In biblical times the Sardis Church was situated in an upscale regional capital whose wealth and cultural influence were internationally significant. Like its namesake, Sardis United Methodist Church is located in an upscale regional capital whose wealth and cultural influence are internationally significant. Indeed, the Buckhead community regards itself as "Atlanta's first address." Following the Revolutionary War the Methodist Episcopal Church [MEC] was founded in 1784, and its [South] Carolina Conference was given responsibility for the two Carolinas and Georgia. That conference sent its missionaries into the Cherokee and Creek Nations. Its circuit riders followed when these lands were opened to white settlers, especially after the discovery of gold near Dahlonega in 1828.
Sardis United Methodist Church is Atlanta's oldest sustained congregation, conducting services on the present site since 1812 on land that was originally part of the Creek Nation. After their defeat in 1814, the Creek Nation surrendered its claim and subsequently sold the last of its holdings in Georgia. In 1821 the State of Georgia created Henry County from these lands and in 1825 granted to Joel Neal "Land Lot 97" on a portion of which was located Sardis Church and its cemetery. Some of the oldest known graves in the Sardis Cemetery date to 1830.
In 1830, a Methodist Episcopal Church reorganization created the Georgia Conference and Sardis continued to be served by circuit riders. Preaching was only available every two weeks and at Sardis it usually took place on Tuesdays and/or Wednesdays. Two of earliest known circuit rider preachers at Sardis were John Lane and Travis Owen.
As a prelude to the growing crisis in America, Georgia and the other southern conferences split with their northern Methodists in 1844 and established the Methodist Episcopal Church South (MECS). In 1845 the railroad was completed into Marthasville (formerly Terminus) which later became the city of Atlanta. When Fulton County was created from DeKalb County in 1853, Atlanta became its seat of government and continued to grow as a major industrial center in the South. During the Civil War, Atlanta became a strategic target, and in September 1864, General William T. Sherman's Union troops besieged and destroyed the city. Following the end of hostilities, Atlanta was rebuilt, and in 1868 it became the state's capital.
The second Sardis Church, a two-story wooden structure, replaced the original log cabin circa 1859. Although identified on General Sherman's military map, Sardis, along with several other churches in the Atlanta area, was spared in 1864 only to be destroyed by a storm/cyclone in 1875. The Sardis Cemetery also suffered much damage and overturned tombstones as a result of this storm.
Prior to its destruction Sardis Church became part of the Methodist Episcopal Church’s newly formed North Georgia Conference in 1866. The third Sardis Church (also a wooden structure) was erected with the assistance of Sardis Lodge No. 107 F. & A. M. whose roll included many church members. The lodge used the second floor of the church as a meeting place. A charter member of the lodge and its first elected worshipful master was James Robert Mayson, Sardis Church's pastor (1870-1875). The oldest Church Register in Sardis' possession dates to 1879. In 1888, Silas Donaldson, on whose farm Sardis Church and its cemetery were located, officially deeded this hallowed property to the church.
Sardis continues to be an active United Methodist Church congregation holding services every Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
