Back Creek Church has stood on Back Creek Church Road on the northeast side of Charlotte since 1853. The congregation itself traces back to 1802, when it was planted under the name "Bethany." What began as a small gathering of dairy-farming neighbors has grown into a multi-generational Associate Reformed Presbyterian church on a mission to connect people with the hope of the Gospel across one of the youngest, fastest-growing, and most diverse parts of the city: the University City and Harrisburg corridor. Members still walk past the brick columns at the front of the property that mark the footprint of the original sanctuary, made of hand-produced bricks laid between 1868 and 1871. Long ago, when the surrounding farmland was still called "Newell," neighbors received their mail on a large rock at the church on Sundays. The farms are now neighborhoods; the rock and the church remain.
Sundays at Ten-Thirty
The Sunday gathering begins at 10:30 AM. Worship at Back Creek is ancient in substance and accessible in style: the church keeps the historic, Reformed shape of worship while keeping the doors open in language and feel to a changing neighborhood. The order of service follows a gospel-shaped arc. A call to worship and prayer of adoration open the gathering; songs of praise lead into confession of sin and a pastoral prayer; assurance of pardon, Scripture reading, and the preaching of God's Word follow. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are observed as sacraments, and the service closes with a benediction.
Music is led by a worship team that values participation over performance, choosing songs that the average person in the pew can sing. The mix of music includes ancient and modern hymns, contemporary songs, gospel, and music from the African Christian tradition - a reflection of the growing diversity of the congregation itself.
Children are part of the service from the start. Worship bags with an illustrated bulletin sit in the foyer, and after the songs, children ages 3 through second grade are dismissed to KidsWorship during the message and return during the closing song. Nurseries for infants and toddlers are open throughout the service on the second floor of the Family Life Center, immediately next to the sanctuary.
Kids Ministry: The Church of Right Now
The Kids Ministry operates with the conviction that children are not just the church of the future but the church of right now. Paid staff and every volunteer who works with children passes a background check and completes Ministry Safe training. Back Creek's aim is for KidsMin spaces to be the safest places in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties for children.
On Sundays, KidsWorship engages ages 3 and 4 and K through second grade during the sermon hour. The Kids Ministry also runs seasonal outreach events that draw in neighbors: Vacation Bible School, an Easter Egg Hunt, a Fall Festival, and a community Trunk or Treat.
Students on Sundays and Weeknights
Middle and high school students meet twice on Sundays and once on a youth night. Grow Groups gather from 9:00 to 10:00 AM for deeper discipleship, and the full student body meets for fellowship, games, and teaching from 6:00 to 8:00 PM in the Youth Room. The students ministry also takes the group to the Quest Middle School Conference and Horizon High School Conference at the ARP's Bonclarken Conference Center near Hendersonville, and to Fall and Spring weekend retreats at the same campus.
Adult Life Together
Adult Ministry at Back Creek is built around three rhythms: Life Groups, Men's Ministry, and Women's Ministry.
Life Groups are the primary small-group setting for adults. Meeting in homes and at the church across the week, Life Groups alternate studying through Bible books, life issues, and doctrinal truths, and are set up so members encourage and challenge one another in the application of what they learn.
Men's Ministry centers on a Wednesday morning Bible study at 6:00 AM at Rocky River Coffee, a monthly Men's Breakfast, an annual retreat, and a Community Breakfast hosted at the church on Thanksgiving Day. Women's Ministry gathers women for study, fellowship, and service throughout the year. On Sunday mornings at 9:15, the Felos Adult Bible Study Group meets as well, giving adults a chance to engage Scripture before the main service.
Outreach: Preschool, Scouting, and Mercy
For over 25 years, Back Creek Preschool has offered weekday programming for children in the community, accepting students without regard to race, religion, or sex as space allows. The preschool promotes mental, spiritual, physical, and emotional growth in a setting staffed by teachers identified by their experience, training, and Christian character.
Scouting has been on site at Back Creek for more than 50 years. Cub Pack 49 and Troop 49 share the church's commitment to traditional values and an outdoor program that includes monthly camping trips, the annual Scouting for Food drive supporting local food banks, and ongoing service projects in the community.
Outreach events are built into the church calendar: Vacation Bible School, an Easter Egg Hunt, a Fall Festival, and a community Trunk or Treat bring neighbors through the doors. The missions and outreach ministries also support the Harrisburg Crisis Assistance Ministry and Food Bank, the NC Ministry to State, the Hickory Ridge Bible Teaching Association, and Camp Joy, a week-long summer experience for adults with exceptionalities held at Bonclarken.
From Charlotte to the Nations
Back Creek takes seriously the call to make disciples of all nations, and the missions ministry supports and prays for partners on several continents. Participation in missions takes three forms: going on short-term trips, sending missionaries through financial support, and praying regularly for those who serve.
- World Witness missionaries in Madrid, Spain
- Erik and Laurie Meberg with Bridge Europe in France
- Paul and Missy Robelot, based in Columbia, SC
- John and Judy Lehner with Serge in Grenada, Spain
- Josh and Libby Auyer with ReachGlobal in Prague, Czech Republic
- Jade and Jana Alger with TWR in Bratislava, Slovakia
Campus ministries are a particular focus. Rev. Josh Grimm serves as Reformed University Fellowship minister at Queens University of Charlotte; Trevor Heffner with RUF at the University of Georgia; Tyler and Brooke Miller with CRU at UNC Charlotte; and Josh and Erin Smith with CRU at UNC Chapel Hill.
What Back Creek Believes
Back Creek is a confessional congregation within the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. The church teaches that there is one God, eternal and self-existing in three Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - to be equally loved, honored, and worshiped. The Bible is the infallible Word of God, the only rule of faith and life. Salvation comes only by God's grace, through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, who lived the perfect life sinners cannot live, died on the cross in their place, and rose again in victory over sin and death. The church looks for the visible, bodily return of Jesus Christ to make all things new.
The congregation holds to the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Shorter and Larger Catechisms, the ARP Form of Government, the Directory of Public Worship, and the Book of Discipline. The Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed are used as faithful summaries of the orthodox Christian faith. Back Creek teaches that offering one's entire life - time, talents, and treasure - is the grateful human response to what Jesus has done, and that tithing, setting aside the first fruits of one's income, is an eternal investment rather than a transaction.
Back Creek is governed by elders elected by the congregation to oversee the church's spiritual life, with deacons elected to carry out works of mercy and administration. Baptism is treated as a sign of initiation into God's covenant and a prerequisite for church membership; the church recognizes and receives all forms of Christian baptism. The Lord's Table is open to those who profess faith in Jesus and are in right relationship with God and neighbor.
Vision: Cultivate, Grow, Plant
Back Creek's vision for the years ahead is captured in three words: cultivate, grow, plant. The church aims to cultivate spiritual, relational, and missional growth through three priorities: worship, welcome, and witness. Spiritual growth is cultivated through worship that centers on the Triune God; relational growth through the welcome that welcomes strangers in the name of Christ; and missional growth through witness that goes into the neighborhood and the nations. By God's grace, the church hopes to plant a new congregation by 2035 in an under-reached area nearby.
Plan a Visit
Worship is at 10:30 AM on Sundays at 1821 Back Creek Church Road, Charlotte, NC 28213. Parking is on site, and the Family Life Center nurseries are open throughout the service. Visitors are encouraged to come as they are - the dress code is "come as you are" - and the congregation welcomes every kind of background, story, and generation. Services are livestreamed, and sermons are available on YouTube. Giving is available online through the Church Center app, by text-to-give, by bank bill pay, or in person on Sunday mornings; checks can be mailed to PO Box 620052, Charlotte, NC 28262.