The old St. Luke Church was designed to be a multipurpose center but was dedicated in 1994 as the church. MINT HILL — St. Luke Parish recently reached another milestone with the sale of their old property off Lawyers Road – part of its continuing shift to a new, larger and more visible location on Fairview Road.
The land and building were sold for $3.6 million to The Road Church, part of the Global Methodist Church.
But the parish’s move to the new Fairview Road location isn’t yet complete. The parish is leasing back from The Road Church its old fellowship hall for the next five years to accommodate faith formation, parish ministries, and administration until it can build offices over at their new church campus.
The transaction – and the relationship it formed between the churches – is an example of ecumenism and cooperation at its core, said St. Luke’s capital campaign director and longtime parishioner Jim Strauss.
“We may have sold the church, but we also gained a wonderful partner, The Road, who is willing to work with us,” Strauss said. “This whole thing has been really good for us as well as The Road Church. Some ‘God things’ happened, and it was just beautiful to be a part of it.”
Emmett Sapp, director of construction and real estate for the Diocese of Charlotte, considers the transaction another leap forward for the booming Mint Hill parish.
“St. Luke has been acting tirelessly on their long-term plan to relocate their parish home in stages to a site that accommodates the growing parish community,” Sapp said. “The first stage was buying land, then clearing and grading the land and building a rectory, followed by building a new church. Selling their old church enables the parish to make significant progress in paying down their debt to clear the way for future building projects that make office, classroom, meeting and fellowship space available on the site of the parish’s new church.”
A history of growth
St. Luke Parish was founded in 1987 with 42 parishioners who attended Mass at a movie theater, then moved into a shopping center. In 1994, a multipurpose building was constructed and dedicated as St. Luke Church. Due to explosive growth, the parish shifted its sights toward raising funds to buy 30.14 acres along Fairview Road (Hwy. 218) in Mint Hill. There, they built a cross-shaped church that can seat more than 800 and was dedicated in 2023.
A home of their own
Father GaryAs their new church took shape, pastor Father Paul Gary, Strauss and building committee head Rob Buckanavage met with many prospects about buying the old church. Some wanted to demolish it to build condos, while others wanted to continue using the old church. None of the potential buyers seemed to fit what St. Luke envisioned better than The Road Church.
Pastor Mark Weekly of The Road Church had been eyeing the St. Luke Church building for years, dreaming of one day moving his 137 parishioners into a home of their own.
His congregation had a remarkably similar origin story as St. Luke’s, beginning with 130 members who gathered for worship services in a local funeral home.
Weekly recalled how the idea grew from there: “I believe it began with the renewal of old acquaintances at a Knights of Columbus fish fry during Lent of last year and developed from there. Prayer and trusting God really helped everything to come together.”
The sale was closed amiably on both ends, leaders of both churches said.
St. Luke will use the funds to help offset debt incurred from their new church building project.
Father Gary considers the building and expansion project one of the greatest accomplishments for his parish, and he could not be happier about how the whole project worked out.
“All that we have accomplished, was with God’s help,” he said.
St. Luke may have had humble beginnings, but ambitious dreams made possible by talented parishioners and a motivated pastor.
As they look toward the future, plans include a parish hall and office space, faith formation classrooms and new landscaping to fully settle into their new home.
And as St. Luke continues to thrive thanks to its new location, parishioners kneel on their new cushioned kneelers and pray that The Road Church experiences the same growth they have experienced over the past three decades.
“We are very thankful and blessed to now be at the previous campus and have really appreciated the ways Father Paul and other leaders worked with us to make our purchase possible,” Weekly said. “It really is a stunning worship and church space, and the campus is a lovely corner of God’s beautiful creation.”
— Lisa Geraci
Bishop Peter Jugis dedicated the new St. Luke Church on Feb. 19, 2023.