What It's Like Establishing A Church In Charlotte, NC, The Queen City?
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by: matthewhemsley
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Word Count: 542
Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2011 Time: 11:02 PM
Establishing a church in Charlotte is an unique experience. We were cautioned before we came that the Queen City has an one-of-a-kind religious character that has proved challenging to countless people. There is simply so much church around, so many really excellent practitioners, preachers and leaders, so much spiritual endeavor, so much spiritual history, so many amazing stories of God's work (like what has taken place with Billy Graham and his organization) and some evenly wonderful and well known disasters, from which all too public humiliations the city is still blushing. So you know that you are not going to have an easy ride.as if planting is ever likely to be such easy.
But there is no question that Charlotte is an one-of-a-kind city to plant in. It's Christian ancestry makes it in some ways a comradely place to create a new congregation. People have no distress or embarrassment in talking about things spiritual. In fact, even spontaneously you are likely to be asked where you belong, or what denomination you are part of. It's as commonplace as talking about a game of football, or expressing where you wish to shop. And in a thousand ways the Christian inheritance of the Queen City makes it a courteous and civil place to live. There is a residue of good will and a deep understanding of what churches do, that makes the job in numerous ways much simpler.
But on the other hand, it is easy to get swamped in the myriad options any would be seeker of a contemporary spiritual home can find within a mile or so of their own home. It is easy to get sucked in to seeing other congregations as 'the competition,' and each new plant in your area becomes an invasion of your territory (and there have been many even since we arrived a mere four years ago). Its easy to feel like you're running a spiritual store that has to look better, feel better, provide a more excellent product than the one just down the road, or you will lose your customers. And it is all very intricate to slip in to thinking regarding people as commodities, or numbers that are either being added to you or subtracted. Conversations in meetings can begin to resemble any other type of business, with talk of how to market to conceivable visitors better, how to maximize on existing 'business,' targets and goals, and how to make sure the stock holders (I mean, the parish council) are happy with the growth figures.
But overall it has been a wonderful experience and a privilege to be able to live and work in the Queen City. It is big enough to be considered a true city, with just plenty cultural activity to keep everyone engaged, but small enough not to suffer most of the problems of the great world cities, like impossible parking and hideously high property prices. And then there's the weather. Who care how things are going when the sun shines most days, and you are surrounded by beautiful trees reaching up towards an incredible blue sky. There could be much worse places to be doing what we are doing now!
About the Author
To learn more about how you can find a great church in Charlotte, it's important to hear from others who have successfully found church homes. Check out the following link and you'll be taken to City Church Charlotte for helpful information from a local Christian leader, Matthew Hemsley.
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