A Place for All in West Cobb
On the northeast corner where Acworth Due West Road meets Kennesaw Due West Road, across the street from Due West Elementary School and Great Harvest Bread, Kirkwood Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) sits among the trees of unincorporated West Cobb. The congregation takes its name from the Scottish word kirk, meaning church, and the word wood - the "church in the woods." Inside, the building houses a small but devoted Presbyterian community that worships, learns, and serves together with a particular commitment to inclusion, creation care, and hands-on outreach to neighbors in Cobb County.
Members describe the church as an affirming congregation listed with Presbyterians for a Better Georgia and with GayChurch.org, a stance the Session identifies as part of its calling to extend Christ's love to all people. Kirkwood is also certified as an Earth Care Congregation by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Presbyterian Hunger Program and as a Certified Wildlife Habitat, reflecting a long-running commitment to environmental stewardship that is woven into worship, facilities, education, and outreach.
Roots in a Community Center, Growth in the Woods
Kirkwood's story began on January 29, 1984, when an unnamed Presbyterian (U.S.A.) congregation gathered for its first worship service in the historic Due West Community Center. Within nine months the fledgling group had outgrown that space and moved across the street to Due West Elementary School, where the first church school classes began for everyone from infants to adults.
In April 1985, members broke ground for their own building. Four months later, the congregation chose the name "Kirkwood." On January 26, 1986, the church moved into its first building on Acworth Due West Road, and on September 28, 1986, Kirkwood was formally constituted as a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The charter signed that day still hangs in the hallway just outside the sanctuary.
The congregation's founding pastor, the Rev. Vance Nesbit, served for 24 years before retiring in July 2009. After a season of supply and interim pastors, the Rev. Catherine Cavazos Renken became Kirkwood's second full-time pastor on September 11, 2011. Under her ministry the church has seen growth in participation, expanded mission, and a deeper sense of shared calling.
Sunday Morning at Kirkwood
Sunday is the heart of the week at Kirkwood. Christian Education begins at 9:30 a.m. and runs until 10:20 a.m. Children from age 3 through fifth grade meet on the second floor; youth in grades 6 through 12 gather in the second floor Fellowship Hall; and adults gather on the top floor for Adult Sunday School. A second adult study, called Adult Not-on-Sunday School, meets on the first and third Wednesdays from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. for those whose schedules make morning study difficult.
At 10:30 a.m., the congregation gathers in the air-conditioned sanctuary for worship. The service is traditional in shape, including praise, confession, Scripture reading, proclamation, offering, and thanksgiving, with congregational singing from the Presbyterian Hymnal and other sources. The Adult Chancel Choir provides an anthem each week. Communion is open to any baptized believer in Christ, whether or not they are members or Presbyterians; elders pass trays of bread and grape juice at each pew and everyone partakes together.
Children ages 3 through second grade begin worship with their families, take part in a children's sermon led by the pastor, and then head to the playground with the Children's Worship Director for a lesson tied to the day's Scripture. Nursery care is offered during Sunday School and worship for infants from 3 months through age 3, in a dedicated room on the middle level staffed by an experienced nursery supervisor each Sunday.
The service runs about an hour. Worship is also livestreamed on the church's Facebook page and YouTube channel, and recorded services are available there for viewing later.
Coffee with the Pastor and Midweek Gathering
On Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m., the pastor opens the Middle Fellowship Hall for Coffee with the Pastor, a relaxed hour of conversation and catching up that has become a steady rhythm for members and newcomers. The same day, at 12:00 p.m., the pastor leads a Tuesday Bible Study, drawing on Scripture for prayer and discussion.
Wednesdays center on music. The Handbell Choir, open to youth and adults, rehearses from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. and plays in worship quarterly. The Adult Chancel Choir rehearses at 7:15 p.m. each Wednesday and sings at every Sunday service. Members with other musical gifts - soloists, instrumentalists, and bands - are encouraged to offer special music throughout the year.
Christian Education for All Ages
Education is one of the most developed areas of church life at Kirkwood. The Christian Education Team coordinates Sunday School for all ages, Children's Worship, Confirmation Classes, third-grade Bible presentations, leadership training and teacher workshops, Vacation Bible School, Rally Day, and receptions for teachers and high school graduates. The team also supports the pastor's Tuesday Bible Study and the Wednesday evening adult class.
Children's Ministries are led by Director of Children's Ministries Dana Augur. In addition to Sunday morning programming, the Children's Choir rehearses for fifteen minutes after worship each Sunday and sings in services quarterly.
The Four:12 Youth Ministry
Kirkwood's youth ministry takes its name from 1 Timothy 4:12 - "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." Open to students in grades 6 through 12, The Four:12 meets on Sunday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.: middle schoolers on the first and third Sundays, high schoolers on the second and fourth Sundays. Volunteer Youth Director Jill Maurice leads the program.
Beyond regular gatherings, youth take part in camps, conferences, retreats, and mission projects designed for their age group, deepening friendships and serving the wider community.
Music as a Spiritual Center
Music ministry is directed by Dr. Ryan Fellman, a conductor who also serves as Interim Director of Choral Activities at Kennesaw State University, where he conducts the KSU Chamber Singers, University Chorale, Men's Ensemble, Community and Alumni Chorus, and teaches conducting. Halden Toy serves as organist, proficient on both organ and piano.
Three ensembles anchor the music program: the Adult Chancel Choir, which sings every Sunday; the Handbell Choir for youth and adults, which plays in worship quarterly; and the Children's Choir, which rehearses briefly after worship each Sunday and sings in services quarterly. Soloists, instrumentalists, and bands are welcomed as special music throughout the year.
Outreach Across Cobb County
Outreach is the visible heart of Kirkwood's mission. The Outreach Team organizes several ongoing partnerships:
- Backpack Ministry: Each year, members fill about 20 backpacks with school supplies to support MUST Ministries' back-to-school program.
- Breakfast for the Homeless: Volunteers prepare and serve breakfast six times a year at the MUST Ministries shelter.
- MUST Food Drive: A donation bin at the sanctuary entrance gathers non-perishable food for delivery to MUST.
- MUST Summer Lunch Program: Members pack lunches for children in Cobb County during the summer.
- Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Gift Drive: Each December, members provide clothing and necessities for children and non-abusing guardians served by SafePath, an organization that fights human trafficking - a cause the pastor has championed.
- Riverside Elementary Partnership: Members supply and support teachers and students at a nearby Cobb County elementary school.
- One Great Hour of Sharing: Special offerings support disaster relief through the PC(USA).
- Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Mission Trips: Adult mission trips are coordinated through this PC(USA) program.
- Little Free Pantry and Little Free Library: Both are located on the church campus for neighbors who need them.
- Service Sundays: Twice a year the congregation sets aside regular morning worship to complete hands-on projects, such as making dog toys for the Paulding County Animal Shelter, painting encouraging roadside signs, filling toiletry bags for the Men's Extension Program, cleaning up roadways, writing letters to elected officials about causes Kirkwood cares about, assembling raised garden beds for a nursing home, packing kits for Period Poverty, and sewing dresses for Little Dresses for Africa.
The Promise House
In 2014, Kirkwood purchased the residence next door to the sanctuary. Working with Home Depot and Family Promise of Cobb County, members renovated the building to address the shortage of low-income housing in Cobb County. The Kirkwood Promise House is leased to Family Promise of Cobb County and now provides transitional housing for graduates of their program. While families live there, Family Promise offers ongoing support, and a Kirkwood team helps manage transitions between residents. Each year Kirkwood also hosts families connected to Family Promise on site for two weeks as part of a rotating shelter network.
Sustainability and Earth Care
In 2024, Kirkwood was certified as an Earth Care Congregation by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Presbyterian Hunger Program and has been recertified since. The church grounds are also designated a Certified Wildlife Habitat.
The Sustainability Committee guides practical actions in four areas: worship (sermons on creation care, locally grown and pesticide-free flowers in the sanctuary, an outdoor prayer labyrinth); education (outdoor children's Sunday School, earth-care books in the church library, youth earth-care projects); facilities (more efficient HVAC and lighting, recycling and composting, native plants on the grounds, reusable plates and cups at meals); and outreach (reusing materials in social justice projects, writing to elected officials, getting members outdoors).
Recent projects include a pollinator planting on the steep bank beside the upper parking lot (the work of the self-styled "Ground Hogs"), composting at Fellowship events, recycling paper bulletins, roadside trash pickup, and education events on recycling, composting, plant-based diets, and native plants. Members advocate for creation-care legislation through the Kirkwood Environmental Advocacy email alert list.
Forty Years and a Renewed Building
Kirkwood marked forty years as a chartered PC(USA) congregation in 2026. To prepare for the decades ahead, the Session has launched a Capital Campaign organized in two phases. Phase 1 focuses on installing a centrally located elevator near the existing stairwell and expanding the lower Fellowship Hall to seat about 150 people for meals, expanding and renovating parking lots and sidewalks, renovating the playground, and repairing the sanctuary ceiling while adding fire sprinklers throughout the building. Phase 2 envisions a new narthex with a welcoming entry, gathering space, and wheelchair-accessible restrooms, along with sanctuary reconfiguration to add seating and improve flexibility.
The Accessibility Team, Administration Team, and a Building Improvements Team formed in 2025 guide the work, partnering with Horizons Stewardship and strategist the Rev. Steve Lindsley for feasibility planning. Members see the campaign as more than bricks and mortar: it is the next chapter in living out Christ's call to love God and neighbor.
Beliefs, Identity, and Leadership
Kirkwood belongs to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and to the Cherokee Presbytery. Members hold that Jesus Christ is the center of their being and the head of the church; that through Christ's life, death, and resurrection they have been saved; and that God's unconditional grace and mercy carry out the mission of the church in calling for justice and peace in worship, service, and love. The mission of the church is given form by God's activity in the world as told in the Bible and understood by faith, and that activity continues through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. The church's mission statement is simple: "To worship God, minister to our community, and be disciples of Christ."
Governance follows the Presbyterian pattern. Three classes of elected ruling elders, ordained laypeople with responsibility for leadership, governance, spiritual discernment, and discipline, share governance of the congregation with the pastor, who serves as moderator of the Session. Ministries are organized into teams covering Accessibility, Administration, Building Improvements, Christian Education, Communications, Fellowship, Finance, Membership, Nurture, Outreach, Property, Stewardship, Virtual engagement, Spiritual, and Youth. Presbyterian Women meet under the care of the Nurture committee.
Visiting Kirkwood
First-time visitors often comment that they feel known rather than singled out. Visitors are not formally introduced during the service; everyone is asked to sign the Friendship Pad at the end of the pew so worshipers can learn one another's names. The pastor follows up with a personal note of welcome.
Parking is straightforward. A few visitor spots are marked at the top of the main lot off Acworth Due West Road; additional spaces are available in the main lot, on the wooded side of the church, or on the parking pad behind the building. When those are full, members and visitors regularly park at Due West Elementary School across the street. Two marked accessible parking spaces sit near the sanctuary entrance, with a ramp leading inside. Each floor has wheelchair access at its entrance, though an elevator is not yet installed.
There is no dress code. On Sunday mornings members and guests wear everything from suits, shirts and ties, and dresses to jeans and shorts. New Member Classes are held several times a year for those who want to join; members are received by transfer of membership, reaffirmation of faith, or baptism and affirmation of faith. Baptisms are open to people of all ages, from infants to adults.
Wedding and funeral services are coordinated through the church office. The building is also available for outside use under a published Building Use Policy with a required Hold Harmless Waiver.
A Welcoming Door in West Cobb
From its modest beginning in the Due West Community Center in 1984 to its forty-year milestone today, Kirkwood Presbyterian Church has stayed close to its identity as the church in the woods - a place where faith is taught across the generations, music fills the sanctuary, neighbors are fed and housed, and the building itself is being readied for the next chapter of ministry. Whether someone arrives for Sunday worship, joins a Bible study on Tuesday morning, rings handbells on Wednesday evening, or volunteers through the Outreach Team, they enter a congregation that has found its voice in calling for God's justice to be made real in the world around it.