Psalm 100:2 “Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.“
Women of the Church
Our women are involved in most all aspects of the ministry of our church. They meet at different times during the year to plan and carry out projects the Lord lays on their hearts. They send cards to our members locally and some who have moved away. For our young ladies who are getting married, they will plan a bridal shower for them at the church. If a young man is getting married, they help organize a “man shower,” to provide gifts of tools, garden hoses, and other supplies for a new home, given by the men of the church. When a couple is blessed with a newborn, the women of the church will give the new mother a “baby shower.” They also help provide meals when members are recovering from a hospital stay, struggling with a serious illness, or in the event of a death in the family.
Visitation
The Pastor and elders do the majority of visitation among those who are homebound, sick, or have suffered a loss of some kind in their life. We also have a few members who make it a priority to visit, call, or send a card to others in the congregation – what a blessing!
Music
We are blessed to have a talented organist/choir director (Sandy Cruise) and an equally talented pianist (Susan McClamrock) to accompany her. Our choir is a blessing to us in times of worship. If you would like to serve by being part of the choir, please speak with Sandy Cruise.
Greeters
The demands of this position are to smile and greet people as they come into the Sanctuary for worship on Sunday morning. If people are visiting, a greeter would hand them a visitor card and ask them to please fill it out and place it in the offering plate. Also, a greeter would try to answer any questions people may have about the church. Greeters are the first impression of our church to visitors!
Prayer Chain
This ministry of our church is made up of those who are spiritually desirous to intercede on behalf of others to God in prayer. Two co-ordinators serve to get the requests and begin to pass them on to the next person in the chain. The process continues until all members of the prayer chain have received a call.
Professional Christian Counseling
Pastor Mark has been in ministry for 30 years! He is also a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in the State of North Carolina (License #10119). Concord ARP Church is the setting for this counseling ministry. The counseling ministry serves as an outreach into the community to hopefully bring healing to some who are hurting. Being in full-time ministry, Pastor Mark does not have time to file paperwork for insurance reimbursement, so he charges only $30.00 an hour (similar to a co-pay for insurance) to try and make it affordable for those who might otherwise not be able to afford it.
The Professional Christian Counseling ministry at Concord ARP Church is called Christian Counseling Solutions. If you believe this is something that might be beneficial to you, or you just have questions, please click on the button below and visit the site for more information and to schedule an appointment.
Children's Church
The children who are in kindergarten through 2nd grade are dismissed to children’s church, after the offering, during the worship service. They meet downstairs in the chapel for the remainder of the service. We have adult volunteers who teach them from the scriptures, provide lesson activities, and pray with them during that time.
Nursery
We have experienced loving adult volunteers to help teach and take care of our youngest children.
Middle School & High School Youth
Communicants Class: This is a class with the Pastor for those desiring to unite with the church by faith in Jesus Christ to become communing members (taking the elements of the Lord’s Supper). This timing of this is determined through a conversation between the Pastor, the parents, and the young person.
Retreats: There is a Fall and a Spring retreat each year for our Middle School age group at our ARP Retreat Center (Bonclarken), in Flat Rock, NC. This is a weekend reteat arriving on Friday evening and leaving on Sunday morning. The High School age group also has a Fall and Spring weekend retreat at Bonclarken, Friday- Sunday.
Appalachia Mission Trip: This mission trip is sponsored by our denomination. The adult leaders help the youth (9th-12th grades) learn Vacation Bible School curriculum to present to children, youth and parents at churches in Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee areas of the Appalachia mountains. Churches in these areas have agreed to allow groups to host Vacation Bible Schools. Groups from many of our churches are there from Saturday through the next Friday over the week of the 4th of July. This ministry has been going on for over 40 years and has resulted in many close relationships between our church groups and their churches. It is a great ministry opportunity for our youth and the adults who are serving with them to present the gospel.