St. John began life as Sardis Church, established in 1812. It was a circuit rider church for 129 years until it was assigned a full pastor in 1941.  The church continued to grow and in the late 50's the people were feeling a need for more space. But there was no room to expand at their location near the intersection of Powers Ferry and Roswell Roads. The congregation was shown its current 9-acre tract on Mt. Paran Road, just about a mile away, and all but 6 members of the Sardis Church voted to purchase the land and relocate their church.

Ground at the new location was broken on August 28, 1960 with 300 member participating. Construction began on the Education Building which would initially be used also for the sanctuary.  The first Sunday of worship there was on April 14, 1961 with the Reverend Jimmy Budd, who led the transition, preaching a sermon entitled "What Means These Stones." Later that day, Mr. D. W (Pete) Rolader led the consecrating service.

About 25 families chose not to leave the old location and appealed to the North Georgia Conference Board of Church Extension for permission to organize their own church and retain the name of Sardis. They were allowed to do so and these families purchased the
old sanctuary back from those who had moved.

Selection of the name St. John came to the moving congregation by way of another St. John Methodist Church that had grown up on Georgia Avenue in downtown Atlanta. It had been one of the great churches of Atlanta, but due to shifting populations and commercial
and industrial development, it had been engulfed and then sold. Since it was money from the sale of this older structure that had been used to purchase the land on which we now sit, the name St. John Methodist, which now was available in the area, seemed particularly appropriate.

In October of 1965 ground-breaking ceremonies were held for an Educational Building expansion. This addition tied onto the existing square and included classrooms, restrooms, offices, a library, and a chapel. This new space was first occupied in October of 1966.

As St. John grew, the congregation wanted and needed a sanctuary. Groundbreaking for this $750,000 structure was in November 1968.
The first service was held in the new sanctuary on August 30, 1970.

From the beginning, St. John has wanted to be in service to the community. As early as 1962, the baseball field and scout hut
were constructed, as well as a weekly program in place for pre-schoolers that later grew into our current Children's Center.

As a reflection of St. John's interest in music and its justifiable pride in its music ministry was the installation of our magnificent
Schantz Pipe Organ. The organ was dedicated in 1984.

Over the years, we have had active ministries to our children, our youth, families, and singles, numerous Sunday school classes and Bible Study opportunities. We have reached out to senior adults through our TLC group, children through Vacation Bible School, and the whole community through our United Methodist Women, UMMen, Boy Scouts and, at times, Girl Scouts.   AA found a home here as did spiritual life support for Metro Atlanta Recovery Residences. We have been active in support of NYO, Moreland Avenue Shelter, Trinity Soup Kitchen, Habitat for Humanity, Sandy Springs Community Action Center, numerous missionaries around the world, and retirement centers here in Atlanta. We have used our front lawn to build the town of Bethlehem in order to proclaim Christ's birth, to sell Christmas trees and pumpkins, and to provide space for festivals and celebrations. We have offered a wide variety of services of worship.

St. John has been and remains a family. Like any family, we have had our joys and our sorrows. We have laughed and we have cried. We
have hurt and we have forgiven. We have had highs and lows. But we have always loved! We love each other, our family, and our
neighbors in the community and the world - all because, above everything else, we love our Lord. We invite you to come and be part of our
rich history and our bright future.