Cartledge Creek Church

Hughes understands. His congregation -- Cartledge Creek Church outside Rockingham -- was founded in the 1700s, two years before the Declaration of Independence was signed.

But my church is out in the country," the person says.

Hughes understands. To folks riding along a winding road in rural Richmond County, the Cartledge Creek Church building looks much like hundreds of other country churches.

Inside, the congregation is growing.

Hughes said the church follows the systems theory" of church growth, which is based on the business adage that the people run the system and the system runs the business. The theory is Christ-centered and New Testament centered," he said.

The systems theory, which Hughes first learned in a class at Gordon-Conwell Seminary in Charlotte, emphasizes empowering" church members to minister. Cartledge Creek teaches that every member is a minister and every minister has a ministry, Hughes said.

The people are open to ideas," he said. They"re not afraid to take risks."

Members of the congregation have taken a spiritual gifts inventory" that helps them identify their God-given talents. Those talents are matched to needs in the community.

We put a lot of emphasis on doing the basics, but being creative," Hughes said.

The church has a food bank ministry that provides groceries to about 14 families a month. Many of those families are referred to the church by county Social Service workers.

Hughes

They have people who are hungry and they refer them to somebody who will feed them," Hughes said.

Church member Nelson White, who heads the food bank, won the Caring Heart Award from the N.C. Department of Human Resources last year.

The church's youth minister, Keith Campbell, started an after-school Bible study for students in middle school. Campbell asked a Methodist church across from the school for permission to use its building. The church agreed.

Initially, Campbell led the Bible study, but now people from several churches share the duties.

Cartledge Creek holds other Bible studies away from its church building. On Tuesdays, Hughes leads a group that meets in homes, community buildings and other places. On Sunday mornings, a teacher from Cartledge Creek leads a Sunday School class at a rest home.

We"re reaching people who don't come to our church," Hughes said.

Hughes" office isn't in the church building. He works out of a small office across from the courthouse in Rockingham. The office has helped Hughes form relationships that open doors for the church to minister.

Cartledge Creek and several other churches helped a Congregational Holiness church near Hughes" office hold a Vacation Bible School for kids in a low-income housing area.

Cartledge Creek has held joint worship services with African-American churches. The speaker at a recent Martin Luther King Day celebration was interviewed for a church-produced radio program that airs just before the church's worship service on a local popular radio station.

The 15-minute program called the "Cartledge Creek Connection" is a news and information program hosted by Hughes and the church's Sunday School director, Edna Maynor.

The show was used to promote NFL -- Neighbors, Friends and Loved Ones -- Day at the church on Super Bowl Sunday. The church held a chicken pickin"" and praise worship service before showing the football game on a big-screen television in the fellowship hall.

The residents of three group homes in the region use Cartledge Creek"s buildings on Tuesday evenings for worship.

For a while, the church held worship services at 9:45 a.m. on Sundays to attract young people. Those people now meet as a Sunday School class.

Such programs attract people to Cartledge Creek. But Hughes is quick to point out the focus of all the projects.

Everything has an evangelical hook," he said.

Hughes said the church doesn't separate evangelism and missions.

Jesus Christ is the transformer of all culture," he said.

Hughes sees himself as a co-laborer" in the ministries.

I'm not the dictator of the church," he said.

Church members work together as a team.

We disagree," Hughes said. We debate, but it's in a Christian way."

Hughes said he didn't look at Cartledge Creek as a stepping stone" in his ministry when he was called as pastor in 1991.

When I came to Cartledge Creek, I came with the vision that this would be a long-term pastorate," he said.

When he arrived, the church less than 50 people were coming to Sunday School. Now the church averages more than 160 each Sunday.

The church's 11 a.m. worship service is full, which has prompted the church to start an 8:30 a.m. service.

In 1994, Hughes received the award for the outstanding small church pastor of the year for Southern Baptist churches east of the Mississippi River. He said the award should have been given to the church for being the outstanding small church in that area.

The church is now trying to decide if it should build a larger building or start a mission church.

I've tried to teach them -- let's get out of this thing of building our own kingdoms and start serving the King," Hughes said.