Indian Land welcomes a new church
The Church of Christ at Indian Land expects to open in late November/early December
November 10, 2020 | Wilson
The Church of Christ at Gold Hill Road in Fort Mill plans to open a sister church in Indian Land off Jim Wilson Road in late November or early December. A congregation of approximately 85 people has been meeting at the Indian Land Recreation Center as they await the completion of the new building.
About a year and a half ago, The Church of Christ in Fort Mill began filling up with residents from Indian Land. The church began looking to open a sister church in Indian Land to better serve its congregation.
“We don’t want to be a megachurch of a thousand,” explained Minister Chad Garrett. “We would rather be a strong community church so that the church is an intricate part of the community.”
The Church of Christ has experience with growth and expansion. “As we have grown, we have tried to figure out where people are coming from,” said Garrett. “That’s why the church in Rock Hill planted a church in Fort Mill, and the church in Fort Mill planted a church in Clover. Once Clover was planted, we started filling up again with residents from South Charlotte, Indian Land, and Waxhaw, and that is where Indian Land came from.”
Each congregation has its own leadership made up of elders. No organization oversees all locations. The Church of Christ at Indian Land will be made up of four elders and a minister.
Garrett made the decision to leave his mission work and accept the minister position to be able to spend more time home with his wife and two young sons. He previously served as a missionary in Keyna, Haiti, Guyana, and the Philippines.
“I’m excited; this is a great group of people,” said Garrett. “It is going to be different. In foreign countries, there are a lot fewer distractions. There is a lot more of thanking God for the smallest things, like having food every day. In America, we can struggle with affluence.”
The new church has already started working within the community to introduce themselves to the area. So far the congregation has provided gift bags for local school teachers and started a pen pal program with residents of The Blake. This month, they are assembling goodie baskets as a thank you for all our front-line responders.
“We see ourselves as pre-denominational,” said Garrett. “Before there were ever denominations, we were just Christians, and that’s what we seek to be.”
The building stands at 8,200 square feet but was designed to expand. The current structure’s maximum seating capacity is 250 people. The architect designed the walls to allow for future expansion as needed to fit up to 600 people.
The church will meet Sunday mornings and evenings, and it will host a Wednesday night Bible study.
Church of Christ at Indian Land
635 Jim Wilson Road, Indian Land, SC
https://churchofchristatindianland.org/
