A Church in the Heart of Cherryville
First Presbyterian Church sits at 107 West Academy Street in Cherryville, North Carolina, where its ministry has been woven into the rhythms of this Gaston County town for generations. The congregation belongs to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and is connected to the Presbytery of Western North Carolina and the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic. A letter from the congregation describes itself in terms that capture its self-understanding: a serving church, a welcoming church, a community church, a diverse church, and a growing church.
Many of the activities the church hosts are not its own programs at all but gifts to the wider town. The Fellowship Hall fills up with Cub Scouts each Tuesday evening. Alcoholics Anonymous meets in the building. Blood drives, school meetings, the Ironmen's Booster Club, and the Cherryville Ministerial Association all use the church's facilities. Through the Cherryville Ministerial Association, the church participates in special community worship services and ministries at area nursing homes. In the words of its own leaders, the church seeks to express its desire to serve Christ by service to its community.
Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Class, and Worship
The Sunday schedule begins at 9:15 AM with Coffee Time, a half hour of fellowship before Sunday School where members of the congregation take turns providing snacks. Sunday School runs from 9:45 to 10:45 AM and offers a class for nearly every age and stage of life. There is an Infant and Toddler Nursery on the Lower Academy Hall, a 3-4 Year Old Class on the Lower Mountain Hall that learns about Jesus through songs, stories, and crafts, and a K through 2nd grade class that shares the same home in the Children's Wing.
Older children have their own places as well. Way of the Child, for 3rd through 5th graders, helps children develop a more personal relationship with God and prepares them for worship by learning the Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed. The Middle School class for grades 6 through 8 meets on the Upper Mountain Hall and focuses on how the Bible speaks into everyday decisions. Senior High, grades 9 through 12, gathers on the upper level of the Lowe Family Life Center for honest discussion of the issues teens face.
Adults find several long-standing classes. The Newell Alexander class welcomes couples and single adults of all ages for in-depth Bible study. The Frank Browne class brings together couples and singles ages 50 and up. The Sally Quinn-Earnest Workers class and the Naomi Stroupe class are women's groups who study the Presbyterian curriculum "The Present Word," and the Naomi Stroupe class honors the legacy of a woman who was a member of Sunday School for more than 100 years and lived to be 105. The Men's Bible Class, located on the upper level of the Lowe Family Life Center, opens with singing and welcomes men of all ages.
Worship begins at 11:00 AM. Through music, prayer, and preaching, the congregation joins together to glorify God and be renewed in faith and service. During worship, the Children's Worship Center serves children ages 4 through 7, and an Infant Nursery for children from birth to 3 years and a Toddler Nursery for ages 2 through 4 are provided by volunteers from the congregation.
Wonderful Wednesday Evenings
On Wednesday evenings during the school year, the church gathers for Wonderful Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. Children from pre-K through 5th grade move through recreation, Bible study, music, and a shared family dinner hour. A congregational meal is served from 5:30 to 6:00 PM, and the Cherub Choir rehearses from 5:30 to 6:30, while the Children's Choir and Youth Club programs run from 6:30 to 7:30. Each part of the evening is led by members of the congregation who have been called to share their gifts with children.
For 4th and 5th graders, Creation Class is built around a Biblical view of history and what the leaders describe as the seven C's: Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, and Consummation. The classroom itself reinforces the teaching, with each piece of art on the walls representing a biblical event. The Youth Club is open to all children from pre-K through 8th grade, and parents along with the whole congregation are invited to share the family meal. After the children finish, the Chancel Choir rehearses at 7:00 PM, welcoming anyone who wishes to sing.
Children's Ministry Across the Week
Beyond Sunday morning and Wonderful Wednesday, the children's ministry extends in several directions. During the 11:00 AM worship service, the Children's Worship Center for ages 4 through 7 reads a Bible story and then gives children the chance to retell it using different play mediums, before sharing a snack together. King's Kids is a summer program that meets each Wednesday and combines Bible story time, crafts, music, snack, and recreation. One summer the program focused on water stories from the Bible, from Jonah and the whale to Jesus' baptism.
Middle School and Senior High
The Middle School ministry gathers students in grades 6 through 8 every Sunday during the school year for Bible study, dinner, and recreation, with the meeting room located on the Upper Mountain Hall. The group travels to Camp Grier for the Middle School Presbyterian Spiritual Retreat, an experience the church describes as something that stays with its students for a lifetime. The Senior High ministry is called the Presbyterian Youth Connection, or PYC, and brings together students in grades 9 through 12. They meet on Sundays during the school year and at special times through the summer, and each summer they travel on a mission trip to serve those in need.
Music That Brings Generations Together
The Music Department brings together three choirs. The Chancel Choir for adults rehearses on Wednesdays at 7:00 PM and sings in worship. The Children's Choir, for grades K through 5, rehearses during Youth Club and performs a Christmas play for the congregation each year in addition to singing in worship several times a year. The Cherub Choir for preschool-aged children rehearses during Youth Club as well and performs several times a year. Mona Beam serves as Director of Music, with June Hunnicutt as Organist.
Bible Studies and Adult Fellowship
Adults have several paths for spiritual growth beyond Sunday School. Companions in Christ is an eight-week small group experience in personal spiritual formation, led by Rev. Dr. Bill Lowe. The Pastor's Bible Study meets on Monday evenings and Thursday mornings, also led by Rev. Dr. Bill Lowe. Faithful Followers is a young adult group for members and visitors in their twenties that meets on Wonderful Wednesdays for Bible study, fellowship, and food.
Presbyterian Women includes all women of the congregation, with two circles meeting monthly. Circle of Hope meets on Wednesdays at 2:00 PM and Circle of Faith meets on Mondays at 7:00 PM, with Bereavement Committees among their ministries to the church and the wider community. Presbyterian Men gathers on the third Tuesday evening of each month at 6:30 PM in the Fellowship Hall for food, fellowship, and an informative speaker, with a stated purpose of strengthening relationships to Jesus Christ and furthering the kingdom of God. The Friendship Club for members and visitors age 55 and up meets monthly from September through May for fun, fellowship, and food. Presbyterian Pilgrimage, a personal spiritual retreat, is offered roughly four times a year.
A Long History of Reaching Out
The church's outreach ministry is rooted in its long history in Cherryville. During the Riddle and Erwin years that spanned the 1940s through the 1970s, hundreds of young families and their children were active in the church's life, and the congregation seeks to recapture that quality of ministry for young families today.
The Food Pantry Ministry and Angel Food Ministry together fed 64 families in a recent year. The Pastor's Benevolence Program has helped 246 local individuals with utility bills, medicine, rent, doctor visits, and counseling. The Backpack Ministry discreetly sends food home with students in need over the weekend during the school year, and C.A.R.E. (Christians Activity Reaching Everyone) organizes one-hour-a-month visitations to shut-ins and hospital-bound members, while C.A.R.E. Night Teams send birthday and anniversary cards and pray over the congregation's prayer requests during Wonderful Wednesday.
The church also supports Cherryville Area Ministries and partners with the Presbyterian Samaritan Counseling Center, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Guatemalan Church Partnership, and youth mission trips. A long-running "5 Cents-A-Meal" program is among the offerings, and the mission footprint extends through the Presbytery of Western North Carolina, the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic, and the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Counseling and Recovery Support
Solid Foundations Counseling Center, connected with the congregation, provides parenting education classes, domestic violence prevention classes, and substance abuse assessments and treatment, with the philosophy of treating the whole individual - body, mind, and spirit. Through the GRACE Addiction Services program, the church hosts two weekly support groups facilitated in partnership with Solid Foundations. Family members of those struggling with addictions meet on Tuesdays from 6:30 to 7:30 PM, and those struggling with addictions themselves meet on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 7:30 PM. The church also keeps a list of regional residential facilities for those in need of deeper assistance, including Crossroads Rescue Mission, Bethany Colony of Mercy, Hebron Colony Ministries, House of Prayer, and Partners Behavior Health Management.
Pastoral Leadership and Governance
The Rev. Dr. Ron Tippens serves as Pastor of First Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Dr. Bill Lowe leads the Pastor's Bible Study and the Companions in Christ small group experience. Mona Beam directs the music ministry and June Hunnicutt serves as organist. The church is governed by a Session of elected members organized around ministries including Stewardship, Nurture, Missions, Christian Education, Evangelism, Praise, Operations, and Care for Church Professionals, with Wade Stroupe serving as Clerk of Session.
Across its Sunday schedule, Wednesday evenings, choirs, Bible studies, food ministries, recovery groups, and mission partnerships, First Presbyterian Church of Cherryville continues to live out the words its leaders have written about its identity: a church growing in faith and love, growing in its opportunities to serve the Lord, and growing in the number of disciples who put the glory of God first.