Affable, mustachioed Australian Robin Hancox is down to earth, relaxed and has a talent for self-deprecating humor. His wife Cheryl is a native Californian. Together, they have worked in ministry for 34 years and founded Smyrna’s International Gospel Outreach Family Church (IGO), where they serve as co-pastors.

More than 800 people of mixed demographics attend the interdenominational IGO, which is situated on a seven-acre campus on Windy Hill Road. The church’s campus includes a contemporary 1,200-seat sanctuary, numerous classrooms, administrative offices, and television production.

Robin and Cheryl Hancox wound up in Atlanta through “Divine Providence,” according to Robin. “I had visited Atlanta as an itinerant Evangelist on numerous occasions. A few pastors in the Atlanta area had responded to my appearance on TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) with my wife Cheryl after the restoration of my marriage,” said Robin.

While Hancox acknowledges his “strange” Australian accent can be a help in attracting and holding people’s attention, it’s truly his Bible-based method of “preaching, psalming and prophetic teaching” that is the real draw. 

His vision for IGO in the next few years is “to educate and activate Christian men and women in the reality of The Gospel of Jesus Christ.”  He elaborated further, “the Church is not a religious mapping of people but the Light of the world and the Salt of the Earth – making a real and relevant difference in these last days before His return.”

One of Robin and Cheryl’s primary goals is to draw people into "getting revelated." He explained, “My definition of Revelation is God’s inspired answer to anyone who refuses to accept humanistic explanation of Spiritual truths.

“The word ‘revelation is derived from the Greek ‘Apokalupto,’ which means ‘to uncover, reveal, or disclose.’ Following this definition, when a Christian is ‘revelated,’ he or she is shown reality from God’s perspective. It is God’s purpose for your life revealed!”

Hancox believes that reality and application are paramount for any follower of Jesus.

Brimming with useful information, IGO’s website includes videos of select sermons. In one Robin talks passionately about God being the Master Potter, who shapes many kinds of vessels and renews our lives with purpose.

Alluding to his own past, Hancox said, “God can turn ‘dead’ into gold. He can take an individual totally dead from the neck up and turn him into a pastor.” Most memorably, he expounded, “Don’t ever quit on God. He can make something out of your biggest errors. He can create a golden vessel out of a schlub.”

In another, he stressed the importance of what we see, hear and seek. “What you allow into your mind, that’s what will go down into your heart. The word of God is the only thing that can change the heart.

In addition to its regular Sunday morning and Wednesday night services, IGO offers a fun-filled “Superchurch” for children, a dynamic “Ignite” high school ministry, and small groups for adults and the un-married. Following the Bible’s apostolic examples, IGO also reaches out into the community via numerous programs in prisons, hospitals, schools and on the street.

IGO’s services are Sundays at 10 a.m. and Wednesdays at 7 p.m.