He will be succeeded by the Rev. Jeff Norris, 40, currently assistant directional leader . Norris was confirmed by the church at a special congregational meeting in March.

Pope founded Perimeter Church in 1977 with 20 members in a Buford Highway strip mall and has served as senior pastor since that time.

The church now has 4,500 members.

“My wife, Carol, and I could not have imagined how much God would accomplish in and through this church over the past 42 years,” Pope said in a release.

Pope has written several books and is known in the Atlanta faith community as one of the leaders in the church planting movement. Perimeter is part of the Presbyterian Church in America.