A Small Church on a Big Comeback
Pastor Esdras Cruz, Sr. and wife, Linda are hopeful for an upturn in the economy despite a decrease in membership
Online, August 25, 2011 (Newswire.com) - New Heaven Ministry Life Center COGIC in Charlotte, NC has had its share of the economy. With church attendance once in the hundreds, has now dwindled down to less than 70. But it's not stopping this small, intimate church - they are on a comeback. With a strategy at hand of humbling themselves to the voice of God they have relocated from a rented building, to the Charlotte Mecklenburg School (CMS) system for worship and are determined to reshape, restore and revitalize their members and community.
"It's happening all around the country," says Pastor Esdras Cruz who founded New Heaven along with his wife, Linda Cruz in 2004. "The economy has hit us hard in the middle of our growth. We were not mega-large in size but we were at a place of continued growth."
Part of its comeback is to pay off the land that was purchased in 2008 by the end of the year. Proudly displayed on their website are pictures of the land as well as the design of their new church.
The plan to build a two-story, 750 seat worship facility will include a community gathering space, a bookstore, offices, classrooms and a daycare.
NHM has partnered with many organizations such as Central Piedmont Community College, 4-H Youth Development, Job Links (a government funded program that provides workforce development), the Bobcats Levy's Restaurants, the Boys and Girls Club of Charlotte, The Marine Toys for Tots, Blessings in the Storm, The Charlotte Rescue Missions, The Samaritan Purse as well as holding a summer camp for low performing children in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system.
According to Beyond Megachurch Myths by Scott Thumma, a Hartford Institute professor, megachurches attract more people because of their large congregations. With new strategies in place, New Heaven is determined to turn the table and attract more people because of its undersized congregation.
"We may not be a megachurch in size, but we are a megachurch in spirit," First Lady Linda Cruz adds.
New Heaven invites you to its Founders Day service August 28, 2011 at 5PM at the Albemarle Road Elementary school in Charlotte, NC where Superintendant Darryl L. Grant is the guest speaker.
New Heaven Ministry Life Center falls under the 2nd Ecclesiastical NC Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ (Bishop C.E. Anderson) within the Charlotte Metro District, (Superintendent Darryl L. Grant)
Visit their website at www.NewHeavenCOGIC.org