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History of New Beginnings Community Church |
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The church began as a bible study with approximately 10 people in attendance on October 12, 1999 at the in Charlotte, North Carolina. The first study lesson was a series on the Book of Acts and the beginning of the church age. Each Tuesday evening, the Word went forth with power and authority, accompanied by a cappella praise and worship. It was immediately apparent that the Spirit of God was in the place. As the Holy Spirit moved on the hearts of those in attendance, each week people accepted Christ, were delivered, and joined the Ministry. This small congregation then began worshipping as a body with various churches on the east side of Charlotte.
By April of 2000, New Hope agreed to allow New Beginnings to hold their own worship service in their sanctuary. New Beginnings began worshipping in the New Hope sanctuary at 7:45am on Sunday mornings. The first service was held with only one musician to support the praise & worship. After service, New Beginnings would join New Hope in Sunday School Classes taught by New Hope's members. It was at this point that the Tuesday night bible study was moved from the recreation center to the New Hope sanctuary. The grand opening of New Beginnings took place on Easter Sunday 2000. As a response to 20,000 mailers, several persons attended, accepted Christ, and some people joined. By the fall of 2000, New Beginnings moved their service time to 8:45 am in order to better reach the lost and unchurched. Within that first year of development, Pastor and First Lady Henderson conducted a leadership conference and marriage enrichment conference for the church body. The church's first anniversary included a special service preached by Dr. Richard Allen Farmer out of Indianapolis and our formal affiliation as a church with the Mideast Baptist General Conference. In the spring of 2001, the Women's Ministry of the Church, under the directorship of First Lady Henderson, held its first Women's Retreat in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. The first Single's Conference was in the summer of 2001. The church also held a leadership conference for its ministers, armor bearers and ministry leaders, as well as a marriage conference in July of 2001. By the fall of 2001, it was brought to the church's attention that the needs of New Hope had changed and that New Beginnings would need to look for a new home. Pastor and First Lady Henderson, along with the church's Intercessory Prayer Team, immediately went into a season of prayer. New Hope had given the church until the end of 2001 to relocate. Pastor Henderson launched the church's first stewardship campaign in August of 2001. In October 2001, members were challenged to make a one to three year pledge towards the church's future.
December 2, 2001 was Miracle Sunday. The church was challenged to give beyond their normal giving in order to begin the renovation process. Several New Beginnings members stepped out on faith, and generously gave to this effort. On that Sunday, the church raised $27,000.00. The work on the new site officially began. Still in need of funds, the church was blessed with a gift of $25,000.00 from another Ministry and its Pastor. New Hope graciously extended the time for New Beginnings to relocate until the end of January 2002. New Beginnings members continued to give beyond its normal giving and the church was blessed by contributions from various other individuals and Ministries. On Sunday, February 3, 2002, New Beginnings had the first service in its newly renovated facility in Lawyers Square Plaza. Nine persons accepted Christ and joined on that Sunday. On Easter Sunday, 2003, the church transitioned to two morning services at 8:30am and 11:00am. In June of 2003, the church acquired additional space of 4,000 square feet adjacent to the Sanctuary. The "Annex" was used for the monthly Youth Church, various trainings, and special events. As a result of the outpouring and God’s hand on this ministry, in June of 2004, the Lord gave Pastor Henderson the vision to proceed with acquiring land on the east side of Charlotte. The Capital Expansion Ministry then began looking for land acreage that would support the vision of New Beginnings. On July 13, 2004, the Capital Expansion Ministry submitted a letter of interest to the owners of 6.64 acres of land located at 7101 Stillwell Rd, Mint Hill, North Carolina. Negotiations were then underway. In October of 2004 Pastor Henderson launched the church's third stewardship campaign entitled, "A Season of Sacrifice: “Running to the Vision”," and declared December 19, 2004 Miracle Sunday III. On this Sunday the church raised $37,137.77, which was the largest general offering collected at that time. However, the giving didn't cease. Encouraged by a $25,000.00 gift from another Ministry and its Pastor, the members of New Beginnings continued to pour into the vision looking towards the goal of $100,000. The goal was reached on February 28, 2005. The Church closed on the land and New Beginnings became the legal property owners of 7101 Stillwell Rd. On June 26, 2005, which was called “Vision Sunday”, the church presented to the congregation a full-length DVD virtual tour of the future facility. The impact was overwhelming. On October 16, 2005, we had a Ground-Breaking Ceremony for our new facility and in October of 2006 we purchased the house next to our property, which will be the land for Phase Two of our complex.
January 2007 marked the revitalization of our Single’s Ministry. Now bearing the title, “Single’s Glorifying God”, the ministry expanded to reach singles of all ages and phases of life. The ministry also initiated the Single’s Book Club which uses as a source of discussion, Dr. Myles Munroe’s book, Single, Married, Separated & Life after Divorce. The monthly book club has remained to be a vital tool in helping the singles to stay single-focused. The Women’s Ministry hosted its third Women’s Retreat at the Billy Graham Training Center in Asheville, NC in May 2007. Over 100 women attended and many lives were impacted. The Women’s Ministry continues to hold monthly bible studies and other various events that cater to the needs of all women. The summer 2007 brought the emergence of the Shekinah Dance Ministry. This ministry, which had long been a vision of First Lady Twanna Henderson, glorifies God through the ministry of dance and prophetic movement. It has grown to include not only adults, but also youth dancers and mimes. God continued to reach the congregation and the community by adding more new ministries in the fall of 2007. In September 2007 the Young at Heart Ministry was initiated to support and provide helpful information, Godly teaching and exciting outings to our saints who are 55 years old and older. In addition to this ministry, the CARE Ministry was started in October 2007 to encourage members and others through visitations to hospitals, nursing homes and residences and through sending cards and making calls of encouragement. Due to the enormous growth of the church, the Transportation Ministry was established in early 2008 to serve members and guests at designated service times by transporting them to church to hear the gospel. Also in 2008, God revealed the need to minister to our members and guests who are hearing impaired. Thus came the establishment of the Sign Language Ministry. This ministry, which is still in its beginning stages, seeks to minister to those through sign who would not otherwise be able to receive the gospel. In May 2008, the Women’s Ministry hosted a Women’s Conference with two national speakers – Rev. Dr. JoAnn Browning and Dr. Renita Weems. God moved mightily through all of the speakers and many lives were impacted as a result. As God continued to add to the body of New Beginnings, the Lord spoke to Pastor Henderson about acquiring the 11 acres that lie adjacent to the church for our second of three phases of a building project. Pastor Henderson soon announced Miracle Sunday IV, which took place in May 2008. New Beginnings rose close to $90,000 and is seeking to break ground in the fall of 2008. While preparing for our next expansion, we continue to minister to the unchurched and unsaved in our community. New Beginnings partnered with Lebanon Road Elementary School and other surrounding elementary schools to offer tutorial classes to 2nd through 5th graders and Central Piedmont Community College to host several weeks of GED (General Equivalency Diploma) and ESL (English as a Second Language) classes at our facility from September through November 2008. We are excited about the impact that this new partnership will continue to bring. September 2008 also brought our Single’s Conference with national speaker, author, and former BET News host Cheryl Martin. Over 150 singles were in attendance. God has done many glorious
things after only 22 months in our new building. Over 962 persons have
given their lives to Christ and over 1302 persons have joined the
church. The church currently has approximately 2500 members and is
steadily growing. Truly, "the Lord has done GREAT THINGS
for us, whereof we are glad." Psalm 126:3.
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In
January of 2000, God began to speak to his manservant
about a permanent home for New Beginnings. Being
obedient to the Spirit, Pastor Henderson introduced
himself to the Pastor and leadership of New Hope Baptist
Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. After numerous
conversations about the use of the New Hope sanctuary,
the small congregation, (in the interim), began
worshipping alongside the New Hope congregation. After
each service, the members of New Beginnings would
congregate in the choir stand to be exhorted and charged
by Pastor Henderson. Again, people accepted Christ and
joined the Ministry.
Through divine intervention, the church was
led to Lawyer's Square Plaza where there was a vacant
site previously a CVS Drugstore. After numerous
negotiations, the church finally agreed to attempt to
renovate the vacant site. Pastor and First Lady
Henderson, along with the church's stewardship
committee, met with contractors and architects and
planned the design for the new facility.
On November 18, 2006, the church celebrated
the opening of our newly built Worship Facility with an
Open House and Dedication
Service.
Many persons gave their lives to
Christ and joined the church. And the first Revival in
the new building was on February 18th – 20th 2007.
Our first 21-day Daniel Fast in the new building began
on March 19 and continued until April 8, 2007. On April
8, 2007 (Easter Sunday), the church formally
transitioned to three morning worship services at
8:00am, 10:00am, and 12:00pm. The transition was a
success! Easter Sunday also marked the opening of
the church’s own in-house bookstore called
“Sunrise Christian Books.”