In the early 1960s, the Board of American Missions of the Lutheran Church in America determined that a mission congregation should be placed in Cary. In August 1963, the Rev. Henry R. Sink began work, calling on numerous residents in the area. In December 1963, an interest meeting was held, and a steering committee was appointed to support Pastor Sink. A parsonage was purchased by the Board of American Missions for $17,500, and church meetings were held there, at 219 Dowell Drive.

Pastor John Nagle in front of our original sanctuary, circa 1968.

The congregation was officially formed on Sunday, December 13, 1964, with a total of 62 confirmed members and 41 children. The organization service was held at Cary Senior High School, where the congregation had been meeting for worship. A tract of land to be used as a church site was purchased for $20,000. The existing farmhouse was razed, and construction of a new building started. The building was dedicated in October 1967. It had space for worship, six classrooms and community activities. The town had a population of about 5,500 at that time. The congregation continued to grow along with the community, especially as new companies arrived at Research Triangle Park. At the end of 1968, Pastor Sink resigned his call and moved to Burlington, NC, where he served as pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church.

After interviewing several candidates, the call committee recommended as his successor John R. Nagle, a senior at the Lutheran seminary in Gettysburg, PA. He began his work at Christ the King on July 1, 1969.

In the early 1970s, the congregation became actively involved with other congregations in Cary in the area of social ministry. Members of CTK were among the organizers of Christian Community in Action, which sponsored kindergarten classes for disadvantaged children and a clothing closet for the needy. CTK was an organizer of a Vacation Church School that included blacks and whites, Protestants and Roman Catholics – an outstanding accomplishment at the time.

The new sanctuary built in 1975.

As the congregation grew, it became obvious that the existing building was not able to contain the number of programs and worshippers present. A second service was added. For several years, many classes of the Sunday Church School had to meet in private homes because of inadequate space in the building. A building committee was formed to plan for new facilities. Construction started in April 1975, and the building was dedicated in September 1976. The new building included a nave seating 350 people, a suite of offices for the church staff and numerous classrooms. The total construction cost was $881,000. Construction was financed by church bonds, the last due in August 1989.

The staff and programs increased during this period. For four years, the congregation was part of the LCA's internship program. Scott Olbert, Keith McDaniel, Beverly Dennis and Rob Martz each served one year. In later years, Eileen McClain was called as parish worker (1986) and the Rev. Thomas E. Nelson as assistant pastor (1988). In 1990, The Rev. Terry Dorsey was called as Christ the King’s first associate pastor. He served in that capacity until 1994, when he was called as mission developer of Circle of Grace Lutheran Church, a mission congregation of Christ the King. In 1995, The Rev. Kenneth L. Ray, a recent Duke Divinity School graduate and second-career pastor, was called as the congregation’s new associate pastor.

By 2000, the facilities had again become too crowded, so the congregation began another building campaign and raised $1.7 million toward an expansion. This project included new worship space for ABC, or contemporary, services (Nagle Hall), a commercial kitchen, a more open narthex, and new classroom and office space. The new facilities were dedicated in the fall of 2002.

Pastor Nagle retired in April 2005. A call committee decided to call our associate pastor, Kenneth Ray, as the new senior pastor. CTK continued to fill out its staff and in July 2006 called the Rev. David H. Brooks. In addition, there are 15-plus other full- and part-time members of the staff.