FAYETTEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

(Updated 11-09-2009)

Church of the Open Door was organized in November 1977 when the majority

of the members including the Pastor, Ralph D. Richardson, of Campbellton Presbyterian Church chose to withdraw from the Presbytery and seek another place to worship. Prior to this time Campbellton church had grown in number through the leadership and Biblical teaching and preaching of Pastor Richardson. Differences

with the Presbyterian denomination led the majority of the congregation to vote 92 to14 to leave Campbellton Church and form Church of the Open Door. The church first met to organize in the Civitan Club building located off Ramsey Street. Those present at the organizational meeting unanimously adopted the Church constitution (Statement of Faith and the Form of Church government). The name "Church of the Open Door" was also selected at this meeting.

Our first worship service as Church of the Open Door was held November 13, 1977 at the Civitan Club building. The congregation met about two years at the Civitan building until the present sanctuary building on Cliffdale Road was completed in September 1979. The church property initially consisted of 4.5 acres but an additional two acres was purchased several years later to give the church its current total of 6.5 acres of property at the intersection of Cliffdale Road and the All American Expressway.

The church groundbreaking ceremony was held in September 1978 and construction began the same month. The carpentry, masonry, electrical and heating and cooling classes of Fayetteville Technical Institute (now FTCC) provided labor skills to construct the original sanctuary building. The church was filled to capacity on the dedication service held September 16, 1979.

Under the leadership of our founding pastor, Dr. Ralph Richardson, the ministry

goals of our church were implemented. These goals were as follows: to provide expository Bible preaching and teaching, Christian fellowship, evangelism, support

of home and foreign missions, and establish a strong youth ministry. Dr. Richardson's involvement in the teaching ministry of "Bible Alive" as well as his responsibility as President of Carolina Bible College led to his decision to devote full time to these ministries. Dr. Richardson agreed to remain at our church until a new pastor was found.

Roy Graves was called as our pastor in February 1982. Church of the Open Door began to hold two morning worship services to accommodate the growing congregation. In July 1985 a 5,000 square foot addition for nursery, office space, and classrooms increased the size of the original building. Pastor Graves resigned

in September 1986 having been called to minister to a church in South Carolina.

Our next pastor, Dr. Joe Rhodes, continued the ministry goals of the church while

serving as pastor in 1987-1988.

Dr. Harry Adams served as our pastor beginning in 1989. Over the next nine years increases in attendance and the need for more rooms to accommodate the growing ministries led church leadership to begin the planning and later the congregation approved the construction of an 11,000 square foot multipurpose building that contains a large fellowship hall, kitchen, offices, and upstairs classrooms. This building was dedicated to the Lord's service in April 1996.

Also, during the summer of 1996 the original sanctuary building was renovated

on the inside. This provided more seating, increased the size of the nursery, and included a baptismal pool. The renovated sanctuary was dedicated to the Lord

in October 1996.

Dr. Adams continued as our pastor until it became necessary for him to relinquish

his responsibilities as pastor because of health problems. Dr. Adams was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in 1997. Dr. Adams courageously continued to work at the church as an Assistant Pastor until June 1998 when he resigned due to health reasons. Pastor Harry Adams went home to be with the Lord in December 2008.

Pastor Randall Hamrick served our church faithfully as our pastor from 1999 until

his resignation in 2003 in order to establish a local Christian counseling ministry. Pastor Benjie Spears was called to minister at Church of the Open Door in April 2005. Pastor Spears served our church until he resigned in June 2009 due

to health reasons.

In November 2000, new access ramps were opened to allow traffic to exit off the

All American Expressway at Cliffdale Road. This provided direct and easy access

to our church from Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base and the surrounding subdivisions.

The ministry goals of Church of the Door are experienced through such established programs as AWANA, MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), Ladies Bible Studies, Men?s Fraternity, and OWLS (Older, Wiser, Loving, Saints). A significant portion

of the church?s budget is given to support home and foreign missions. Our church

has sent a number of families out for long-term service on the foreign mission field.

The membership of Church of the Open Door has varied between 140 to 300 persons since the church was established. Attendance (both members and non-members) has been well over 500 persons at times. The current membership of

our church is 154 members. The current attendance for the morning worship

service is about 180 persons.

Since the founding of our church we continue to be blessed with the attendance

of military service members and their families. The constant coming and going of Army and Air Force personnel from nearby Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base

has provided a wealth of opportunity to minister and to be ministered to from people who are assigned to these two installations from all over the country and who serve

all over the world. Many service members have claimed Church of the Open Door

as their "spiritual home".
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All that has been accomplished at Church of the Open Door from its beginning

in 1977 to the present has happened through faith and love of the Lord, as

members continued to seek His guidance.