Yes, after much prayer and preparation, Zarat and I are planting a new church in Atlanta. This may seem to some as a sudden move, but this is anything but sudden. When I was twenty years old, I knew this was in the God’s path for me. A few years later when we married, my new wife agreed that this day would come as God had spoken to her as well. For the time being, we were just focused on working faithfully in our church, and twelve years later it was clear that this was God’s timing for the next step in our life journey. Last year, we went to our pastor and his wife and shared with them that we would be following God in planting a church. We are eternally grateful for the countless years of prayer, investment and support from the Destiny family.

We are headed back into the city of Atlanta to love on the West End/Vine City area and the Atlanta University Center (AUC) where Spelman, Morehouse, Morehouse School of Medicine, ITC, Morris Brown, and Clark Atlanta University are located. Although with tremendous potential, this area is largely under resourced, and the median income is around $17,000 (one mile around AUC). We desire to serve these neighborhoods and become a catalyst for change. The uniqueness of these communities is that the largest collection of African American college students in the country runs between them. I have been a college pastor for well over ten years and look forward to strategically serving and being closer to this amazing population. My wife and I are graduates of two of these schools and are excited to give back and invest in the future generation.

We are currently transitioning from the church of almost 16 years at the end of May. We are both on staff, and my wife works full time there. It’s a both a scary and exciting time as we are endeavoring to follow the Lord forward. Our lives are already complex with a son with severe special needs, but when God calls you must go and trust Him for people, resources, and support. We are receiving prayer, training, coaching, wise counsel, peer support, and encouragement as we leap forward. We gathered a prayer team 6 months ago and have begun to connect with people who have decided to join us. We are also in a massive effort to both raise funds for the church ($200,000 by end of 2012) and support for our family as we will be urban missionaries.

The churches name is… Vertical Church, and we desire to turn the city toward God. It’s our goal to be light and hope in that community in a way that we are vital to those who live there and partner to make a difference. We also desire to help draw business and commerce back to this overlooked area. We will, by God’s grace, develop leaders for the next generation. We will be holding preview gatherings and service projects starting this fall.

Please consider partnering with us by: 

Praying for Vertical Church

Serving with Vertical Church (i.e. launch team, events, service projects)

Supporting Vertical Church –Donations sent to P.O. Box 965161 Marietta, Georgia 30066

Supporting the Boyd family – Donations can be made on-linewww.hhmin.org then clicking the make a donation icon on the home page, then select the Donate to Helping Hands Approved Projects icon, then select Ministry on the category drop down list, then select DamianZarat Boyd

If you have questions, ideas, or suggestions, contact me at  damian@damianlboyd.com