Three Charlotte Churches I Love

The Best Church Ever is all about celebrating the fact that the local church really is the hope of the world, God's primary strategy for connecting people to Himself and for transforming families and communities by the Gospel.

Charlotte is a city of great churches and it is tough to single out only three, but I want to celebrate a few in our area that I know are doing incredible things with tons of integrity and power.

First is our near neighbor, Ridge Church.
Ridge is a strategic ministry partner of North Point Community in Atlanta and demonstrates North Point's DNA - a commitment to excellence and great ministry to families. The thing I love most about Ridge is their amazing staff - none of whom have big egos, all of whom are kind and generous and put Christ first. There is literally NO rivalry between NLC and Ridge even though we are five minutes apart and are called to reach much the same kind of person. I love these guys, their hearts and the impact they are having!

Next is Lake Forest Church, up near Huntersville. I was privileged to play a small part in this church's founding and have since then watched it grow with tremendous integrity. Their pastor, Mike Moses, is a guy I respect tremendously for the way his brain works - and in particular how he sees the Gospel as all of life, not just a series of propositional statements. You should explore their theology of missio dei on their website. They are one of the few churches that get that attractional ministry (where we offer services and ministries that are appealing to those not yet connected to Jesus) and missional ministry (where we ARE the Gospel embedded and lived out in our communities) are not contradictory strategies. Instead, they are biblically complementary and Lake Forest leads the way in demonstrating this in Charlotte.

Finally, the maverick nomads over at Renovatus. My goodness, I like this church and its leaders. Blending theological reflection and Pentecostal worship - that in and of itself is cool. But what I love most is their risk-taking nature. Eastland Mall is shutting down - let's go there and be God's presence on the East side! That door closes? Well, we won't lick our wounds - we will go to Little Rock Road and merge with another church and impact THAT part of the city. And they are doing it, all with good cheer, theological integrity, care for the poor, and a commitment to the arts. Yes, the Gospel is about renovating lives, making things new from the inside out. This church is a living, communal demonstration of that.

There are hundreds of great churches in Charlotte - but I love Ridge, Lake Forest, and Renovatus like family!