Charlotte got its first Moravian church in 1920. Enthusiasm stemming from the Quincentennial, the Moravian Church’s 500th anniversary in 1957, led to North Carolina’s largest city getting its second Moravian church in 1963.
Church growth was on the mind of many Moravians, in Florida and also in North Carolina. Prospects were brightest in Charlotte, where a survey indicated that the southeast area of the city was a field open to the Moravian Church. With the enthusiastic support of Bishop Herbert Spaugh and the members of Little Church on the Lane, the Southern Province in 1960 purchased a six-acre tract fronting on Park Road. It was just outside Charlotte’s city limits.
Construction of a church began, and though slowed by bad weather, formal opening was on July 15, 1962. As with the opening of Little Church’s “parish house” in 1924, the Moravian Band from Salem provided the music. The new congregation was formally organized on November 24, 1963. It adopted the name of the street it was on: Park Road Moravian Church.
Serviceable as the church building was in the 1960’s, with wear and tear over the years, as well as changing needs of the congregation, problems arose. By the late 1990’s the constant repairs meant that the building “was dictating our ministry, rather than vice versa,” as pastor Jeff Littrell put it.
The decision to move was helped when a developer offered $2.5 million for the Park Road property, and offered a lot on Rea Road. It meant the church could build anew in another growing area of Charlotte, and not have to go into debt.
After much soul searching and discussion, the congregation on January 17, 1999, decided to move. Anticipating the move, the congregation on October 3, 1999, adopted a new name: Peace Moravian Church.
Still worshiping at Park Road while zoning questions were cleared up, the congregation sees its future at the Rea Road site when construction is finally brought to completion.