Fayetteville, GA – Southside Church is excited to announce that it has acquired The Dottie, an iconic event center located behind City Hall and part of the renovated Triumph Station in Fayetteville’s City Center Park, as the future home of its new Fayetteville campus.
The 90-year-old building, formerly the Fayette County gymnasium, has operated for the past year as a wedding and event venue. Roundtown Collaborations, the placemaking company behind Triumph Station, envisioned the complex, including The Dottie, with its dome-shaped wooden barrel roof and sleek glass and steel doors, as the standard gathering place for community and connection in the heart of Fayetteville.
Southside Church, which will rename the building Southside Center, seeks to continue this mission. “In light of The Dottie event center becoming available for purchase, it became clear that God was directing us to take this opportunity to not build another church building but rather to invest in the mission of City Center Park—to have an event center/church that blends in and partners with what the city is seeking to accomplish,” explained Southside Senior Pastor Chris Patton.
“Jesus came, not to be served but to serve. Our heart is not what we can get from the community but rather, how can we be FOR the community? How can we serve?” Patton shared. In addition to hosting weekly services, Southside Church plans to use Southside Center to partner with planned city events and surrounding organizations.
“For almost 20 years Southside Church has been known as a church for the hearts of those who live on the southside of Atlanta. Our Fayetteville location is another chance to continue doing just that: being FOR Fayetteville,” said Tony Jennings, Southside’s lead pastor for the Fayetteville campus. “Through meaningful partnerships and collaborations, we will be able to support the city of Fayetteville, local schools, and nonprofits by hosting fun, informative and engaging events throughout the week at our Fayetteville location.”
“Our hope is that The Dottie (now Southside Center), will be a warm, welcoming place not simply on Sundays but every day of the week,” Patton said.
For Patton, who grew up in Fayetteville, opening a Southside campus in City Center Park is a dream come true. Southside attendees who have been commuting to the Peachtree City campus will also now have a church home in the same city in which they live, making it easier to invite friends and neighbors. “This has been our strategy all along: to create environments along the southside of Atlanta where people from all backgrounds and in different places in their spiritual journey can find a place to possibly belong before they ever believe,” he said.
Learn more about Southside Center and sign up for a tour at forfayetteville.info. Look for upcoming events and grand opening services for Southside Center to be announced soon.
About Southside Church:
Southside Church is a local non-denominational church in with locations in Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Chattahoochee Hills, Newnan, and Stockbridge, Ga., that operates in strategic partnership with North Point Ministries in Alpharetta, Ga. Learn more at southside.org.
Contact: Jeremiah Bartlett, Director of Digital Strategies & Marketing
communications@southside.org | (678) 364-1575
“How can we serve?” asks Pastor Patton….Feed the hungry, heal the sick, welcome the stranger, Jesus would respond. The least we need is another church (club) in Fayette County.