Core Values
Biblically faithful - We believe that God’s Word is of utmost importance in the Christian’s life and the church’s worship, government, and practice. Everything we do is to uphold the authority of the Bible while offering it as the merciful words of life to weary people.
Gospel focused - The gospel is the good news of Jesus. We believe that God’s grace changes everything. Therefore, we want to preach, teach, and demonstrate nothing other than the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ and His power to rescue and transform a people and the world for Himself.
Prayer dependent - We believe prayer is our lifeline of communication with the Father, through the risen Savior, Jesus, directing our hearts to the One who cares deeply for us and for others who desperately need Him.
Hopeful worship - Come as you are. We believe that the good news of the grace of Jesus is so inviting that we encourage bringing the full range of our humanity into authentic worship. Modeled by the Psalms, we can bring our joys, fears, griefs, doubts, and struggles before God who is our hope.
Growing in grace - God grows us through His means of grace (the Word, prayer, and sacrament). In worship, and by fostering a community of life-on-life ministry, we point each other to the hard work of trusting Jesus in all circumstances.
Hospitable community - We want to foster a genuine welcome to all. Just as God is hospitable to us in welcoming us into a relationship with Him and the family of those trusting in Jesus, we want to practice gracious hospitality by meeting, welcoming, listening to, and loving people.
Outward facing - We believe God’s heart is for the outcast, the excluded, and the unseen. He sends us as His people to tell His rescue that those who would hear might come and trust Him. We desire to build bridges rather than walls into the culture in which God has placed us. We believe that all people, children and adults, should have the opportunity to hear and understand this rescue of Jesus. We desire to communicate in such a way as to include all.
LEADERSHIP
Currently, Cartecay Gathering is a Mission church (meaning, we have not trained, nominated, and elected elders from our congregation which make up what is called a “Session”). Rather, we have a temporary Session made up of elders from Northwest Georgia Presbytery until we have our own.. A Presbytery is a group of Presbyterian churches in a geographical area. These men serve various churches in the presbytery. Cartecay is served by Corey Pelton, an ordained PCA pastor. An advisory Steering Team from Cartecay Gathering help organize ministries of the church..
Corey Pelton has been an ordained pastor for over 26 years serving as a campus pastor with Reformed University Fellowship at Belhaven College for 6 years, a church planter and pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Hot Springs, AR for 8 years, the senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Greenville, SC for 8 years, and assistant pastor at South Baton Rouge Presbyterian Church for three years. He is now the founder and director of Rural Church Development, Southern Appalachia.
Corey has three grown children. He and his wife, Holly, live in Morganton, GA and serve in Fannin, Gilmer, and Polk counties.
