Sunday Mornings on McKee Road
St. Francis United Methodist Church sits on McKee Road in southeast Charlotte, part of the Mecklenburg County cluster of United Methodist congregations that anchor neighborhoods across the city. The church's mission statement is short and direct: To be faithful to Jesus in this time and place. Its vision calls the congregation to be a reflection of the love and grace of Jesus Christ in the church, in the Charlotte community, and beyond.
Worship is the rhythm that organizes the rest of the week. Every Sunday at 10:10 a.m., the congregation gathers in the sanctuary for a service that combines the Chancel Choir, the Praise Band, a children's moment, and a sermon. The service is also livestreamed on YouTube, so anyone who cannot be in the sanctuary can join from home at the same hour. The motto on the front of the church, You are welcome here, just as you are, is taken seriously: greeters and nursery workers alike are part of a steady effort to make first-time visitors feel at home.
Pastor Jae Lee leads the congregation. Originally from South Korea, he was called to ministry while studying in Brevard, North Carolina, and holds theology degrees from Emory and Duke. His most recent roles before St. Francis were as District Superintendent and Director of Connectional Ministries in the Western North Carolina Conference. He describes his approach as marginal leadership, leading from the edges where Jesus lived and loved. He is married to Kim, a pharmacist, and they have three young adult children.
Music for Every Generation
Music ministry is one of the defining features of life at St. Francis. Two paid directors share the responsibility. Laura Carroll serves as Director of Traditional Music and leads the Chancel Choir, drawing on a master's degree in vocal performance from Miami University in Ohio, where she directed the adult choir and praise band at Oxford UMC. Aaron Cobb, Director of Contemporary Music, has led the Praise Band since 2017. The two groups rehearse on overlapping schedules and then meet on Sunday mornings to lead worship together, which gives the 10:10 a.m. service its distinctive blend of hymns and contemporary songs.
The Chancel Choir is open to adult and youth singers with no auditions. It rehearses Wednesdays from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. and Sundays from 9:30 to 9:55 a.m., sings an anthem every week, and prepares two cantatas a year. The Praise Band rehearses Wednesdays from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. and Sundays from 8:30 to 9:15 a.m. Rehearsals are open. Dr. Mark Lewis, a composer, conductor, and pianist who teaches composition and theory at Winthrop University, serves as accompanist.
Children join the music as well. The Children's Choir rehearses most weeks from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., sings in worship every six weeks, and is open to children from age four through fifth grade. The program doubles as community time: the choir breaks for Lunch Bunch after church, a tradition that has helped families stay connected across elementary grades.
Children from the Nursery Through Fifth Grade
St. Francis has built one of the more intentional children's ministries in the area. Jennie Dugan, Director of Children's Ministry, came to the church in 2018 and now holds a Master of Divinity and a Master in Christian Education from Union Presbyterian Seminary. She is a deacon candidate for ordination in the United Methodist Church. Her team describes its three priorities as fellowship, faith, and fun, in that order.
The nursery is open during worship for children from birth through age four. Drop-off begins at 10:00 a.m. Parents put a name tag on each child and tell the nursery worker whether the child has a snack in their bag and whether they are potty trained. For the youngest worshipers, a "Messy Church" area at the back of the sanctuary gives babies and toddlers a quiet place to play under parental supervision, and activity bags are available there for older children who stay in the pews.
During worship itself, all children are invited forward for a Children's Moment at the altar, a short Bible lesson and prayer led each week. After that, kindergarteners through fifth graders can leave for Children's Church, where they hear a Bible story, play games, do crafts, and share a prayer before returning to the sanctuary for the last song or just before Communion. Fourth and fifth graders have their own program called Mission Possible Kids, which meets quarterly on Sundays from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. for friendship-building, faith exploration, and service projects that prepare them to join the youth ministry.
Middle School, High School, and the Youth Hut
Youth ministry is led by Brack Ballard, who joined St. Francis with a Master of Divinity and ten years of experience as a youth director. His four pillars are faith, fellowship, and service, with safety as the operating principle. The youth meet in what the church simply calls the Youth Hut.
Hang Time happens on Sundays from 9:00 to 9:50 a.m. before worship. It functions as Sunday school for middle and high schoolers, with a relaxed Bible study that draws examples from music, sports, and current events. Youth Night is on Wednesdays from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The evening starts with dinner, then moves into a weekly Bible study that welcomes both newcomers and longtime church kids. Several times a month, the group heads out for outings, games, and service projects that put faith into practice in the Charlotte area.
Two annual events shape the rhythm of the year. A youth retreat gives teens a focused weekend to step back from school and friendships and concentrate on God. A summer mission trip takes the group out of Charlotte for hands-on service in another community, with the goal of building empathy, faith, and lasting friendships. The church's Safe Sanctuary policy, including background checks for every adult leader, governs the program.
The Preschool on Campus
One of the most established ministries at St. Francis is its preschool, which has been part of the church since 1994. Director Pam Cook helped found it and has led it since the beginning. The preschool serves two-, three-, and four-year-olds from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, September through May, with classes placed by the North Carolina public school start date of August 31.
Two-year-olds focus on "happy times" away from parents, fine-motor play, and creative art. Three-year-olds build on that with letter-of-the-week activities, games, and group art. Four-year-olds use the Letter Land literacy curriculum along with elements of Handwriting Without Tears, preparing them for Kindergarten in a research-based way. Each class enjoys monthly visits from a Library Lady, a Music Lady, a Chapel Chat, and ABC Yoga for Kids.
Tuition for 2026-2027 runs from $275 to $355 per month depending on age and number of days, with a non-refundable registration fee of $100 for the first child and reduced rates for siblings.
Adults: Bible Studies, Service, and Friendship
Adult life at St. Francis is built around small groups that meet on campus and in homes. Sunday School for adults begins at 9:15 a.m. The Harold King Class, an eclectic discussion group that uses The Wired Word curriculum, meets in the main building, room #5. The class takes a break in July.
Two weekly Bible studies anchor the midweek. The Friendship Bible Study gathers women in the pavilion on Wednesdays from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. for prayer, scripture, and conversation, often followed by lunch together. The study takes a break in July and August and around major holidays. Smaller groups meet in homes for accountability and study.
Three ongoing organizations give adults a way to focus their service. The Active Adults Christian Team (A.A.C.T.) meets on the fourth Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to noon for fellowship, food, and ministry, with past activities including bee keeping talks, theatre outings, clothing drives, and volunteering at Common Heart. United Women of Faith (formerly United Methodist Women) meets on the first Thursday from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. September through May, with a June lunch meeting, hearing speakers from the church and from outside organizations such as Habitat for Humanity. United Methodist Men gathers for breakfast every month or two and joins quarterly dinners with UMM groups from other area churches. None of these groups meet in July and August.
An annual Women's Retreat in the spring gives the women of the church a weekend away for conversations around the table, chair yoga, faith discussions, and creative time together.
Missions in Action Across Charlotte
The Missions in Action ministry is built around a verse from 1 Peter 4:10-11, urging every believer to use whatever gifts they have received to serve others. St. Francis organizes its outreach into four areas: the hungry, the homeless, children and families, and disaster relief.
On the first Sunday of each month, the church collects non-perishable food for Common Heart, a grassroots movement based in Indian Trail that has worked to address food insecurity in the Charlotte region since 2006. Suggested donations include canned vegetables and fruit, pasta and rice, canned proteins, peanut butter and jelly, oatmeal and cereal, and canned pasta.
For the homeless, the church supports the Salvation Army Center of Hope in uptown Charlotte, which shelters an average of 275 women and children each night. Seasonal campaigns such as "Fill a Bottle, Fill a Heart" invite members to fill baby bottles with change to support moms and babies at the shelter. The church also sends volunteers to Hope Chapel, 125 Wadsworth Place, which serves a donated meal to roughly 150 people in poverty each Thursday at 11:30 a.m., followed by a "sermonic conversation" led by Pastor Charles Dirico. Hope Chapel also hosts "Psalms and Psupper" on Sundays at 5:00 p.m. for food and fellowship with people who are unhoused or marginally housed.
Each Advent, St. Francis adopts families identified through the Alliance for Children, a Union County nonprofit. The Christmas outreach provides grocery gift cards for holiday meals, clothing and gifts for each child, and a Bible for each family.
Disaster relief work has ranged from organizing teams to Western North Carolina for Hurricane Helene rebuilding to assembling UMCOR relief kits. Members gather supplies to build cleaning kits, hygiene kits, and menstrual hygiene kits for the United Methodist Committee on Relief, which distributes them through its Relief Supplies Network after disasters in the United States and its territories.
Wrapped in Love
One quiet ministry with a long reach is Wrapped in Love. Members of the church sew and assemble weighted blankets, vests, beanbags, and lap pads for children with sensory processing disorders, most of whom are on the autism spectrum. The items are provided free of charge, and therapists, teachers, and other professionals can request them through a form. Finished items are picked up either at the church in Charlotte or at a partner site in Simpsonville, South Carolina.
Counseling, Partners, and Belonging
St. Francis provides office space on its campus for three counselors from the Sanctuary Counseling Group. Rev. Katherine Batas (M.A., LCMHC, MT-BC), Jay Cobb (M.A., LMFT, LCMHC), and Cathy Turner (MSW, LCSW) see clients by appointment for issues from past and present. Their practice is independent of the church but located on its campus, which makes access easier for church members and neighbors.
The church hosts several community partners as well. Boy Scout Troop 15 has been chartered by St. Francis since April 1991 and is affiliated with Cub Scout Pack 15, which also meets at the church. Several Girl Scout troops call the campus home. Telra Institute, a tuition-free charter school for advanced learners in kindergarten through tenth grade, moved onto the campus in summer 2022 and shares space with the church. Answer Scholarship, which provides college scholarships, mentoring, and professional development to mothers across Mecklenburg and surrounding counties, is a regular outreach partner.
Beliefs and Identity
St. Francis describes itself as an authentic congregation whose foundation is grace, mercy, and love. Members are committed to worship, study, service, education, missions, and prayer. Theologically, the church stands with the United Methodist Church, whose stated mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world and whose vision is to form disciples empowered by the Holy Spirit to love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections. United Methodist preaching and teaching are grounded in Scripture, informed by Christian tradition, enlivened by personal experience, and tested by reason. The church's own welcome, just as you are, sets the tone for that discipleship.
Getting Involved and Giving
Online giving is available, and gifts can be one-time or recurring, with designations for the general operating fund or specific ministries. Stock and mutual fund transfers are also accepted.