahya India Diocese), who also provided guidance, and other STECI vicars have come to minister to us. Mr. Mathew Philip and family join us occasionally and the messages he gives us are uplifting to all of us, especially to our youth. His son, Mr. Tiji Philip, and Mr. Subin Mathew taught our Sunday School class. Mrs. Rachel Thomas is now teaching our Sunday School class. Our vice president, Mr. Thomas John; our secretary, Mr. Satheesh Thomas; our treasurer, Mr. Santhosh Thomas; our accountant, Mr. Reji George; our Sevini Samajam leader, Mrs. Jessy Varghese; and our youth leaders, Nina Thomas and Gijo Varghese have been serving our church ever since the beginning. Mr. Sunoj Skariah and family, Mr. and Mrs. M.V. Varghese, and Mr. Ashok George are also taking part in our services.
We do not have a church building of our own and are grateful to the Columbia Presbyterian Church for allowing us to meet in its fellowship hall for our worship services and special prayer meetings since 2003. We have worship services and Sunday School every Sunday, cottage prayer meetings every Saturday, and youth meetings, Sevini Samajam meetings and fasting prayer meetings every month. We also participate in a non-denominational Prayer Meeting on Fridays. We also support STECI through JMBC, Hindi Belt Mission, Orissa Mission, and Gujarat Mission. The Lord has blessed us so far. The Lord’s name is praised. Atlanta is the most important city in the southeast region of the United States and there are a number of Indians in this region. The Lord has enabled us to grow spiritually and financially. Please pray that the Lord will enable us to stand as His witnesses in this region of the country.