Mount Vernon Baptist Church

We wish to be used by God to establish a new church. By God’s grace, power, and help, we intend to plant Trinity Church in northwest Cobb County in early 2024.

Our Name

One historic statement of faith known as The Abstract of Principles says, “God is revealed to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being.” This doctrine–known as the Trinity–has united Christians for thousands of years. We believe sinners are reconciled to the eternal, unchanging, holy God through the work of the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, we acknowledge that the mission of the church–universal and local–is to make disciples of the risen Christ by baptizing them in the triune name of God and instructing them in his whole counsel.

Churches have named themselves after the Trinity for over a millennium. By calling our church Trinity Church, we aim to express our commitment to the historic Christian faith and solidarity with the saints of past generations.

Why Plant?

We believe the local church is God’s “Plan A” for reaching the nations. Though Cobb County is well-canvased with a number of churches. We believe a few of them are healthy. By a “healthy church,” we mean churches committed to the biblically-prescribed elements of a local church. Here are a few of the distinctives of Trinity Church we wish to emphasize:

  • We believe the Word of God builds his Church.
  • We believe the pulpit sets the course for the Church.
  • We believe healthy churches need healthy Christians. And God’s great means of building healthy Christians is by nourishing them through faithful sermons.
  • We believe God ordains the events of salvation from beginning to end.
  • We believe God had a definite intention and purpose for the Church in Christ’s death.
  • We believe God’s sovereign action in salvation is compatible with man’s responsibility to believe. Moreover, God’s sovereignty is compatible with the church’s burden to proclaim to all people the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name.
  • We believe a local church’s worship forms disciples.
  • We believe that a church is a gathering of saints.
  • We believe our gatherings must be regulated according to the Bible.
  • The Church is a family.
  • The Church fosters spiritually intentional relationships.
  • The Church is for the spiritually hungry.
  • We aim to cultivate a culture of planting and strengthening healthy churches.
  • We aim to cultivate a culture of serving and knowing other churches.
  • We believe a culture of evangelism is accomplished best through organic relationships which emphasize the clarity of the gospel.

Our City

Our intention is to plant in Northwest Cobb County, in the city of Kennesaw. Our goal would be somewhere close to downtown Kennesaw.

Leadership

Trinity Church is not yet a church. Therefore, we do not yet have formal leadership. However, it’s our intention that Trinity Church be led by a plurality of biblically qualified elders. Currently, Trinity is being led by a few elders of Mount Vernon Baptist Church. These men will not be officially recognized as elders of Trinity Church until the new congregation constitutes and affirms them as their leaders.

Zack DiPrima

Zack anticipates being a teaching elder at Trinity Church, giving special attention to preaching and discipleship. He grew up in a Christian home in South Florida, coming to faith at ten years old under the preaching of faithful pastors. After studying finance in college, he and his wife, Erin, were members of Mount Vernon Baptist Church for three years until they moved to Winston-Salem to plant Emmanuel Church. In recent years, Zack completed his M.Div. at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he is also working on a Ph.D. in Church History. Zack returned to Atlanta in 2021 to join the staff of Mount Vernon. He is married to Erin, and they have three children: Ezra, Ada, and Cora.

Kalep Kanode

Kalep grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, and was raised in a Christian home. He believed and was baptized as a middle schooler, but began closely walking with God his senior year of high school after gaining a deeper understanding of his own sin and God’s grace in Christ. Kalep met his wife Katrina in grade school, and they were married in 2016 shortly after moving to Atlanta and joining MVBC. They have a daughter and a son: Avery and Asa. Kalep works full-time as a civil engineer and was called to be an elder at Mount Vernon in 2020. He looks forward to serving in the same capacity at Trinity Church Kennesaw.

Jack Lupas

Jack grew up in eastern PA and moved to the Atlanta area right after college. God miraculously saved Jack in his late 20s, and he was baptized soon after. He is a business owner in the waste stream management and recycling industry. He and his wife have been married for almost 34 years and have 3 daughters and 6 grandchildren. Jack joined the eldership of Mount Vernon in 2022 and he anticipates serving in a similar capacity at Trinity Church Kennesaw.

Our Partners

Trinity Church will be planted out of Mount Vernon Baptist Church, an established congregation in Atlanta, led by Senior Pastor Aaron Menikoff. Mount Vernon is part of the Association of Churches for Missions & Evangelism (ACME) and is in friendly cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention.

Though Trinity Church will be an independent church, it will not be an isolated church. Thus, we intend to partner with different organizations to foster healthy catholicity among like-minded churches.

Meeting Place

 

 

Our Need

We pray that you will consider the ways you can partner with us in the task of planting Trinity Church:

Commenting on Jesus’s ministry, Charles Bridges observes that “nothing important was done without prayer.” If this was true for Jesus, how much more so for us? Would you please join us in praying for this church plant? Please email Zack if you wish to receive a newsletter and updates.

This work cannot thrive without our covenanting members’ generosity and other churches’ support. We are seeking individuals, organizations, and churches to partner with us. Though we hope to have significant internal support from our members on day one, we’re seeking to raise $100,000–150,000 from outside partners. You can also give online and donate to the “church plant” fund. Checks can be mailed to 850 Mount Vernon Hwy Atlanta, GA 30327 with “Trinity Church Plant” in the memo.

We would be delighted to speak with you about relocating to be part of this new work in Greater Atlanta. Please email or call Zack if you’re interested.

If you know of other people, organizations, or churches that might be interested in partnering with us, please help us by making the connection.