A LETTER FROM THE RECTOR
“Deeper Roots” captures well our longing at Christ Church to be a people who faithfully live for the glory of God and for the life of our neighbors. We are a people planted in two locations: in Christ and in Winston-Salem. As our roots grow in Christ, our lives here in this place become deeper; we become living signs revealing the presence of a “deeper country,” of God’s new creation kingdom here and now.
From the beginning, Christ Church desired to be a faithful, reproducing church, and God has consistently blessed this desire, calling folks from Christ Church, like kingdom seeds, to plant Church of the Good Shepherd in Davie County in 2014 and Church of the Resurrection in Lewisville in 2017.
With this experience of planting, we sensed God’s call to focus on a season of growth so that, as he blessed, we could grow to a church-size that could more sustainably reproduce small, healthy, and faithful Anglican parishes across Forsyth County. However, in 2019, we discerned that we would be unable to grow to a sustainable, church-planting size at Queen Street given its space limitations. We were like a root-bound plant in a small pot, desperately needing to be planted in a new location that would allow us to deepen and expand God’s work among us.
After several years of praying and looking for a larger space to lease or purchase, God opened the door, in a surprising way, for us to purchase Wesley Memorial UMC’s property at 1210 Bolton Street, the very place where we began meeting as a church plant in 2008. This is a place where we can grow deep roots in Winston-Salem for generations to come, a place that exceeds our current needs and meets the future vision God has given to deepen and expand his kingdom work among us.
A larger facility comes with larger costs to purchase, maintain, and improve it; costs that can stunt deeper growth. So, we are praying that God will provide, through the sacrificial and radically generous giving of his people, $2.5 million to pay for this facility in full within five years and to complete some of the needed improvements. This is a God-size challenge for us, but it gives our whole church family the exciting opportunity to respond sacrificially together to God’s gracious provision of this new facility, trusting in his continued abundant provision. Will you join us in praying: God, what do you want to do through me to deepen Christ Church’s roots?
God’s blessings,
Fr. Benji
Season after Pentecost, 2024
