In 1944, local Presbyterian leaders decided that the growing Charlotte community needed another church. They selected a site at the edge of town. World War II was ending and materials were scarce, so W.H. Belk, the founder of the department store chain, agreed to donate materials from an abandoned schoolhouse near Waxhaw.

 

A small chapel was built and services began in 1945 with 52 members. The name “Avondale” was chosen because at the time the church sat on Avondale Avenue. It’s now known as Park Road.

 

Avondale has grown a lot since then, but that same chapel is still a vital part of our campus. We continue to be a church with a caring center and a vibrant ministry to each other and to those beyond our walls. Whenever we gather together to worship, serve, or study, we encounter the risen Christ in each other.