By Ellis White, Senior Pastor Something happens in September. The slow, untethered pace of summer gives way to something more structured. Kids go back to school. Routines return. People start thinking again about what they want their weeks to look like—and what they want their lives to look like. Psychologists call it the “fresh start […]
Author: Pastor Ellis White
Coming This Year to Chapel Hill…
By Ellis White, Senior Pastor I got to be gone for an entire month this summer, and I don’t take that lightly. Thank you to Pastor Julie and Steve Maxwell, our COO, for leading our staff while I was away. Thank you to Pastor Julie, Caleb Bagdanov, and our guest preacher, Pastor Mike Moses, for […]
Celebrating Cara and Looking Ahead
By Ellis White, Senior Pastor There are seasons in the life of a church that invite us to pause and give thanks. Today is one of those moments. For the past 10 years, Cara Taylor has faithfully served Chapel Hill in countless ways. During that time, many of you have watched her not only lead […]
250 Years of Freedom—and One Very Teary Brit
By Ellis White, Senior Pastor I must have been seven or eight years old, standing in a playground in England, talking with some friends about the United States. I don’t remember exactly what was said. But I remember the feeling—this quiet, almost inexplicable sense that one day I would live there. Thirty-something years later, I […]
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Something Is Happening Here
By Ellis White, Senior Pastor A mom—not a churchgoer herself—recently texted another parent and said something that stopped me in my tracks when I heard it. “I don’t know what happens at that student ministry, but it has completely changed my daughter’s life.” Her daughter had been invited to Easter last year by a friend. […]
The Man Who Changed Everything for Me
By Ellis White, Senior Pastor I was 22 years old when I met him at a conference in Oxford, England. He saw something in me I couldn’t see in myself. He invited me into his world, let me sit in the front row of his ministry, and spent the last 15 years shaping me—as a […]
Something New Starts This Sunday
By Ellis White, Senior Pastor There’s a moment in any season of waiting when you can feel the shift—when what you’ve been hoping for stops being around the corner and actually arrives. That moment is this Sunday. After more than a year of searching and praying for our worship ministry—and five months for our children’s […]
Refreshing Our Lobby & Coffee Areas
By Ellis White, Senior Pastor Over the years, one of the things we’ve come to recognize is how quickly people form an impression when they walk into a space. Long before a song is sung or a message is preached, something meaningful is already happening. In those first few minutes, people are quietly asking, “Do […]
Welcoming Two New Leaders
By Ellis White, Senior Pastor As you know, we’ve been prayerfully searching for the right leaders to help guide two vital areas of our church—Worship and Children’s Ministry. Thank you for your patience, your prayers, and your trust in the process. We’re excited to share that God has provided in a powerful way. Seth Wolfe, […]
Helping Families Find and Follow Jesus
By Ellis White, Senior Pastor A lot of parents are asking the same question right now—even if they don’t say it out loud: Am I doing enough to help my kids actually know Jesus? Not just attend church. Not just learn the stories. But truly find and follow him. That quiet concern is real. And […]