The Sunday Scoop: Bear Creek Congregational Church

The Sunday Scoop is a series on churches in Moore County. The series covers the latest activities from Bible school to missions and everything in between. Welcome.

Bear Creek Congregational Church in Robbins is a historic church with three associate ministers, a pastor, and is building an additional fellowship hall on faith.

Lifetime member Loretta Maness fills many roles, including Sunday Live on Facebook, member of their choir, BC Ensemble, secretary of missionaries, a trustee, and she handles media. With approximately 40 members, Maness said people are often called to volunteer for multiple positions.

Of the 40 members, the church has around 15-lifetime members whose ancestors helped found the church.

Rev. John Rudd is the pastor, and he is from Jamestown, Virginia. According to Maness, he has an educational and illustration type of approach to sermons and is called the smooth pastor.

The church has a doctrine similar to the Baptist doctrine, but the Congregationalists send out their own search committees to elect their pastors. The church joined the Congregational Christian National Association in 1957.

Contributed video. 

Part of the church outreach program includes music. Their music ministry can be seen on their Facebook page. They sing for the homebound, and Maness says they are blessed to keep moving forward to keep reaching people.

“We are starting an outreach ministry, too. We have been blessed here. Only a month or two without a service on grounds, and we use Zoom and sometimes have outdoor services on the grounds,” Maness said.

The church was founded in 1914, and they held services in the old Bloomwood community school building, which is now the dining hall.

Sunday Scoop: Bear Creek Congregational Church

The old school was once the church sanctuary and is now the dining hall for Bear Creek Congregational Church in Robbins. 

The church is preparing for the construction of an additional building attaching to the historic dining hall structure to serve as a larger dining hall.

“We have faith that the funds will be provided,” Maness said about the construction project.

The foyer of the sanctuary was added using the same white flint stone as the original sanctuary and has a modern interior.

The Sunday Scoop: Bear Creek Congregational Church Robbins

This plaque is on the side entrance of Bear Creek Congregational Church in Robbins. 

Bear Creek Congregational Church has services at 10 a.m. on the second, third and fourth Sundays of each month.

Bible Study is conducted by a conference call on Wednesday nights at 6:30 p.m. Call 646-570-1040 and use access code 527-8760.

The three associate ministers are Rev. Rachel Brower, Rev. Larry Barrett, and Minister Dwayne Simmons.

Loretta Maness welcomes the public on Oct. 21, 2021, to Bear Creek Congregational Church.

“There is a reason for everything. We can’t know what God thinks when sometimes our routines are broken, and we think it’s bad. COVID made us get out of our routines to do something we’ve never done before. Facebook Live feed helps reach people who can’t come and caused them to come to Jesus. That’s what it’s all about,” Maness said. “It’s been a joy for us.”

Bear Creek Congregational Church is located at 183 Bear Creek Church Road in Robbins, and their phone number is 910-948-2923.

If you would like to have your church featured in this series, please email [email protected].

Feature photo: Bear Creek Congregational Church.

~Article, photos, and video of Loretta Maness by Sandhills Sentinel Journalist Stephanie M. Sellers. Contact her at [email protected].

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