Written by: Amanda Blake and Charlene Arnold
Editors Note: This article is part two of a two-part series. See it here.
Chattanooga First Church
7450 Standifer Gap Road, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 37421
Senior Pastor Rusty Williams wrote in an email to the Accent that Chattanooga First has a dynamic young adult Sabbath School at 9:30 a.m. The church’s website lists Saturday service times at 8:30 and 10:45 a.m.
Williams said traditional worship services are offered with practical messages that focus on real problems, point to Jesus and are “delivered in a style where you would feel comfortable inviting guests.”
Williams wrote in a closing statement to Southern students, “We pray that God would bless you in your studies, guide you in all your choices, and may your relationship with God grow into a testimony for years to come. And by the way, our potlucks are on [the] fourth Sabbath of the month.”
Orchard Park SDA Church
951 N. Orchard Knob Ave., Chattanooga, Tennessee, 37406
In an interview with the Accent, Senior Pastor Troy Brand said Orchard Park offers a contemporary, urban worship experience and multiple opportunities to engage in community-oriented service.
It holds two prayer meetings on Wednesdays, one in person at noon and the other virtually at 7 p.m. On Saturdays, it has a hybrid young adult Sabbath School class, meaning it is both in person and virtual, at 10:30 a.m. and a worship service at 11:45 a.m. Every second Sabbath is “Compassion Sabbath,” a day when members go into the community to conduct service projects and ministries.
Brand, who also serves as an adjunct professor at Southern, said several Southern employees attend the church, and the congregation also has a close relationship with Southern’s Christian Service Department. Theology students who need an external internship can do one under Brand’s supervision.
“Because we are traditionally an African American church, it may appear that we are not a part of the Southern community, but we are very much a part of it,” Brand said. “ … We are open to everyone coming: black, white, Hispanic, Asian — doesn’t matter. Everybody’s welcome.”
Crosswalk Chattanooga
6401 Lee Highway, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 37421
Crosswalk involves students in various activities, according to Leadership Team Chair Brooks Prueh, and the church also offers community outreach opportunities. Prueh specifically mentioned the Food Bank.
The church conducts two identical Saturday services, one at 10:30 a.m. and the other at 12 p.m. Crosswalk’s website describes the worship experience it offers as “full-body” and “sensory” and explains there is no dress code.
“The language that I would use to describe our worship is we make every effort for it to be distraction-free,” he said. “We try to bring a level of professionalism not because we want to be a concert. … [We want] to provide an atmosphere where people can actually just kind of get caught up in it and let the Holy Spirit move in their hearts.”
Prueh said the busiest time at Crosswalk is between its two services, when people engage with each other in the lobby. The church’s unofficial motto is: “Come early, stay late, love well.”
McDonald Road SDA Church (MRC)
5440 McDonald Rd., McDonald, Tennessee, 37363
Southern alumnus J.C. Brown, formerly involved in ministry at McDonald Road SDA Church, shared his thoughts on the church.
“McDonald Road SDA Church, particularly through its Sabbath School programs, provides a safe place for students to come together to search for God, to ask questions, express doubts, be vulnerable and have fun,” Brown said.
The church’s website lists the Saturday service times as 9 and 11:30 a.m, and Sabbath School begins at 10:15 a.m. In an email to the Accent, Office Assistant Meagan Grundy wrote that Senior Pastor Fred Fuller has a history of working with youth and young adults.
“We are looking for collegiate-aged individuals to help with special music and other ministries,” Grundy wrote in a message to students. “Please come and introduce yourself to Pastor Fuller when you visit.”
High Point Chinese SDA Church
3450 Camp Road, Ooltewah, Tennessee, 37363
In an interview with the Accent, Pastor Dennis Li said High Point has a multicultural, family atmosphere where students can find belonging and a place to actively participate in various ministries, including church leadership, youth ministries, music and sports. High Point was started by students, he added, and currently involves a large number of young people.
The church conducts prayer meetings, online and in-person Bible studies, regular Saturday services and small groups, some of which are led by students. According to its Facebook, High Point has an English Saturday service from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. followed by Sabbath School from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
“We welcome [students] as brothers and sisters. They will feel accepted here and feel like this is their home, their family,” Li said.
Li mentioned two upcoming church events. “Glow in the Dark” is an outreach event to take place on Oct. 31 during which participants will pass out glow tracks and interact with community members. On Dec. 3, the church will host a cultural night and banquet.
Hamilton Community Church (HCC)
7997 Shallowford Road, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37421
In an email to the Accent, Associate Pastor Keith Bowman wrote that Hamilton Community Church (HCC) involves students in service no matter their interests or skill levels.
“We plug students into learning cameras, lighting, directing, ProPresenter, running sound, stage set-up, stage hands, playing music, singing, helping in classrooms or children’s church, basically anything a college student wants to do,” he wrote.
He added that the church regularly runs community service projects, such as its community meals on Tuesday evenings.
Bowman said HCC started with a mission to help connect people to Jesus and offered the first contemporary worship service in the local area. The church stood out because of its percussion, electric guitars, lights, smoke machines and coffee. And, although other nearby churches eventually adopted some of those elements, Hamilton remains a place that is welcoming and a bit different, according to Bowman.
