Church in Chadbourn closes, but still alive in spirit

CHADBOURN, NC (WWAY)– In a room full of singing, a church filled with praying, and the pastor addressing more than 70 people. It was an unusual sight for Susan Sasser, a member of the Chadbourn Presbyterian Church since 1964, who hadn’t seen the pews this full in years.

“This past Sunday, there were more than 70 people there and it was just fabulous. it was beautiful to see the church you know full like it used to be.”

The church, located right next to a local neighborhood, has served as a place of worship for over 120 years. Sasser says for the last decade, fewer than a dozen members attended regularly. Faced with financial struggles, congregation leaders voted to disband it.

Lauren Lupton, with Presbytery of Coastal Carolina, is now helping decide what comes next for the property.

She says most of the remaining members are primarily senior citizens, and after COVID, attendance continued to decline.

“10 to 12 people remaining in a congregation is just not enough to sustain it financially or to continue all those ministry efforts that require volunteers and require energy and commitment to do it,” said Lupton. “Several of these members were in their 70s and 80s”

She says many of their families have since moved away, making it even harder to keep the doors open.

Pastor Joe Washburn, who filled in to lead services, says seeing the pews filled one last time was emotional.

“They’ve laughed together, they’ve cried together, they’ve encouraged one another, they’ve been there through good times and bad times. That’s hard to lose that,” said Washburn. “While they’re still neighbors, and they still live around, that church served as a kind of hub for the community.”

While they might be closing, there is hope for a new beginning.

Lupton says they are working to see if this place can still serve as a place to worship.

“We are contacting some of our Presbyterian Spanish language folks to see if they might want to plant a new church in this area that might center around the culture and Spanish language,” said Lupton. “We’ll see if that comes together. We’re reaching out and making some contacts like that.”

Lupton also says that the church could also be a hub for a food pantry, or low-cost health clinic.