Christ Church is a welcoming, joy-filled, intergenerational community, where worship is at the center of everything we do. We seek to extend our legacy as a house of prayer for all people where all are welcome. Today at Christ Church, you will meet people of all ages, stages, and walks of life. Together, we seek to embody the love, joy, and hospitality that Christ extends unconditionally to all.
We are a congregation of 800 members, with an average Sunday attendance of 226. The people of Christ Church are lively and committed, with members of all ages—from pre-kindergartners to retirees—actively involved in the worship, community life, and outreach of the church.
Through nearly 300 years of ministry, Christ Church has undergone many seasons of growth, loss, and change. By the grace of God, we have been resilient through these challenges. Today, our core values—Centered in Worship, All Are Welcome, Joyful Living, and Servant Leadership—serve as a steady guide. We seek a leader who will keep us rooted in this identity, while helping us grow into the next season God has for us.
As we approach the Tricentennial of our birth and look to write the next chapter in the storied history of the Mother Church of Georgia with a new rector, Christ Church’s foundation is stronger than ever, and not because our path has been easy. Quite the opposite. Christ Church has been blessed with a resilience born from our congregation’s remarkable ability to recenter on our core values even after significant disruption – growing ever more faithful and joyful for having navigated turbulent times together.
Our Core Values
Centered in Worship
We are a community centered in worship using the Book of Common Prayer. As the oldest continuing community of worship in the state (“The Mother Church of Georgia”), worship has been at the heart of our identity since 1733. Today, the people of Christ Church represent a broad spectrum of theological and political conviction. We gather together not necessarily in common thought, but in common prayer. Worship is the firm center which grounds us in community.
All are Welcome
Christ Church inherits a legacy of welcome. In the earliest days of the Georgia colony, as the only organized community of worship, Christ Church was known to conduct Sunday services in English, French, and Italian for worshippers who were not part of the Anglican tradition. This arc of inclusion continues through the Christ Church story. Today, hospitality and welcome are ingrained as church-wide spiritual disciplines, practiced with intention, joy, and care. By inviting and welcoming people of all ages, stages, and walks of life, Christ Church lives more deeply into the baptismal call to "seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself.”
Joyful Living
From our earliest days, Christ Church has been an intergenerational community. When the children of Savannah were known to be bored, John Wesley hosted what is said to be the first Sunday school in America to bring some engagement and joy to their lives. Christ Church’s heritage of “Joyful Living” continues today. Our worship is traditional, yet imbued with liveliness and warmth. Church-wide traditions of celebration and fun (like “Seersucker Sunday”) keep us from taking ourselves too seriously. Each and every Sunday, children and youth serve as full participants in the life and liturgy of the church.
Servant Leadership
Christ Church has a unique civic role in the city of Savannah and in the state of Georgia. We inherit a long and storied history as spiritual leaders in public and religious life, hosting, for instance, the community-wide memorial for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 7, 1968. Today, both as a collective and as individuals, the people of Christ Church seek to live into this legacy by following the example set for us by Christ: leading as servants with humility and love.
From the Congregation:
“This is a very welcoming, all-inclusive church.”
“I came to this church because everyone was friendly and inviting. That’s why I stayed, and that’s why I volunteer, because of the love and hospitality of the congregation.”
