Every story has its own unique beginning and so do we at Christ the King. 

Before Christ the King Anglican Church was formed, the majority of its founding members were part of Trinity Episcopal Church in Winchester, TN, who during August 2003 through December 2007, struggled through a turbulent spiritual and organizational period of disillusionment induced by decisions made by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church (TEC) in both 2003 and 2006. There, decisions by the majority of church leadership delegates during both of these convention times violated long held orthodox beliefs of the faith founded on Holy Scripture, and the principles founded in the book of Common Prayer and who made unilateral decisions in contradiction to the centuries held beliefs of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Shock is the only word to describe the reaction to the heretical behavior and actions happening at the very center of TEC and, at its highest level of leadership. 

Eventually however, there came a time when the leadership at Trinity was prompted, convicted, and led by the Holy Spirit to make their own decision on whether to remain part of an organization that moved significantly away from its founded roots in Christian orthodoxy and practice. For several years we had worked with other orthodox congregations in the diocese of Tennessee and to keep the people informed of all developments taking place in TEC during this challenging time. For many returning to Scripture and heart seeking prayer for the Lord’s guidance became a mainstay and weapon and God’s word literally became “a lamp unto my feet and light upon my path.”

By the late Fall of 2007 it became clear to the leadership that if we remained longer we would become complicit with the actions of TEC. Many other detailed steps were taken in the weeks that followed but suffice it to say that when the leadership became united to step out in faith for the sake of the gospel all the pieces of moving forward began to come together.

On Epiphany Sunday, January 8, 2008, CtK made a public declaration of our faith by leaving what had been our beloved church home that so many members then and generations before had invested in since 1859, and leaving everything, all mementos, financial security, and all that had been ours at Trinity Episcopal Church Winchester to step out in faith and became Christ the King Anglican Church, The Way Forward. That evening, we gathered in a former insurance building which had been converted into our worship center. We had no hymnals or Prayer Books, but there we celebrated the Eucharist with our friends and many supporters from other places and churches. It was then the leadership shared that twelve acres of prime land (mentioned above) had been given to CtK upon which to one day build new worship and ministry facilities. This was by many realized as a true sign that God’s blessing was upon us, and to wholeheartedly follow Jesus as His disciples. Shortly after, our application to become part of the Anglican Province of Nigeria (who had previously established the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) under the leadership of Bishop Martyn Minns) was accepted by CANA. This connection with CANA allowed CtK to remain under the spiritual and canonical authority of an orthodox Anglican province.

During the next few years, folks at CtK, though feeling dislocated in a new location and on unfamiliar ground – much like a wilderness experience – entered a period of healing and spiritual growth. We lost some friends and gained others, but our core group of approximately 50 people remained faithful. We began to lay the foundation for our future through prayer groups, Bible study and Sunday school. We wanted to become known in Franklin County as a church that offered prayer and healing, reaching out to needs in the community, and discipleship. 

During June of 2009, in Beford, Texas the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) was inaugurated as an Anglican province in formation and supported by over 75% of the world-wide Anglican Communion membership and provinces of 80 million members. At present the ACNA includes 25+ dioceses, the Reformed Episcopal Church, the Anglican Network in Canada, and the Jurisdiction of Armed Forces and Chaplaincy. (Note: For more information about the ACNA click here.

During the winter of 2009 through the summer of 2010, the formation of a new southern regional diocese, “The Anglican Diocese of the South” (ADotS) located in Loganville, GA began. Several Vestry members and the Rector attended a Q/A meeting with the diocese-in-formation leaders and then informed the congregation of this new venture. Shortly after, the congregation voted to become full members in the new ADotS, and with the Vestry unanimously concurring, applied for full membership and later accepted in ADotS. (Note: For more information about the ADotS click here.

Another step forward that took place in 2009-2010 was establishing a building team to begin the process of building a chapel for worship on our gift of land. Coincident with forming the building team was a concerted effort within the congregation to begin to raise funds for that project even before the final design was conceived or approved. The Lord blessed these fund-raising and capital-campaign efforts tremendously as we melded them together with outreach and service events in the community. These efforts involved many hands and hearts to plan and implement, and the volunteers at CtK grabbed hold of them with great enthusiasm and purpose. Eventually the Lord brought it all together, and in April 2013 we broke ground on the chapel and held our first service during the last Sunday of Advent of that year. The following March, ADotS Bishop Foley Beach consecrated the chapel. Subsequently, through similar fund-raising efforts and support from other friends of CtK, the Parish Hall was built during and later occupied in September 2016 and then consecrated by Bishop Foley the following year. During June 2021, a columbarium was added to the grounds to provide a final resting place for CtK members. 

Though the building projects are a means to support gospel ministry the main ingredient to our story is the impact the gospel life at CtK makes on the surrounding community and within its members. It is the lives touched by the witness and life of Christ in the people, the transformation taking place in the disciples following Jesus, their doing the good works He has given us to do and loving each other that truly defines our story. Many are the stories and witness of others who found this to be true and but for the sake of brevity are not included here.

Our story, however, is far from over and continues to be written for it is part of God’s eternal story. He has a purpose and plan for Christ the King being worked out and walked into daily as we his disciples follow Jesus. In the end ‘our story’ must be ‘His story’ written on the hearts of the people who are part of this congregation and on those whom we reach out and touch with Jesus’ transformative power and love. This gift of land, these buildings, all serve to point others in worship to Jesus as Christ the King and to welcome and bring others into fellowship with Him as we fellowship with each other. Christ the King, The Way Forward, must become, and by God’s grace is becoming His reality as we look into the future with Jesus, being led by the Holy Spirit. Why not become part of our story, His story, at Christ the King Anglican Church?

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Heb. 11:6)

At Christ the King our beliefs are rooted in the authority of God's word written “ the Holy Bible. We affirm the faith of the whole Church, as set forth in the ancient Nicene and Apostles' Creeds. For a classic Anglican statement of faith we uphold The Articles of Religion or, 39 Articles derived from the Church of England 1662 and found in the "Historical Documents section of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, (BCP, p. 864ff). We further affirm The Jerusalem Declaration adopted by the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans in 2008, (and its companion commentary, "Being Faithful: The Shape of Historical Anglicanism Today) which states what our worldwide movement teaches today.

In agreement with the ancient creeds and Anglican statements of faith mentioned above our Rector teaches the following:

We believe in the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We confess Jesus as the Lord to whom all authority in heaven and earth has been given by the Father. We commit ourselves to follow him and love him above all else and to conform our lives to his example and teaching by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

We believe in Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, fully human and fully divine, who became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, lived a life of perfect obedience to his heavenly Father, died on the cross to atone for the sins of the world, and rose bodily in accordance with the Scriptures. God the Holy Spirit draws us to faith in Jesus Christ, through whom alone we are justified and found acceptable by God the Father.

We believe as a foundational tenet of our faith Jesus' words, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the true and revealed Word of God. In all things we submit ourselves to the authority of the Scriptures. We commit ourselves to regular Bible study and to preach and teach only that which is in accordance with Holy Scripture. We recognize truths to be taught by the Holy Spirit only when they are in accord with the Scriptures.

We believe that we are called to a life of discipleship and personal commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord. As his disciples we strive to follow the law of love Jesus commands toward the Lord our God (Matt. 22:37, Deut. 6:5); our neighbor (Matt. 22:39, (Lev. 19:18); and our enemy (Matt. 5:44ff). We acknowledge in our actions as Christ's body that in Christ's love (Eph. 4:2) we are to "make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph 4:3) so that the world may know we are Christ's disciples by our love for one another (John 13:35). As his disciples we teach and strive towards the biblical principle of thithing. (Malachi 3:10)

We believe that the Risen Lord Jesus commissioned his disciples to preach the Gospel and to follow his commandments. The mission of the Church includes evangelistic proclamation, administration of divine healing and deliverance, and deeds of love and service. We commit ourselves and our resources to this mission, both locally and to the uttermost parts of the earth. We affirm our particular responsibility to know, love, and serve the Lord in our local settings and contexts. Since the biblical pattern of witness moves from the local to the global, we will endeavor to be well-informed about our local communities and active in church planting, evangelism, service, social justice, and cross-cultural, international mission, with particular concern for the poor and the unreached peoples of the world. We embrace as a guiding principle of our mission and ministry Jesus' words, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. (Matthew 28: 18-20)

We acknowledge that we are all sinners in need of redemption, and we seek constantly to transform our lives in accordance with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We welcome all persons to Christ the King Anglican Church so that their lives may be transformed in the knowledge and love of Christ. We will oppose prejudice in ourselves and others and renounce any false notion of inclusivity that denies that all are sinners in need of repentance.

We believe that all Christians are called to lead chaste lives. In view of the teaching of Scripture, we uphold faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union, and believe that abstinence is right for those who are not called to marriage. While rejecting homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture, we call on all our people to minister pastorally and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation and to condemn irrational fear or hatred of homosexuals, violence within marriage and any trivialization and commercialization of sex. We cannot support the legitimizing or blessing of same sex unions nor the ordination of those involved in same gender unions. (Adapted from Lambeth Resolution 1.10, the Lambeth Conference of Bishops, 1998.)

We believe that all human life is a sacred gift from God and is to be protected and defended from conception to natural death. We will uphold the sanctity of life in all circumstances and share the grace and compassion of Christ with those who have in the past faced difficult decisions and realities.

Here at Christ the King we value:

1. The power of the Holy Spirit and the power of God’s word. 

Therefore we engage in biblical teaching that is Spirit-filled and based on the Holy Bible.

2. Building lives for Jesus Christ.

Therefore we regularly gather together for worship, biblical teaching and preaching and the administration of the sacraments.

3. Long-term loving relationships with each other.

Therefore we actively engage in fellowship and sharing our lives with one another on Sunday and other opportunities provided during the week.

4. Joyful worship.

Therefore we worship God joyfully in the Anglican faith tradition with song and praise and with the sacrament of Holy Communion as the center of our worship.

5. Prayer first.

Therefore we bathe all we do including worship, congregational ministry, outreach ministry and business decisions in intercessory and continual prayer.

6. Hold a passion for healing ministry.

Therefore we pray, anoint with oil and through the laying on of hands desire to see people healed and set free physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually in Jesus Christ.

"What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you “ guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. (2 Tim. 1:13-14, NIV)

As Anglicans, we are part of the province of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) through the Anglican Diocese of the South. The ACNA, established in June 2009, currently has more than 1000+ congregations and 100,000+ members. As members of the Anglican Diocese of the South we together share the ACNA mission goal of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ by strengthening existing churches and planting new congregations in our region encompassing portions of five states (GA, AL, TN, SC, NC). The province of the ACNA has received the endorsement and support from other leaders in the Anglican Communion who collectively make up the majority (60M+) of worshiping Anglicans. 

As you may have noticed the word "Anglican" shows up in our identity and connection to the church. Like other Christian traditions and denominations, we are deeply rooted and united in the Christian faith of the One Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As part of the church in North America, we believe we are living in the midst of significant reform and renewal of our Christian faith as revealed in the Bible. There is much that Anglicanism has to offer, and the questions we probably hear most often include:

What is Anglicanism, or what does it mean to be Anglican?

If you do an internet search for "Anglicanism, you will find a Wikipedia article providing this definition: "Anglicanism: A tradition within Christianity with historic connections to the Church of England, with similar beliefs, worship, and church structures.... The word Anglican comes from the Latin phrase ˜ecclesia anglicana,' or English Church." That's not bad for a dictionary type definition, but, there is so much more to know about our rich, historic tradition in being Anglican.

A Biblical Faith. Anglicanism is centered on the Bible as God's revealed word. It shows us how God has acted to save His people from the grip of sin and evil in order to offer new life in His ways. We believe the word of God is true; not just that the Scriptures contain the word of God, but that they are the word of God spoken to us. We believe the Scriptures hold authority over us, and we strive to be biblical Christians.

Belief in the Uniqueness of Jesus Christ. Authentic Anglicanism is centered on Jesus, the unique Word of God made flesh and blood, who suffered and died to make God's salvation available to all who call upon His name. Jesus Himself said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John. 14:6, NIV).

Sacramental Focus. We value the sacraments, particularly Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. The sacraments are a focal point in our worship. We believe in the real presence of Christ in our midst during Holy Communion. We are not just going through the motions with bread, wine and water. We believe that Christ is spiritually present in and through these elements, and we view them as a holy part of our life together.

Evangelical Witness. We proclaim the good news of Christ to all people. We desire to share Christ in us so all may know the great love of Jesus and His power to change and give their life purpose. We bear his message, to "go and make disciples..." (or, 'followers' of Jesus, Matt. 28:19, NIV).

God's Power at Work Among Us. We believe that the community of the church is to be a healing community, and praying community. We believe in all the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are taught in the Holy Scriptures. We want them all to be manifest.

Liturgical, Ancient and Common Worship. Anglicanism offers a rich and beautiful liturgy, using the words of our Lord Jesus Himself, accompanied by sacred music and uplifting words from a common prayer book. The way we worship God is rooted in the traditions of the early Church. The first Anglican Christians came to England in the first century and laid down the roots for how we worship God in a particular Anglican way. Our services are structured and built on those early forms of worship which were later developed into the English language during the Protestant Reformation. These forms have adapted to various cultures over time, but our worship is rooted in history.

Creedal Belief. Anglican Christianity embraces the ancient creeds of the church “ Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasius, which concisely summarize the essentials of the Christian faith.

Worldwide Unity. Anglicans are part of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church. We are made ˜one,' united by faith in and through the risen Lord Jesus Christ. We are set aside [made holy] by God as God's people and we strive to live holy lives in obedience to Jesus Christ and his word. By ˜catholic' we mean ˜universal' in all time and places. By ˜apostolic' we mean in connection to the teachings and fellowship of the first apostles. We recognize our connection to the worldwide Christian body of believers and our shared witness to the faith.

In addition to the above, other key documents, past and present that will let you know more about us and what we believe include: "The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion";  and "Jerusalem Declaration" and its companion commentary, "Being Faithful: The Shape of Historical Anglicanism Today" (A Commentary on the Jerusalem Declaration)"

If you are curious about Anglicanism or are interested in knowing more about our worship and tradition, we invite you to bring us your questions and to visit us on Sunday mornings. Christ the King Anglican Church welcomes all persons, as together, we seek to be transformed by the power and love of Jesus Christ.

If you are interested in becoming a member at Christ the King, we would be delighted to speak with you. As we take seriously Jesus’ command to “Go and make Disciples…” (Matt. 28:19), we would love to introduce you to a discipleship process called “Discovering the Way Forward with Jesus Christ”. CtK’s core value is to give everyone as firm a foundation as possible and tools to continue to grow in their life as Jesus’ disciple.