Founded in 1985 under the leadership of the iconic Rev. Frank Harrington of Peachtree Presbyterian Church – the vision was to raise needed resources, identify entrepreneurial leaders, and establish a clear, agile path for new communities to build and grow. Through grassroots efforts supported by the larger community of Presbyterians in and around Atlanta, new Presbyterian worshiping communities began to form.

Between 1985 and 2000, 11 churches were chartered. Between 2001 and 2013, the work was led by three Presbyteries: Cherokee, Northeast Georgia, and Greater Atlanta. By 2010, the growth of new communities had flourished to the point that the NCDC was incorporated as its own 501(c)3. This expanded opportunities for fundraising, calling leaders, purchasing property, and taking fast steps toward establishing new worshiping communities.

In 2014, the NCDC returned from a Tri-Presbytery Commission to a commission and non-profit primarily led by visionaries in Greater Atlanta, on behalf of the larger church. Through other partnerships with the 1001 New Worshiping Communities Initiative and the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta, the NCDC charters an average of one new church per year and currently works with more than 25 new worshiping communities under care.

Over the course of time, the purpose of the NCDC has remained the same: to increase the visibility of fresh expressions of the church, to encourage innovation in the church, to assess and bring on board the leaders needed for such a time as this, and to catalyze the development of new worshiping communities within the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta.