Explore churches across the Tar Heel State. The birthplace of Billy Graham is home to some of America's fastest-growing and most innovative congregations.
North Carolina — the Tar Heel State — holds a uniquely important place in American evangelical Christianity. It is the birthplace of Billy Graham, the most influential evangelist of the 20th century, whose ministry based in Charlotte touched millions of lives worldwide. That legacy of bold, Christ-centered faith continues today through some of the fastest-growing and most innovative churches in the nation.
In Charlotte, Steven Furtick's Elevation Church has grown into one of America's largest multi-site congregations, drawing tens of thousands each week across campuses throughout the region. Elevation's worship music — led by Elevation Worship — is sung in churches globally, making Charlotte a creative hub for modern Christian worship. The city is also home to historic congregations like Calvary Church and a thriving network of smaller community churches serving Charlotte's rapidly growing population.
In the Research Triangle, J.D. Greear's The Summit Church has become a flagship for SBC church planting, sending out hundreds of church planters across North America. Raleigh-Durham's tech-driven population has attracted young, intellectually serious churches that engage both university students and professionals in the booming Triangle economy. Together, Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham form two of the most important evangelical centers in the American South.
Beyond its major cities, North Carolina's faith landscape spans Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Pentecostal traditions — reflecting the state's deep Appalachian heritage in the west and its coastal communities in the east. From Asheville's creative church scene to Wilmington's coastal congregations, the Tar Heel State offers a diverse and vibrant Christian community for every tradition and worship style.