Christ Central moving to Southside after selling location to CityChurch
“WE ARE MOVING, BUT NOT TOO FAR” read the large letters on a huge sign at Christ Central United Methodist Church in Rainbow City. Then this note from Pastor Mark Williams:
“Thank you all for your prayers, patience, and unity throughout this difficult season. Please continue in the same spirit as we move forward with excitement, and anticipation of all good things.”
Church trustees have announced they are moving to a new location at 4979 Green Valley Road in Southside, near the intersection with Pilgrim’s Rest Road.
Christ Central’s first service in its new location will be Sunday, with a dedication program beginning at 10 a.m.
It’s the second major move for the church, which as Central UMC was located for a century at South 11th and Christopher Streets in Gadsden before relocating to Rainbow City two decades ago.
Several mainline churches in the greater Gadsden area have closed their doors in recent years, including River East and South 11th Street Baptist; Goodsell and Mount Zion UMC; and Temple Beth Israel. Others are said to be “holding on.”
Some have faced dwindling membership and/or attendance, financial problems and other difficulties — many from the devasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christ Central, with a Sunday morning attendance that had fallen to less than 100 and faced with a huge monthly mortgage payment, made the decision to downsize. A buyer was found — CityChurch Gadsden, a Church of God congregation on Rainbow Drive that had found itself landlocked because of burgeoning attendance.
Jason Ferguson, city’s administrative pastor, said there are about 300 worshippers in each of the church’s two Sunday morning services.
Williams said that the purchase price was enough for Christ Central to pay off its bank note, buy the new property and “have a “little bit left over.”
Asked about his congregation’s response to the move, Williams said there was no negativity. “We have a new children’s director and youth director and I expect most, if not all, the membership to join us in the Southside location.”
He said the church will continue holding its regular monthly Food Pantry.
It is a resurrection of sorts for both congregations. Doug Baker, pastor of CityChurch for the past 17 years, laughed during a 2014 interview as he told of finding 35 names in the local phone book that bore the name “Rainbow.”
“There (were) Rainbow Auto Parts, Rainbow Auction, Rainbow this and that,” he said, “plus three churches with the name Rainbow. Our congregation voted to change our name so that people could more easily find us.”
Noting then that only 17% of Americans went to church, Baker said, “We want to reach the unchurched; our goal is to be a vibrant community of faith that lifts up Christ.”
Since that time, as the church building underwent a complete renovation (fully paid for) and with a new name (Rainbow City Church of God becoming CityChurch), there has been significant growth in attendance.
According to Facebook posts, 21 people were baptized on a Sunday at CityChurch, and a few Sundays later it welcomed 28 new members into its congregation.
The increase in attendance required two Sunday morning worship services, and there’s also a need for additional auditorium space, classrooms and other activities.
The hope is that the purchase of Christ Central’s property will provide that needed room, plus providing worshippers with four times the parking space. Additional acreage is available for future expansion.
CityChurch is remodeling parts of its new location at 409 W. Grand Ave., is planning a new, wider entrance from the highway and making other improvements to better suit its needs. The goal is to begin services there in a few weeks.
Two churches in Etowah County’s largest single denomination recently joined forces to give one of them a new chance at life.
Etowah Baptist Association Missions Director Craig Carlisle said the organization has partnered MeadowBrook and Dwight Baptist.
Dwight, in Alabama City, was once among the largest congregations in North Alabama, but declining attendance had produced thoughts of a possible closure or merger with another church.
According to Carlisle, however, MeadowBrook “came alongside Dwight and provided preaching, worship leadership and many other forms of assistance with the goal of helping Dwight become stronger.”
This effort resulted in Dwight calling a new pastor, Zach Howard, and with the help of MeadowBrook and the EBA, he can serve Dwight full time.
Carlisle said he hopes to see similar partnerships develop and more churches helped and restored. He said the association exists to provide help, assistance and encouragement to its 79 churches.
“It is true, these are challenging days for churches in Etowah County,” he said. “We are constantly trying to find ways to connect with people and share the gospel with them. We are constantly striving to find ways to connect and love the people of our community, and I am pleased with the efforts that our churches are making, and I rejoice when I hear of how God is favoring these efforts.
“While the days present many bumps to doing ministry, I can honestly say that there is no lack of effort on the part of our churches,” Carlisle said. “We love Etowah County and realize that this is our neighborhood, and it is our mission field where God has placed us for the purpose of reaching Etowah County.”
He said he regularly contacts the association’s pastors to see how he might pray for them. The EBA also provides pulpit supplies for churches without pastors or for pastors while they are sick or on vacation, and offers training for pulpit committees seeking new pastors.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: change of location for two local churches
