By Steve Parker
Pastor Ron Tippens came to Albemarle Road Presbyterian Church 26 years ago. Since then, the neighborhood around the church has changed dramatically.
“When I came here 26 years ago, the neighborhood was generally white and middle class, and our membership reflected that. Nearby Eastland Mall drew visitors from all over the region. Our church’s weekday school was thriving. Then things began to change,” Tippens said.
Different ethnic groups began to move into the neighborhood. First came African Americans. Then there was an influx of Latinos, followed by Asians, most of whom were refugees from Burma and Nepal.
“Our denominational office told us that, in a five-mile radius, we had the highest immigrant population in North and South Carolina. And here we were right in the middle of it: A middle-class Caucasian church in a sea of people that we knew nothing about. And we seemed to be unable to connect with them,” Tippens said.
Many of the white people in the neighborhood moved away, and Albemarle Road Presbyterian Church stopped growing. The membership began to age.
Then, two years ago, Tippens was in the church’s large education building on a Sunday morning. In years gone by, the building would have been filled with the sound of dozens of children laughing, singing, and learning. On this morning there were only five children in the building.
“I am not usually in that building on Sunday mornings because I normally teach an adult Sunday school class. I was surprised and saddened at the absence of children. It was quiet as a tomb. And I prayed, ‘God, send us children.’”