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First Afrikan Church

5197 Salem Road : Lithonia,GA 30038 PH: 770-981-2601


The First Afrikan Church Credo

We believe in the One God and Creator of the Universe. We believe that God is One and as such indivisible. We believe that the Oneness of God has been and is revealed in the doctrine of the Trinity---that there are three apsects of the One God -- Father/Mother, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that the One God was incarnate, en-fleshed, in human form through Jesus of Nazareth and that as the embodiment of God,he delivers all who believe in God through him from bondage to sin. We believe that the Holy Spirit is God in us just as God was in Jesus; that just as God was in Jesus to empower him to fulfill his life's purpose, so also is God in us to empower us to fulfill our life's purposes. We believe that those people who have gone before us and who, while alive on the physical plane of existence were loving, nurturing, committed to the welfare of younger generations,lived just lives, spoke the truth in love, and worked to make their own villages, tribes, nations and world better than it was when they were born, are ancestors. We believe that our ancestors are with us and should be honored and respected by us; and that we should invoke their names and honor their memories frequently.  We beleive that human cultures are the containers of Divine Self -Revelation and that as such,the culture of every human being is to be respected. We believe that the culture of Afrikan peoples are to be as highly regarded as the cultures of people who no longer identify as Afrikan.  We believe that Afrikan names for God are as significant as English and German names for God.  We therefore reserve the right and are determined to use the names of God that are derived from our native tongues.
* This is an excerpt of the Credo
First Afrikan History

In August 1991 the session and members of the former Salem Presbyterian Church elected to dissolve their congregation. At the stated fall meeting of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta, Salem Presbyterian Church’s petition to dissolve its membership was officially endorsed. The New Church Development Commission of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta subsequently decided to develop a new church on the Salem site.

 

In March 1993 the New Church Development Commission submitted a recommendation to the Presbytery’s Council that the Reverend Mark A. Lomax be called to serve the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta as a new church development pastor for “New” Salem Presbyterian Church.

 

Reverend Lomax arrived on the field on April 15, 1993 and began the work, along with committed family members, friends and a few former members of the dissolved Salem congregation, of evangelizing the community surrounding the church. The first worship service was held just two weeks later. Forty-eight of the seventy-three people present expressed interest in helping to develop a new congregation. A steering committee consisting of twelve people was immediately formed.

 

The steering committee, in cooperation with Reverend Lomax and Minister Vanessa G. Knight, developed mission and vision statements and led the congregation through the process of selecting an appropriate name for the church. The steering committee also provided leadership in nominating and electing the very first class of elders for the emerging congregation.

 

On the second Sunday in December 1993, The Presbytery of Greater Atlanta issued an official charter to the new congregation. The name, “First African” was officially adopted by the congregation and the Reverend Mark A. Lomax was installed as pastor.

 

Over the years First Afrikan Church has continued to grow, we cannot say what we will be when the cosmic curtain is closed on this age; but we know that God is shaping and molding us in accordance with the Divine will as together we continue fighting the beautiful fight of the faith.