The late Howard and Beth Rorrer lived in Huntersville, North Carolina and dreamed of establishing a congregation of the Lord’s church in the Lake Norman area. The towns of Huntersville, Cornelius, and Davidson were growing rapidly and the nearest congregations were located in Charlotte, Mooresville, and Statesville North Carolina.
In 1994 the Lake Norman Church of Christ was founded by Howard and Beth Rorrer along with Charlie Lowthorpe of Statesville, North Carolina. With the support of the Northview Church of Christ in Statesville, North Carolina, the Lake Norman Church of Christ began meeting at the Holiday Inn located in Cornelius, North Carolina. At that time the Church consisted of eleven members and met for Sunday morning worship services only at this facility for eight months.
To allow the church to expand its services to Sunday night and Wednesday night Bible study, a new location was needed. An old restaurant building in downtown Huntersville, North Carolina was rented and renovated in 1995 for the Church to meet in.
The Church had grown to twenty-four members. Brannon McKnight of the Mooresville Church of Christ presided as the part time minister while working full time. The Lake Norman Church of Christ held its first gospel meeting at this location with guest speaker Lowell Altizer from Christianburg, Virginia. In 1998 the lease for this building was up and due to the high cost of rent, the congregation began looking for land or a building to purchase.
In 1998 the current home and property of the Lake Norman Church of Christ was secured. The property came with the little white house. With help from the men of the Kannapolis Church of Christ the little white house was renovated and services began there on January 1, 1999. Services and classes were held in the little white house until the congregation began to outgrow the building. The house could accommodate fifty to sixty people but we learned that some visitors did not return due to the crowded conditions and inadequate facilities.
With much prayer and faith in God the decision was made to construct a new building and address the space and facility needs. The congregation secured a loan and purchased materials to construct the new building. A new building with auditorium seating that could hold a maximum of two hundred fifty people was completed on the existing property in 2002. The white house was renovated again to provide additional office and meeting space. During these formative years the Lake Norman Church of Christ received regular contributions from several congregations and individuals. We would like to especially thank the Tusculum Church of Christ in Nashville, Tennessee as well as the Northview Church of Christ in Statesville, North Carolina. It really is hard to express the congregation’s deep gratitude and love for all of the individuals and congregations who supported the work of this church, THANK YOU!
Over the years as the church has grown many wonderful things have happened. The church became self-sufficient and God blessed the congregation to the extent that we have been able to begin supporting other efforts to expand the kingdom. In 2006 deacons and elders were appointed to shepherd the flock at Lake Norman. In addition we have been blessed through the efforts of several ministers and their families over the previous 2 decades. These include Brannon McKnight, Jimmy Bradshaw, Dean Meadows, Chad Martin, Rob Albright, and Travis Robertson.
The dreams of Howard and Beth Rorrer have been blessed by God with the Lake Norman Church of Christ currently consisting of approximately one hundred twenty members. The Lake Norman Church of Christ is considering new ways to expand God’s kingdom here on earth. We know the Lord will find a way for us.