FAQ

This has been dreamed up for a long time, mostly by a group of young professionals that met in living rooms around Charleston beginning in 2008. Our first Sunday worshiping gathering began on September 8th, 2019. The Coronavirus pandemic shut the world down six months later. Great timing, right? 

In the historical Saint Barnabas Lutheran Church sanctuary on 45 Moultrie Street at 10:30 am. We’ll have you on your way home, to brunch, or to the beach around 11:35 am.

Wear clothes.

This is something you’ll probably hear us say a lot. It means we believe that as followers of Jesus, we’re called by God to share the “gospel,” literally the “good news” about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, we admit that too many Christians stop there. Often aligning themselves with nationalism, sexism, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and just generally being jerks, much of what Christians say and do comes off as bad news to everyone else. So we’re not just supposed to talk about the good news, but also demonstrate that the way of Jesus is for good our relationships, communities, and culture. It’s not truly good news unless it’s good news for everybody.

We’re part of the Presbyterian Church (USA). They give us healthy structures, support, accountability, while connecting us relationally to thousands of other congregations across the country. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America is in partnership with us as the congregation of Saint Barnabas. We share the building and ministry programs. Needless to say, we think Lutherans are pretty swell, too.

In 2017, our Presbyterian pastor made friends with the leadership of Saint Barnabas Lutheran Church. They hung out enough until everyone decided it would be a good idea to work together. We worship together on Sunday morning as “Team Jesus,” but maintain our respective denominational organizations. Currently, because we like each other so much, we’re working on becoming an an official “Luthbyterian” or “Presbutheran” church. Yes, that’s a thing. 

There’s plenty of theological diversity here, so it wouldn’t be accurate to say everyone believes the same doctrinal floating bullet points. That said, all of our leadership affirms the Nicene Creed, which has historically defined basic Christian beliefs since the 4th century. We also really love the “Brief Statement of Faith” written in1983 by two reuniting Presbyterian denominations. You can read more about our church’s specific beliefs here, based off the book by our pastor, “Faith, Hope, Love: The Essentials of Christianity for the Curious, Confused, and Skeptical.”

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended to the dead.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Neither? Both? We think that Jesus had a habit of breaking the conservative/liberal dichotomy of his day. His first century equivalent of conservatives thought he was too liberal and his equivalent of liberals thought that he was too conservative. If we have the same effect, we’ll know then we’re on the right track. Hang around us for awhile and you can let us know.

There’s lots of different phrasing out there, and it can get a bit confusing (not to mention misleading). What does it actually mean for a church to be gay- “welcoming,” “inclusive,” or “affirming”? So here’s the tea: Parkside believes that LGBTQ people should be treated the same as straight-cisgender people. Full stop. Our standards for gay people feeling called to lead are the same as straight people feeling called to lead. Our standards for gay people wanting to marry are the same for straight people wanting to marry. Simple enough, right? So you won’t see us hanging up rainbow flags – or any flags for that matter – our conviction is simply grounded in honoring the full personhood in every person made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27, Galatians 3:28). We believe that this kind of equality between all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity is a faithful and thoughtful application of Holy Scripture and the nature of the gospel (Luke 14:15-23, Acts 8:26-40). If you have questions about how we arrived at this conviction, our pastor (who came from a conservative evangelical tradition) is always happy to buy a drink with genuinely curious folks. Send him an email here.

Absolutely, and it’s unlike anything your child has experienced before.  We use a Montessori model for our program which allows children to develop their own conversations with Jesus, move at their own pace, learn practical life skills, and ponder deeply the love of the Good Shepherd and our growth as branches in the True Vine. We go beyond teaching moralism to finding our place in the sweeping History of the Kingdom of God.  Children older than three return to the sanctuary to  join their families at communion.

Eventually. We’ll be offering a small group for middle and high schoolers, trips to annual youth conferences, as well as confirmation (typically around 8th or 9th grade). Right now we try to make our worship upbeat enough so the youths don’t revolt or fall asleep. Besides, it’s their church too.

Nope. We think your spiritual practices need to happen on more than just one day of the week. Check out our weekly small groups that meet around the Charleston area.

Mongolian death metal. While that is actually a thing, we’re doing a thoughtful blend of contemporary and traditional. Think acoustic guitar, piano, and some strings.

Everyone. No, really. Everyone. Many of us at Parkside Church had negative church experiences before becoming a part of this community. Being a truly inclusive community is near and dear to our collective heart. No bait-and-switch. No exceptions.*

*We mean it.

We never thought you’d ask! Read more about how to help us or email us at info@parksidechs.com. One of our leaders would love to buy you a coffee or beer and get to know you.