Creating Community
In the summer of 2016, the pastor at a Lutheran church in south Charlotte realized he had a problem: distance. A large contingency of his membership was driving from Huntersville (or north) to south Charlotte every Sunday for worship. And anyone who has lived in Charlotte for any amount of time quickly realizes how bad traffic can be, even on a Sunday morning.
So the pastor in south Charlotte began to explore the possibility of starting a new church in Huntersville, NC. Not knowing exactly what God had in store for this fledgling church, the pastor and his people began to meeting weekly in a hotel conference room in Huntersville.
Over the next few months, the group continued to meet regularly in the hotel conference room. In spring of 2017, they decided there was a need for a full-time pastor carry out the work of starting this new church. At the end of May, their request for a full-time pastor was granted.
Pastor Doug Van Sice moved to Huntersville in July and began his work as this mission church's first full-time pastor.
In the fall of 2017, this community of believers began exploring Huntersville and discovering how this church could best serve the people living here. In the fall of 2018, after a year of careful planning and much prayer, Huntersville Lutheran Church officially launched and has been carrying out ministry in this community we love so much!
To find out more about us, check out the latest Sermons and What We Believe.
Why is Huntersville Lutheran worshipping in Cornelius?
That’s a question we get a lot. When we planted Huntersville Lutheran Church, we did so in the community after which we are named–Huntersville. Our vision was, by the grace of God, to grow a Christ-centered, biblically-based church right in the heart of our community. And for nearly three years we were able to do that in Huntersville.
But in March of 2020, the world changed with the COVID-19 pandemic. We lost the use of worship space in Huntersville. When things slowly began to open back up in June of 2020, we struggled to find a worship location in Huntersville. But God opened up another door for us…in Cornelius. We met Jess Boye who runs Brick Row and Seven Oaks in the Oak Street Mill. She was willing to rent space to us when no one else would. In April of 2021, when we outgrew Brick Row, we moved two doors down to Seven Oaks. The Oak Street Mill has been a big (and unexpected) blessing from God.
The Oak Street Mill was never intended to be a permanent location for us. Our dream was always to have a permanent location of our own. And, by the grace of God, that is becoming a reality. In December of 2021, we purchased just over 5 acres of tree farm in the heart of Huntersville. We are currently in the last stages of building design. If everything keeps progressing as it has, we are planning to break ground on this project in the summer of 2024! (a picture of our proposed building can be found below)
When you come and worship at HLC, you will find people from all over the greater Lake Norman and Charlotte Area: Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, Mooresville, Charlotte, Concord, Gastonia, and Denver. Our church may bear the name of the community of Huntersville, but we serve a far wider geographical area with the Gospel. Come and connect with us and see what we’re all about!
