Located in southwest Charlotte, this church is known for its belief that spiritual growth should be geared toward application. (Photo: Glenn H. Burkins for Qcitymetro.com)
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Nations Ford Community Church
Founded: 1988
Address: 5901 Nations Ford Road, Charlotte, NC, 28217
Phone: (704) 522-6480
Website: www.nationsford.org
Membership: 1,700 regularly attending
Denomination: Nondenominational
Pastor: Bishop Phillip M. Davis (since 1988)
Worship Services
Sunday School: 9:50 a.m.
Sunday Worship: 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Midweek Service: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
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What makes your church unique?
At Nations Ford, people can look forward to two things particularly – one, a very warm, engaging, loving acceptance and welcome, and secondly, sound, practical, biblical teaching. That has been the hallmark of Nations Ford for the last 24 years.
What is the vision for this church?
Our vision is to be a church that is a regional, full-service church that strengthens families, teaches the word of God, advances the kingdom of God, reaches people and services communities, thus the acronym STARS. We believe we are to be STARS that shine in the midst of darkness, helping families and individuals grow in their walk with God and to be all he has created them to be.
What are the church’s core beliefs?
Our core belief centers around the Bible. We believe the Bible is the inerrant and inspired word of God. It is the authority for our daily life. In addition, our core belief is that Jesus Christ is the son of God who came, who redeemed mankind through his death, burial and resurrection and that we are those individuals who have been created to follow after God and to become more and more like Christ each and every day of our life. Those are the two things that we simply cannot, will not ever compromise because we believe those are the bedrocks of who we are.
What ministries are offered?
Wow! Ministries offered at Nations Ford cut across the spectrum of life itself. The first ministry we offer is the ministry of involvement. We believe that when people join the church there ought to be a place for them to be actively involved, and I think that is a ministry that is critical. So the first thing we try to do is get people immersed in our culture of service, immersed in the culture of being actively involved in the church. From there we talk about ministry to family, to men, to children, youth, singles, the things of that nature, and obviously your programmatic things such as your Sunday School – we call it Sunday Life Enrichment – as well as our Queen City Bible College and Vision Life School of Ministry for ministers and those who want to go into ministry, our Early Childhood Development Center, our Male Leadership Academy and on and on. But mainly we believe that it is our responsibility to make disciples, and disciples are those individuals who are actively involved in evangelizing, reaching others and then helping them to grow also.
What are the greatest strengths of this church?
Oh, that’s a very easy question. The greatest strength of Nations Ford is the people themselves. It is our elders, our deacons, our ministers and the congregation itself. So the greatest strength of Nations Ford is the people themselves, period, no question about it.
How do you foster spiritual growth?
Through the various educational opportunities of the church, as well as simply helping people to take responsibility for their spiritual growth. You can’t come to Nations Ford and be comfortable saying, “Let the bishop or let the pastor do it for me.” I don’t believe the church is to be the thinker for people. We are to challenge people to think for themselves, and that’s what we try to do. And so we foster spiritual growth through various opportunities for people to learn. But that learning is geared toward application.
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