“I am a Cradle Presbyterian,” Jimmy Shafe said. “My grandfather and my father were both Presbyterian Ministers, and my Mom served in Congo and Brazil as well as Moderator of Savannah Presbytery.” Jimmy’s parents moved to Congo in 1939 to serve as Presbyterian missionaries, but returned to the U.S. in 1942 when his father became ill. Years later, Jimmy returned to the Congo with his mother to continue mission work and complete his high school education. After coming back to the U.S., he attended Presbyterian College and Georgia Southern University, where he and Jan got married. Jimmy started his [...]

Prefer a front row seat at church? Not the usual choice for member Cathy LaJoe. On a typical Sunday morning, she’s more comfortable near the back. However, her perspective shifts when it comes to Discovering Shallowford, the church’s quarterly visitor class, where she has served as a long-time volunteer. “I enjoy a ‘front row seat’ to meet new folks, hear their stories, learn why they came, and what they are looking for,” said Cathy. “We form connections as we talk. I can often suggest activities or groups to fit their family members’ interests.” As a young married [...]

Mike Cannon was born in Wisconsin, where he and his four siblings were raised in the Mormon faith by loving parents in a caring, close-knit community. At the age of nineteen, Mike, like many Mormon young men, became a Missionary and traveled to Brazil. Mike loved his time in Brazil. “I learned about different cultures, learned to speak Portuguese, but most of all, I learned to focus my attention outward, to care for people other than myself,” Mike said. “That was a very important lesson for me to learn at that age.” Mike moved to Atlanta in [...]

Several years after her husband died, Peggy Smith moved to Park Springs, a senior retirement community near Atlanta, to be near family: Meg and Alan Rosselot and their two sons. “I was determined to find a church that was a good fit for me,” said Peggy. “It didn’t need to be Meg’s church. I wanted to be part of a church where I would be challenged to stretch my boundaries, to deepen my faith, to improve my ability to focus on God’s call.” Because of family connections, her first Sunday in town found her at Shallowford. She remembers [...]

Dale Smith and his wife Tricia started searching for a church to belong to after they were married in 1987. Four years later, and after moving from Midtown to Tucker, Dale officially joined Shallowford. He knew he wanted a church family close to home. “It was the preaching of Tom Are that initially stood out to me,” Dale said. "When he would preach a sermon, he could tell any kind of a story and turn it into a Biblical lesson about the human experience.” Dale quickly immersed himself in the many opportunities at Shallowford to get involved and help others. [...]