Mint Hill church opens Indian Trail location Oct. 16, offers free gas cards to visitors
by Kara Lopp
New Beginnings Community Church, 7027 Stillwell Road in Mint Hill, will launch a second location in Indian Trail Oct. 16. To celebrate, the church will give away free gas cards to first-time visitors. (Kara Lopp/MMHW photo)
After just 12 years of ministry, New Beginnings Community Church in Mint Hill will open a second location Oct. 16 in Indian Trail.
And they’re celebrating by giving away free gas cards to the first 100 first-time visitors at both locations, before all services that day. Services at the new location will be held at Sun Valley Middle School, 1409 Wesley Chapel Road, at 10:30 a.m. with video streaming live from the Mint Hill church, which offers three services: 8:45 and 10:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.
The launch of a second location is a big deal for the historically black congregation which has a tradition of giving money and time to area schools and nonprofits, First Lady Twanna Henderson said. She and husband Rev. Michael Henderson Sr. founded the church, which originally met as a weekly Bible study at the Ablemarle Road Recreation Center.
Church officials chose Indian Trail because many of the church’s about 4,500 members live in that area, and officials predict it won’t be long before they’ll have to add a second service there.
After building and opening its current Mint Hill location at 7027 Stillwell Road in 2006, the church expanded in December 2010, adding a family life center with a gymnasium and classrooms. But officials never envisioned having to use its 1,000-person capacity to hold additional services. They do now, Twanna Henderson said.
The church’s rapid growth prompted the search for a second location, she said. Eventually, officials hope to buy land to make their second location permanent, she said.
Was the church’s explosive growth a surprise? Yes and no.
“No, from a standpoint of our faith has always been large, and so we’ve always believed God can do great things. He’s just been faithful to us throughout,” Twanna Henderson said. “But it has been (surprising) from the standpoint that we’re just regular people who just want to see other people become everything that they’re supposed to be. That’s amazing and that’s humbling. Leaders at other churches have asked us, ‘What’s the secret?’ We’d bottle it and sell it if we knew.”
In both locations, the church’s mission will remain the same, Twanna Henderson said, and visitors will find a church that’s welcoming and involved in the community. The Mint Hill church has developed a Teacher of the Year program for area schools, awarding a plaque and cash to the winners. In recent years, the church also has given $1,000 donations to area schools, including Lebanon Road Elementary, she said.
“Our goal is not to attract church people. We want people who have never been to church or have given up on church,” Twanna Henderson said. “We live in a culture now where we have a whole generation of people who didn’t grow up in church, who don’t see the need for church.”
That’s why, she said, the church adopted a “casual dress” policy this year. When you walk in, you’re likely to see pastors and church staff dressed in jeans.
“In the black community, dressing up for church is a tradition. In our culture, that’s really major. (Dressing casually for church is) just not something we do,” Twanna Henderson said. “But we don’t want clothes to be a barrier. God is still God when you’re wearing jeans.” q
Want a free gas card?
New Beginnings Community Church in Mint Hill is celebrating the launch of its second location in Indian Trail Sunday, Oct. 16 by giving away gas cards to the first 100 first-time visitors during all services at both locations. One per family.
For more information, visit www.nbccministries.org or call 704-567-2900.
Comments