Iredell in Transition :: Powered by statesville.com and mooresvilletribune.com

As faith spectrum grows, congregations focus on drawing a crowd

Russell Ledbetter | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | April 30, 2008

Following another full weekend of eight speaking engagements at The Cove Church in Mooresville, Senior Pastor Mike Madding is exhausted.

The Cove has tripled in size over the past 10 years, expanding to more than 3,000 members as explosive growth surges up from Charlotte and into Iredell County.

With his voice noticeably worn and phone conversation kept to a minimum, Madding describes the philosophy behind one of Iredell’s fastest growing non-denominational Christian ministries.

“We’re trying to keep it real and what we’re doing seems to resonate with people,” he said.

“There’s a rock band and everyone is really upbeat. There’s a lot of lights, like you’re at a concert. People come in just blown away.”

The Cove is open-armed to all those who attend the out-of-the-ordinary services — even those who may break the mold.

“Whether someone is covered with tatoos or whatever their situation in life may be, we’re radical about accepting them for who they are,” Madding said.

The Cove’s methods to attract young or nontraditional congregants is an effort to combat — intentionally or not — a growing trend.

Leaving their faith
First Presbyterian Pastor Steven Scott said the role of the church has declined since the region was settled.

“Social life in the early days of Statesville and Iredell County revolved around the church,” he said.

That’s changing.

As the county’s population has surged during the past three decades, the percentage of people who consider themselves religious-affiliated has declined.

According to the Association of Religion Data Archives, in 1980, 66.3 percent of the county’s 82,538 residents categorized themselves as adherent to a religious body. By the year 2000, that number dropped to just 50.1 percent, according to the ARDA.

John Milholland, religious studies instructor at Mitchell Community College and pastor of Fourth Creek Presbyterian Church, said several factors in Iredell County over the past 25 or more years have led to people moving away from the church.

Among them are younger generations increasingly moving away from faith.

“As the economy boomed through the ’70s and ’80s, a lot of people became much wealthier than their parents and moved away from their families with less social pressure to go to church,” Milholland explained. “Momma’s not there to say ‘Why didn’t you go to church?’ and that has really had an effect.”

Some argue that looking at a decades-long dip in church membership is thinking too small.

“There’s an old saying,” First Baptist Church pastor Jeff Porter said. “Christians don’t measure time in years, but in centuries.”

But the Rev. C. Peter Setzer, interim pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church, said there has definitely been a movement away from having a strong faith base.

“With the increasing mobility of everyone, people are leaving their hometowns where they grew up in and are less likely to join a church because of lack of family or social pressure to do so, or they just keep delaying it,” he said. “Churches and schools used to encourage faith, and now there is a strong, if not silent, resistance in government to do so.”

J.C. Harris, pastor at First Baptist Church on Garfield Street, said young adults are simply not attracted to church and religion like previous generations were.

Congregation Emanuel member Howard Adler, 90, agreed that the younger generation is moving away from faith.

“In talking to ministers in the area, there are problems everywhere of younger people not coming to services and taking leadership roles,” he said.

Setzer added that the decreasing rural character of America — a trend visibly under way in Iredell County — is leading to a society without strong roots. He warns the phenomenon is creating an epidemic in a misplaced social network and leading to an increase in crime and divorce.

“However, I want to say that churches should not lose heart,” Setzer added. “As many more people move into Statesville and Iredell County, there will be many more opportunities for churches to grow.”

A moving trend
Another trend visible throughout the county is the changing landscape of faith.

As more people move South, they bring their beliefs with them. Over the past 20 years, the Muslim, Catholic and Jewish faiths have shown significant increases over other religious institutions.

Historically, the most dominant in number of all houses of worship in Iredell County is the Baptists. With more churches in Statesville and throughout the county than any other faith, it is the Baptists who have consistently towered in number.

But that is likely to change, Milholland said.

“I don’t see the Baptist churches coming into Iredell County and becoming more plentiful,” he said.

“But they’re certainly not going to die out. As more (transplants) move into the county — and they’re not moving in from the South, they’re moving in from the North where the Baptist church is not very big — I see the county becoming more suburban and less rural.

“There will be a lot more Catholics, Lutherans and Presbyterians.”

Faith in Iredell County today is a religious melting pot of sorts.

The Muslim faith has grown 100 percent over the last two decades, and those who follow the teachings of Judaism jumped 68.8 percent, according to the ARDA.

Concord Jewish Synagogue and the Lake Norman Jewish Community are active and renting space for services in the Mooresville/Lake Norman area.

But Judaism has roots here, too.

The Temple Emanuel at the Congregation Emanuel Synagogue in Statesville is the second oldest house of worship in the city, said Adler, a member of more than 50 years.

A busy congregation from the 1960s into the ’80s, the congregation had more than 30 children in Hebrew school with “all the mothers and fathers teaching.”

“It was a very exciting time. Unfortunately, most of the young people did not return after finishing their college education,” Adler said.

Photo: A band at The Cove Church in Mooresville plays contemporary Christian music before a Sunday morning service. Bruce Matlock photo

Comments

I am a member of The Cove. The Cove Church has changed my life so much. The church is so full of love like I have never felt before. I serve with several different ministries along with several other great people. The Cove offers Ministires of all kinds, there is something for everyone. Mike Madding (the senior pastor) puts his heart in the services and the bands are awsome. I have never seen a church like this one. The people I meet are real. God has done amazing things with the church and will continue. You can walk into this church and be yourself, no mask required. Anyone who is reading this that is unsure, TRY IT!!!! The Cove church may change your life too!!!

Posted by Dawn Inman on 05.01.2008 at 06:58 pm