“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” -Matthew 18:20
The number one question people ask when they hear about our new Global Methodist church plant in Boone, Appalachian Chapel, is simple: “Where is your church?”
To which we often reply, “That’s a good question.”
But it’s also a holy one. Because the answer has never been just about an address. It’s been about who God is forming us to be.
Our early days were in the upper room of a small coffee and ice cream shop, Blue Deer Cookies, where barely fifteen people could gather. There, we first shared the mission and vision God had given us for Appalachian Chapel:
Our Mission: To follow Jesus as disciples who make disciples in Boone and beyond. (Matt 28:16-20)
Our Vision: To be transformed by the power of God’s grace, perfected in Christian faith and love, and to glorify God in all things. (2 Cor 3:17-18 & 5:17; 1 Thess 5:23-24)
In that upper room, God taught us to trust Him.
Our next season unfolded in a lecture hall in the College of Education at Appalachian State University. There, we officially launched, welcoming new people into the Body of Christ and into this new Global Methodist movement. In that space, God taught us that He is faithful and that He will always provide what is needed to fulfill His calling.
When our agreement with the university paused for the summer, we couldn’t find an affordable indoor space. So, one Sunday, we gathered at a picnic shelter in a local park. That single Sunday became a whole summer. Beneath open skies and mountain air, God reminded us that His mission cannot be confined to four walls.
When fall returned, so did our lecture hall—but only for the semester. Then, during the university’s winter break, God opened another unexpected door: an old, unoccupied billiard hall that had sat unused for more than fifteen years. It was a space we had first noticed months earlier while searching and praying for somewhere to worship. Now, in God’s timing, it was being opened to us.
It had no heat—we brought space heaters.
It had no working restrooms—we rented one.
It had no chairs—Bethelview Methodist Church loaned them.
It had VERY limited equipment—Rocky Mount Church provided what we needed (Gus Glover, you’re awesome!).
As we cleaned, prepared, and dedicated that space, it became clear: God had been preparing it long before we ever arrived. In a college town like Boone, where spaces near downtown and campus are rare and quickly claimed, this felt less like coincidence and more like providence.
That Advent and Christmas season, God reminded us of something deeper still: heat and comfort are blessings, but the presence of the Holy Spirit is sufficient.
Today, we are prayerfully discerning the possibility of purchasing that billiard hall—honestly, a step beyond our young church’s means, but never beyond God’s provision. In the meantime, we gather each Sunday in the conference room of the La Quinta Inn. And there, in that unlikely place, we are preparing to welcome new members and celebrate the baptism of a young adult who has newly committed his life to Christ (and guess what, there’s a heated indoor pool. Thank you, Lord!)
Because this is what the Church does. We go. We baptize. We teach. We follow Jesus.
Ice cream shop. Lecture hall. Picnic shelter. Billiard hall. Hotel conference room. All in one year (whew!).
Each place has been a gift. Each place has been holy. Each place has been enough.
Because, like each one of your churches, Appalachian Chapel is not ultimately a place.
We are a people.
A people called by Jesus.
A people sent by Jesus.
A people who carry His presence wherever we go.
So when people ask, “Where is your church?” We can answer with confidence and joy:
Our church is wherever God is gathering His people, transforming lives, and sending us into the world in the name of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 4:17; 18:20; 28:16-20)
May all know us by the way we follow Jesus and less by our address. Blessed to be on this journey of God with you all.
Peace,
Rev. Brad Farrington
Boone District, Presiding Elder