2024-2025 Church & Community Placemaking Lab
Overview of the Church & Community Placemaking Lab
The Church & Community Placemaking Lab comes alongside churches to reimagine their spaces and assets and how to leverage these for impact. In North Carolina, the church is one of the largest property owners. This Lab teaches churches how to participate in the work of placemaking by cultivating community partnerships and dreaming with those partners about how their building and properties can be leveraged for community impact. In 2025, the Ormond Center is working with its second cohort of churches. So far, we have journeyed alongside seventeen churches and are seeing wonderful results of impact in local communities. We hope to work with hundreds of churches across North Carolina to make a difference.
Explore the stories below of the 2024-2025 Church & Community Placemaking Lab.
Story Profiles
SERVING FAMILIES THROUGH CHURCH SPACE
WILKESBORO UMC—WILKESBORO
Founded in 1786, Wilkesboro UMC has a long history of being part of the town’s community life. Over the years, the church has been wrestling with a decline in membership and attendance. This led to the church community wondering how to reimagine its beautiful large facility to serve the county. At the same time, the church community learned about the gap of 30,000 children who are in need of daycare in Wilkes County but no have nowhere to go. This led the community to bring a proven, successful, and existing daycare into its church space so that daycare could expand its service for families.
BUILDING BRIDGES IN COMMUNITY
EDGERTON MEMORIAL UMC—SELMA
Edgerton Memorial UMC has been engaged with its community from its start over 150 years ago. Currently, the church runs a food pantry that gives 250 boxes every week to people in need. Selma is rising in diversity with populations of 25% hispanic/latino, 25% black, and 25% white. Edgerton Memorial UMC imagines building bridges amongst the diversity and becoming a community center for Selma. With the community’s shortage of pre-K childcare, the church aspires to repurpose its building to accommodate a pre-K learning center. Edgerton Memorial UMC would love to see its congregation full of children—knowing that its legacy will be passed on to younger generations.
CREATING A SAFE AND WELCOMING HOME
MAPLE SPRINGS UMC—WINSTON-SALEM
Outreach has always been in the DNA of Maple Springs UMC. Since its start in 1850, the church has had a large food pantry. This year, Maple Springs UMC will serve 10,000 people. Rev. Gary Mahathey, Senior Pastor of Maple Springs UMC, shares how one thing that bothered him was an old part of the church building that was underutilized. He felt that it was wrong for there to be an unused space while a neighbor across the street lived under the bridge. Through the Church & Community Placemaking Lab, the church dreamed of Grace Space—a place where families in the community can come and find a safe and welcoming home in the middle of a crisis.
MEETING THE NEEDS OF COMMUNITY
GETHSEMANE UMC—GREENSBORO
Gethsemane UMC began as a community of farmers. In the past twenty years, the surrounding area’s farmers have aged and their farms have been sold. This has led to tremendous development and growth in the area, and also to the church wondering how to meet the needs of a growing community where it does not know its needs. Through the Church & Community Placemaking Lab, Gethsemane UMC discovered the needs of its community and learned that people moving to its neighborhood were fifty-five years old and older. This inspired the church to create senior activities and a goal of becoming a community center for seniors. The church desires meeting the needs of its senior community because of the church’s devotion to service—to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
PROVIDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING THROUGH CHURCH LAND
MILFORD HILLS UMC—SALISBURY
Milford Hills UMC started in 1955 as a church plant sent to the suburbs of Salisbury. The church was planted in the heart of the community and began to have a heart for its community. In recent conversations with city officials, church leaders learned about an urgent need for additional housing over the next five years. Through the Church & Community Placemaking Lab, Milford Hills UMC noticed assets in its community and saw how three acres of their property was not used much during the year. This led the church to dream about ways this land could provide affordable housing, as a way to love their neighbors.
DREAMING WITH NEIGHBORS
WEST MARKET STREET UMC—GREENSBORO
For almost 200 years, West Market Street UMC has been centrally located in the heart of downtown Greensboro. Jeremy Benton, Associate Pastor, shares that legacy is what makes West Market Street UMC special. While the church’s large space is an asset, the church has struggled to be a meaningful and relevant neighbor. The church joined the Church & Community Placemaking Lab in order to become part of the fabric of the community all the time, not just on Sunday mornings. Alongside the Ormond Center, the church community has been actively dreaming with its neighbors for ways the church’s property can serve its neighbors.
CULTIVATING CONNECTION AND COMMUNITY
THE EDGE CHURCH—SNEADS FERRY
The Edge Church is a new and small church. Randy Evans, Pastor of the Edge Church, desires for the church to connect with other businesses and communities outside of the church. One way they do this is by building a “Ferry Strong” movement around the town to start a conversation about what it means to be “Ferry Strong.” The church seeks to build connection and community at the same time.
IMAGINING CHURCH LAND TO SERVE NEIGHBORS
WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN—DURHAM
Being a good neighbor has always been at the heart of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Durham. As Durham is rapidly changing day by day, the church longs to more deeply step into its calling of ministry. Eight years ago, Westminster Presbyterian purchased five acres of land. This led the church to join the Community & Church Placemaking Lab to imagine ways this land can serve its neighbors. The church dreams of the land being a home to people—a place where different parts of the community can gather together.
AN ISLAND CHURCH FOR THE COMMUNITY
ROANOKE ISLAND PRESBYTERIAN—MANTEO
Before having a church building, Roanoke Island Presbyterian Church began as a mission for pregnant high school mothers. The church closed its daycare because of economic reasons and is now looking for ways to continue its tradition of service. Rev. Dr. Michelle Lewis, Pastor of Roanoke Island Presbyterian Church, sees the shift of people coming to the Outer Banks who look for volunteer work as an opportunity for the church through voluntourism. The church is also exploring ways to create affordable housing on their property for educators at the High School across the street.