A Brief History of Christ The King

(A more detailed history in Adobe Acrobat format.)

A Mission Congregation

In the early 1960's, the Board of American Missions of the Lutheran Church in America determined that a mission congregation should be placed in Cary. In August l963, the Rev. Henry R. Sink began work, calling on numerous residents in the area. In December l963, an interest meeting was held in which a steering committee was appointed to support Pastor Sink. The first members of the committee were Paul Hammer, Larry Huerth, JD Wilson, William Crawford, Gordon Skaar and Norman Rosebrock. A parsonage was purchased by the BAM at a cost of $17,500 and church meetings were held there, 2l9 Dowell Drive.

The congregation was officially formed on Sunday, December l3, l964, 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 farm house was razed, and construction of a new building was begun. The building was dedicated in October l967. It had space for worship, six classrooms and community activities. The town had a population of some 5500 at that time. The congregation continued to grow along with the community, especially as new firms began to locate in the Research Triangle Park. At the end of l968, Pastor Sink resigned his call and moved to Burlington, NC, where he served as pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church.

Growing, and Reaching Out to Others

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 1970's, the congregation became actively involved with other congregations in Cary in the area of social ministry. Members of CTK were among the organizers of the 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 congregation also cooperated with other Lutheran congregations in a variety of projects.

As the congregation grew, it became obvious that the existing building was not able to contain the number of programs and worshippers present. Two worship services were begun. 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 initiate new facilities.

Construction was begun in April l975 and the building was dedicated in September l976. The new building included a nave seating 350 people, a suite of offices for the church staff, and numerous new classrooms. The total construction cost was $881,000. Construction was financed by church bonds, the last of which is due in August 1989.

The staff, as well as the 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, learning from the pastor and the congregation various skills of ministry. In later years, Eileen McClain was called as parish worker (l986) and the Rev. Thomas E. Nelson as assistant pastor (l988).

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. During his pastorate, he has been active in local activities serving as President of the Cary Area Ministerial Association and as President of the Cary MacGregor Rotary Club. He also chaired the rebuilding Task Force of Faith Lutheran School and it’s two million dollar re-construction following the school’s destruction by Hurricane Fran. He currently serves the North Carolina Synod by serving on the Synod Investments Committee.

Another Building Campaign, and More

In 2000, the facilities had again become too crowded so the congregation began another building campaign and raised $1.7 million towards an expansion of our facility, which included new worship space for ABC (Nagle Hall), a commercial kitchen, a more open-air narthex, new classroom and office space. The new facilties were dedicated in the fall of 2002.

In the Fall of 2004, Pastor John Nagle announced that he planned to retire at the end of March, 2005. In February 2005 the congregation began the call process for a new senior pastor by doing a self-study to reflect on who we are, where we want to go, and what qualities we want in a new senior pastor. A call committee was formed and decided to call our Associate Pastor, Kenneth Ray, as our new senior pastor. The congregation approved his call in June of 2006.

Through the years, the members of Christ the King have celebrated being a family of variety which is reflected in the many and various ministries we offer together. Music has played a important part of the worship of Christ the King. Presently, there are four choirs for children and young people plus a large senior choir. The youth program, known throughout the synod, includes groups for elementary students, junior highs and senior highs. Other programs carried out within the congregational life include --circles of Women of the ELCA, Lutheran men, an altar committee, numerous standing committees, prayer and bible study groups.

The congregation has been an integral part of Pan-Lutheran Ministries and its three major programs: Agape Place, Samaritan's Inn and Families Together. Many community programs have used CTK facilities. A pre-school program that includes five classes of two, three and four year old children, and many community groups use the facilities. The congregation views community use of the building as a benevolence offering.

A lot has changed. The little town of Cary, as has the entire region, has grown. So has Christ the King. Cary now consists of 104,000 citizens and Christ the King has over 1700 members, and our church is continuing its growth. We have transformed from a local congregation to a regional church with members driving from as far as Chapel Hill and Wake Forest to worship and serve here. And we pray for God to continue to help and guide us as we seek to share the Good News and grace of Jesus Christ with our members, our community and the world.