We are called to be the hands and feet of Christ
Our History
On September 9, 1884, H.P. Irvin deeded a parcel of land to the Trustees of Macedonia Methodist Episcopal Church. These trustees were W.T. Black, E.W. Brownlow, H.J. Hill, and W.M. Robinson.
It is known that the original church building burned down. Though the official date of this is not recorded, it is said that it occurred on the day that Mrs. Sarah M. Black was buried in the church cemetery. The inscription on her gravestone shows she died February 13, 1895, so it can be assumed that the building burned sometime around that date. The church was rebuilt and continued to serve the area.
During the years of World War II, the church building deteriorated tremendously. However, in the late 1940s or early 1950s, electricity was installed and, beginning in the late 1950s, repairs, renovations, and refurnishing took place. A new floor was placed in the building, a front porch was added, and the roof and ceiling were lowered. Even at this point, though, the church building was still only a sanctuary.
Sometime in the mid to late 1970s, the front porch was altered to become the current foyer and bathrooms. In the late 1970s or early 1980s, a fellowship hall and upstairs classroom were added onto the sanctuary. Also, around the 1970s, Macedonia joined the newly formed organization, the United Methodist Church.
In the early 1990s, a significant change came when the Georgia DOT made alterations to GA Highway 254. The oldest part of the church cemetery had been across this road, separated from the church. The DOT moved the road approximately 150 feet south; the old section of road became the current side parking lot and that allowed the entire cemetery to be on one side of the road.
Since 2000, a number of additions have been made to Macedonia. In approximately 2001, the sanctuary was heavily renovated, getting new pews, carpets, and windows. The foyer also got flooring, and a steeple was added to the church roof. Also around this time, the congregation began to outgrow its building. In 2003, the fellowship hall was expanded and an additional room was added on to the upstairs. Later, in 2006, the sanctuary was also expanded.
It has always been the people that have made Macedonia what it was and is. Even when times were tough and attendance dwindled, the church survived. In the 1960s, for example, long-time Macedonia Pastor Rev. Percy Allen worked hard to keep the church doors open when only a few attended. From the early 1980s to today, the church has been blessed with numerous dedicated pastors including: Paul Wright, Boyd Irvin, Paul Crump, Ralph Long, Woodrow Hix, Edwin Smith, Dan Melvin, Ed S., Merritt Waters, Howard Staples, James Coogan, Garvis Kinsey, Jeremy McClain, and Winfred Pitts. Jeremy McClain was instrumental in leading us through the chaos of the COVID pandemic in 2020, creating a website and uploading weekly video sermons and even Sunday School lessons while we were unable to meet in person. In December 2023, Macedonia disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church, and chose to become the non-denominational Macedonia Leaf Community Church. Then-pastor Winfred Pitts was a guiding figure through this as well, helping the church to create our new constitution and bylaws. Also as part of that disaffiliation process, Macedonia was tasked with hiring their own pastor, as one would no longer be assigned by the UMC. Even though Garvis Kinsey had retired in 2019, he generously agreed to come back into the pulpit, and we are blessed with his gifts and dedication today.
Affirmation of Faith
We believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. The third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.