By Julie Hawkins, Pastor of Ministry Some of the moments I remember most clearly from my years in outreach ministry didn’t happen inside a church building. They happened while serving alongside someone, hearing a story I might never otherwise have heard, or watching a volunteer discover that a need they had thought about from a […]
Category: Weekly Blog
6,579 Days
By Ellis White, Senior Pastor I have a math degree. I like precision, and I like things that can be measured. Parenting has cured me of both. You can read every article, ask every friend with older kids, plan the perfect response to a bad morning—and somehow still get it wrong by 8:15 am. There’s […]
Roll Away the Stone
By Rachel White, Pastor of Next Steps My siblings are coming to stay with me this month, and I’ve been thinking about how easy it is, when you’re around family, to get remembered for who you used to be. I was the typical big sister. Bossy. Arrogant, if I’m honest. They probably thought I was […]
This Sunday, We’re Making Room
By Ellis White, Senior Pastor Last Sunday, a dad walked through our doors for the first time, two elementary-age daughters in tow, looking for kids’ check-in. Our remodel is still catching up with itself in one embarrassing way—with all the changes, we didn’t have the signage up yet to guide him. He stood there for […]
The Most Important Room in the Building
By Julie Hawkins, Associate Pastor of Ministry I grew up in the church, this church. Chapel Hill was the place where my faith came alive. It was in Sunday school classrooms and Wednesday night programs, in the care of adults who showed up week after week to teach, to pray, to notice me. Somewhere in […]
There’s No Better Time Than Right Now
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 […]
Parenting Without Having It All Figured Out
By Rachel White, Pastor of Next Steps It hit me recently, somewhere between Evelyn’s birthday and getting Ezra ready for his first year of middle school, that we don’t have an elementary schooler in the house anymore. Evelyn just turned 13, so we are newly, officially parents of teenagers, and Ezra is right behind her. […]
Put Sunday on Your Calendar First
By J.J. Bland, Director of Chapel Hill Preschool As summer begins to wind down, I always reach that moment when reality settles in. The slower pace, spontaneous backyard barbecues, late-night teen gatherings around the fire pit, and unhurried evenings are coming to an end. Our preschool teachers are already stopping by their classrooms, decorating bulletin […]
When Grief Changes Everything
By Katie Nelson, Director of Care Ministries I can easily recall the day my sister called me with the news. It was August 7, 2024, the day after Adelaide died. I heard something different in her voice…heaviness, crisis mode, shock. I walked outside to the back lawn. “Adelaide died,” she said. As the weight of […]
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 […]