All Souls Fellowship: Who We Are: Our Church

Our Church

Our History

All Souls Fellowship began in the Fall of 2000 when Shayne Wheeler, our pastor, stumbled upon Decatur when meeting a friend for lunch. The aesthetic beauty, the diversity of humanity, and the wonderful cultural identity captured his heart and the vision was born.

The Wheelers moved to Decatur in July, 2001 and began laying the groundwork for a new church in Decatur. Finally, in February 2003, with a group of approximately 40 adults, the "Launch Team" was formed and began meeting most weeks for prayer, study, and planning.

On September 7th, 2003, we held our first public service of worship at the Old Courthouse on the Square in downtown Decatur. We were there for a number of weeks before moving to an old, dingy, sad little office space that we made into a sanctuary. Seriously, it was pathetic, but it was our home for many weeks until we were able to relocate to our current facility in December 2003.

As the church began to grow, God brought wonderful and capable folks to assist in the ministry of All Souls. You can read all about them on the "Our Staff" page.

Our Name

One of the first things about our church that strikes folks as weird is our name. All Souls Fellowship. What kind of a name is that?

It is clear from the Bible that names are frequently intended to mean something. Over and over again, we see that a name is given (or changed) in order to communicate a deeper meaning. For example, Abram's name was changed to Abraham. Why? In Genesis 17:4-5, God says to Abram, "this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram, your name will be Abraham." Abraham means ‘father of many.' Abraham's name reflected the covenant God made with Abraham.

We see this throughout the Scriptures. A couple of the more prominent examples are when Jacob's name was changed to Israel (Gen. 32:28) and when God instructed Joseph to give the child the name Jesus (Matt. 1:21).

A name can give significance and meaning. It can reflect purpose or identity. It tells us who we are, or what we are about. If a person does not pronounce or spell our name correctly, we feel like they have somehow misunderstood or misrepresented us. Our name is important to us because it somehow reflects who we are.

Likewise with the church. What you name a church will reflect some aspect of that church – location, mission, theological conviction, etc.. A church's name gives the community an ‘identifier' to hold onto.

So, why are we called "All Souls"?

First, our connection to historical Christianity. The name ‘All Souls' is one that has been historically used by many churches from many different traditions throughout the history of the Christian faith. While holding to different distinctives, we join them in valuing the faith of the Apostles. We stand in the stream of faith that has its basis in the person of Christ and the teachings of the Apostles. In our relativistic age, people are looking for an anchor. They have lived through many abuses of Modernity. They want to know that a church is more than just hip and contemporary. They want to know that we have not made this stuff up all by ourselves, but that we are rooted in the faith of the Apostolic Church. We are fully and joyfully aware that we stand within the holy, catholic and apostolic stream of faith.

Second, the universal offer of the Gospel. Our message and mission is illustrated by Jesus' parable of the lost sheep. The shepherd always goes after the lost sheep. Jesus says, "In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost." (Matt. 18:14) Who are the lost sheep? While God knows them by name, we do not. As his ‘under-shepherds', we have no choice but to call ALL PEOPLE into a love relationship with the Father, through the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Our offer of the Gospel of Christ MUST be universal and free, not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come faith in Jesus Christ.

In a very real sense, the name ‘All Souls' is the most biblical reflection of the true power of the Gospel. Surely the blood of Christ is sufficient to save all of mankind! Surely the Bible says that, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13). And, it is with great confidence that we can say to each and every one of our friends and neighbors, "if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord', and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Rom.10:9)

Our mission is to call ALL SOULS to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, that they too might be reconciled to their Creator! We will offer the Gospel universally and freely, and trust God to do his sovereign work of healing.

Third, nobody feels left out. This is pure pragmatics, but with the heart of the Gospel. We want EVERYBODY to be welcomed in our midst, with the hope that they too will hear the Gospel of Christ, experience the love of Christ through us, and come to know Him as their Savior. A common response to our name is "Wow, ‘All Souls!' That includes me!"