ARP denomination gives to Tucker PCA after building controversy

Pastor Erik Veerman of Tucker Presbyterian Church in Tucker, Ga., on Sunday told his congregation of an unprecedented contribution to their building fund. Delegates at the annual synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, or ARP, recently voted to donate $650,000 to the building fund, even though Tucker Presbyterian is affiliated with a different Reformed denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America. The unusual motion passed in a 164-83 vote after hours of debate at the ARP denomination’s synod earlier this month, according to ARP News. Tucker is about 15 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.

The money came from the assets of a dissolved presbytery, a regional governing structure in the ARP. Delegates voted to contribute to Tucker Presbyterian to right an old wrong, according to the language used in the motion at synod. The now-shuttered presbytery in 2021 chose to deny Tucker Presbyterian’s offer to buy an old ARP church building, instead accepting a lower offer from an Islamic religious center. The old building controversy came up this year because the ARP synod agenda included deciding what to do with the assets of the closed presbytery.

Delegates at the ARP synod prayed in repentance for the building decision and said they wanted to further the gospel with the money, Veerman told WORLD. Delegates also discussed Tucker Presbyterian’s specific outreach efforts to local Muslims and refugees.

What were the details of the building sale? Tucker Presbyterian in 2021 offered $675,000 to buy an old ARP church building, according to Veerman. However, the local presbytery sold the building to an Islamic Sufism study center called Maktab Tarighat Oveyssi Shahmaghsoubi. The Islamic center paid $640,000, according to minutes from ARP’s 2025 synod. A 2022 treasury report from the presbytery recorded a lower price of around $611,000.

ARP pastor Harper Price, who presented the motion to give money to Tucker Presbyterian at the synod, declined to comment to WORLD on details of the matter. Several other ARP leaders did not respond to requests seeking comment for this story. A former elder from the dissolved presbytery, who has since left the ARP, wrote online that the presbytery’s contract with the businessman behind the Islamic center was already signed before Tucker Presbyterian made its offer. WORLD was unable to independently verify his statements.

Veerman, the pastor of Tucker Presbyterian, told WORLD that the ARP’s now-dissolved presbytery made its decision because Tucker Presbyterian’s offer for the building included a waiting period to get approval from the congregation. The Islamic center had offered an immediate cash payment, he said. 

Still, the decision felt grievous. The Tucker PCA congregation was worshipping in a former barbecue restaurant at the time their offer was denied, Veerman said. They moved to a local school in 2022. The congregation of about 160 people has been meeting in the school since then, unable to find an affordable building in the metro Atlanta area.

“This should not have happened,” Veerman said. “The fact that they recognize that and they’re seeking to redeem it is a tremendous thing, and we’re overwhelmed. It will make a huge impact for us as we look to what we can afford.”