About Us
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About Center Church
Who We Are
From our beginnings in 1894, God has blessed us with spiritual as well as physical growth. We've come a long way since those humble beginnings. The first building was 30-by-40 structure built on the site of present Center Church graveyard. It was the result of a meeting in the spring of 1892 of a small group of rural farmers who gathered together to discuss the need for a place to worship. They met each Sunday morning in a small bush arbor near what is now the church graveyard. (A painting of that original structure can be seen in the vestry today. The bell from the first church is still hanging in our belfry, and the first pulpit, built for $5, remains in use in the Goodwill class.)
In 1926 the Church grew after the turn of the 20th century, and by the early 1920's, it was decided that a bigger church was needed. Later that year, land was purchased and a new brick structure was built where the sanctuary stands today.
In 1959 the church had again outgrown it's structure, and plans were made in 1957 to expand and remodel the sanctuary. During construction of the project, worship services were held in Welcome School. In 1959, a beautiful new church was complete.
In 1980 a multi-purpose fellowship hall was built.
2002 featured updates to the fellowship hall basement, adding a large recreation room for the Youth Fellowship and Children's Church, two new youth classrooms, and two new bathrooms.
In 2003 the long-range planning committee outlined the need for a new fellowship hall, and a building committee was elected to start plans for the project. This project was fully completed in 2008.
Through the extensive efforts of our congregation supporting our “Faith in Our Future” fundraising campaign, a mortgage note burning ceremony was celebrated on October 20, 2013.
Since 2016, Center Church has completely renovated the older Fellowship Hall and added a columbarium to our cemetery to hold cremation urns. Many other updates have since occurred including the addition of a new security and fire alarm system, state of the art video and sound systems, and the ability to provide live streaming of our services.
In May 2023, Center United Methodist Church joined nearly 200 churches in the Western NC Conference in a disaffiliation from the United Methodist Church. Today we are known as Center Church of Welcome.
What We Believe
The following are our beliefs:
We Believe in God
We believe that there is a designer to our world. None of this came into existence by accident. The Bible teaches that God made everything, and he sustains it by His power. The scripture teaches, “Yours Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all/ wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name” (I Chronicles 29:10-13).
We believe in Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is God’s only Son and is Lord. God came to this world on our behalf in a person. The person of Jesus. He relates to us and understands us all. Salvation is found in no one or nothing! The Bible says, “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or in heaven, by making peace, through His blood, shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:20).
We believe in the Holy Spirit
It is our conviction that God is at work in our world through the power of the Holy Spirit. He proceeds from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty, and glory with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God. (Articles of Religion IV). His Holy Spirit empowers us to be His witness and servant to the world.
We believe there is Sin and salvation through Jesus Christ
We see our world and ourselves and we realize there is a problem. It is called sin. Sin impacts all of us and all of creation. The original sin of the first man and women infects us all. The Bible teaches, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23,24). Jesus is the only solution to our sin. The book of Acts states, “salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:5).
We believe God loves everyone
In a world of heartache and confusion and strife it is clear we live in a broken world. But God loves each person regardless of their position, race, or nationality. John the apostle said, “For God so loved the world He gave his only Son that whosoever believed in Him would not perish but would have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
We believe we have a responsibility for all people
Because God is our heavenly Father and loves everyone, we also are called to be active in showing His love through us. We are to be active in our community and world to be servants of Jesus Christ. All persons are of sacred worth, and we are called to love.
We believe in the word of God
Our belief and practice are founded in the teachings of God’s word and not merely human understanding. Gods word as our articles of faith teach, “contain all things necessary to salvation” (Articles V). The scripture says of itself, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105).
We believe in the Church
The church is the fellowship and body of believers who follow Jesus Christ. These persons who are called disciples are called by Christ to reach the world through there witness. Membership is a calling and responsibility. Through the church we are connected to fellow believers not only locally but throughout the world. Through faith and the act of baptism we become connected. Membership classes are held throughout the year and opportunities for baptism are provided. We practice baptism through sprinkling, pouring or immersion. The amount of water does not save us! God wants all of us to grow in His likeness. The apostle Paul wrote, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (I Corinthians 12:27).
For a full understanding on our beliefs, we encourage you to view our Church Constitution
Mitch Wilson
Lead Pastor
Pastor Mitch and Beth came to Center seven years ago after serving churches throughout western North Carolina. Pastor Mitch is passionate about teaching and preaching. His love is seeing persons come to faith in Jesus Christ and growing as disciples. Their greatest blessing is their four grown children and two grandchildren.
Kaitlyn Berrier
Youth Director
Kaitlyn is the Director of Integrated Education at Center Church of Welcome. She grew up attending Center as a Youth member and has now joined us back on staff since May of 2022. Kaitlyn is pursuing her Master of Religious Education in the School of Divinity at Liberty University. She provides leadership for multiple areas of Center Church with her focus as the Youth Pastor of Impact Youth at Center and the Director of the upcoming Preschool, Center Christian Academy. Kaitlyn has a passion to reach the lost where they are and to show them the love of Christ. She married her husband, Clay in 2018 and they worship and attend Center together with their beautiful daughter. They love to share adventures together and are always excited to see what God does next in their life and the life of the church. They both have a passion to reach the youth of Davidson County and are seeing God move through Center Church's youth program, Impact.
Molly Long
Music Director
Music at Center Church has always been an important part of Molly's life. As a lifelong member, her Christian walk has been surrounded by sharing God’s word through music. "I’m forever grateful to those saints who instilled in me the love of children’s music. I’ve been blessed to work with the children’s choir for forty five years. As Music Director, it’s my privilege to work with the Youth Singers and Chancel Choirs delivering God’s message through song."
Joyce Rector
Administrative Assistant
Joyce was born and reared in Davidson County and lived away from her state for approximately 25 years but came back to her roots! She has two grown children and four grandchildren which she holds dear to her heart. She has worked for Center since the summer of 2013. Joyce has considered this church her “other” church family since her membership is at Meadowview Presbyterian Church in Lexington. "I love my job and strive to please God in all that I do. I know I am the first representation of Center Church to anyone coming in to the office and feel that to be an honorable position. Everyone at Center has been so kind and supportive of me for which I am most grateful. God has blessed this church over the many years and I pray will continue to bless Center."
Josh York
Centered Praise Leader
Joshua has been married to Laura for 24 years and they have three children; Oweb,(21), Annie (18), and Lucy (14). Joshua lives in Randolph County and enjoys playing music, and being together. He has played music in churches for more than 15 years and hopes to continue for the rest of his life.
Our Mission Statement
"Know Jesus and Make Him Known"
Seek-Learn-Fulfill-Share. Seeking God, Learning Truth, Fulfilling His Purpose & Sharing with others.