We created a docuseries that examines five distinct chapters of the Port City Church story! Below is Episode One, “The Early Days.”
The entire series is available now on YouTube!
Port City Community Church began with a simple yet profound mission:
"To Reach People and Help Them Walk with God."
Each word was carefully chosen, a reflection of our deepest hopes and prayers. REACH. HELP. WALK. These words would come to shape over the next 25 years.
It all started in a living room, where a small group of dreamers gathered.
We asked ourselves: What if we could create a place where people felt safe to explore their faith, even if they didn't have it all figured out?
Little did we know how this question would transform our community.
Above is a home video captured by our Senior Pastor, Mike Ashcraft, as they held a vision & interest meeting to start Port City Community Church!
We weren't sure what to expect when we finally opened our doors to our first church gatherings at Roland-Grise Middle School on Sunday, October 24th, 1999.
To our amazement, 78 people—mostly college students—joined us that day.
Here is a 4 minute recap of Port City’s first Sunday gathering at Roland-Grise Middle School!
As our community grew, we witnessed the beautiful unfolding of people finding their next steps with God. A quiet energy began to build, creating ripples of change across Wilmington.
Word spread of a church that was doing things differently, and soon, our Sunday attendance grew to around 300.
But numbers only tell part of the story. What truly mattered were the lives being transformed.
Celebrating our first baptisms in the YWCA, at the beach, and in backyard pools became powerful symbols of new beginnings.
Each story of change reminded us why we started this journey in the first place.
Looking back, it's amazing to see how our little church family grew. Before we knew it, our Sunday mornings were bustling with energy and new faces. As we expanded to three service times, we realized we had outgrown our first home at Roland-Grise Middle School.
Below are some photos from the early days!
The search for a permanent home began, and in a delightful twist of fate, our first plot of land wasn't in Wilmington at all – it was halfway across the world! In 2002, we formed an unexpected but beautiful partnership with Pastor Jackson, opening our eyes to global missions and inspiring us to build a center for street children in Kenya.
Below are photos from our partnership with Pastor Jackson!
Our partnership with Pastor Jackson helped to spark a passion and a vision for our church that extends beyond the walls of our gathering spaces.
Our mission as a church has always been “To reach people and help them walk with God.” But what do we really mean by REACH? How do we know when we’ve done it? Reach is not about building our brand or some attempt to boost attendance. Our reach is determined by who & what we are willing to extend ourselves to in love and compassion.
Reaching people is actually about being trusted enough to connect with people, available enough to care for people, and becoming a people of goodness that God originally intended and, in His grace, is returning us to.
At Port City, we have built a Mobilization Staff that leads our church to become students of our city and its needs, support local service providers & global partners, and to empower indigenous leadership.
Back in Wilmington, we kept searching for our local home, trusting in God's plan even when things didn't work out as we'd hoped. When the Coverbind office building located off I40 fell through, we chose to see it as a gentle reminder that something even better was on the horizon.
In the meantime, we got creative! Mid-week services at the church office, movie theater gatherings at Mayfaire, and even a stint on the UNC Wilmington campus – we made it work, always with a spirit of adventure. Through it all, our community grew stronger. Small groups blossomed across the city, creating spaces where people could truly connect and support one another. We found joy in loving our neighbors and helping each other navigate the twists and turns of faith.
2003- Our College Ministry Begins
One thing that has always been special about Port City from the first Sunday we gathered together is the involvement, commitment, and passion of college students in our church.
In January 2003, we created a dedicated night to invest in and disciple the college students in our city. Sticking with our water-themed ministry names, we decided to call our college ministry Overflow.
Today, our college ministry is a vital part of Port City, inviting hundreds of college students to belong and to participate in the life of our church.
Fun facts: The original Overflow logo was the letter "O" shaped like a coffee cup stain. The cafe on Tuesday nights used to have an additional appeal with "mocha shakes." Clay & Courtney Everett were integral volunteers to Overflow in the early days- both serve on our staff today!
2007- MY ONE WORD
In the life of Port City, there are few things that are as embedded into who we are as My One Word.
At the start of 2007, we began to consider what it would look like if each of us chose one thing to focus on for the year instead of a list of New Year’s Resolutions. This concept morphed slightly into what we know today as My One Word.
My One Word has become one of our shared practices, a tradition of sorts, as each of us, at the start of a new year, picks one word. This one word is our focus- our lens- for our formation over the course of twelve months. Our one words serve as reminders of the kind of person we hope to become and all the ways we pray and believe God will shape us over the coming year.
In 2009, My One Word received national recognition on a radio station, and in 2012, Mike, our senior pastor, wrote a book about the practice. For over a decade now, My One Word has been a discipleship tool, as well as a concise way for all of us to develop a vision for the future.
Despite successfully operating as a mobile campus, we recognized the need to establish roots as our community continued to flourish.
Episode Two of our 25 Years Docuseries, “A Permanent Home” is below.
Our story is one of faith and perseverance, with countless big and small steps guided by God's hand. He led us to a permanent home in the heart of our beloved city: 250 Vision Drive.
Taking a monumental step forward in our journey, we unveiled plans to our congregation for a permanent meeting place in May 2006.
In a pivotal moment that would forever shape our future, we broke ground on November 2nd of that same year, marking the beginning of construction and the end of our nomadic chapter.
On July 20th, 2008, we held our first service at the place we now call home. “Vision Drive” seems almost prophetic now, hinting at the profound impact this place would have—far beyond what we could have imagined. Like a welcoming home, we've flung our doors wide open to all. And in doing so, we've discovered that God's vision for our community was even more beautiful and far-reaching than we dared to dream.
2009- Our Student Camp Begins
Legend has it that if Mike Ashcraft didn’t start a church, he would have started a student summer camp! That being said, Port City takes student camp very seriously. In the summer of 2009, Fuse Camp was born!
Fuse is an environment where middle school and high school students can step back from the stress of today’s world and focus on their relationship with God.
In the past 15 years, we’ve invested in over 5,500 students, and over 1,200 adult volunteers have joined us to make this possible—that’s incredible! Whether it’s through a challenging message, honest worship, real community, or the best games, we know that God uses camp to do something big in the lives of everyone who goes.
We believe that Jesus changes everything, and Fuse was created to be a place where students can encounter that truth!
Here is a video that reflects on the first 10 years of Port City Community Church!
After a few years in our new permanent home, we started to feel like we were getting the hang organizing a chaotic Sunday morning! The church continued to grow and so did our dreams.
From the very start, our church has been driven by a vision to make a lasting impact - not just in our own city of Wilmington, but throughout our entire region and even around the world. By collaborating with mission-minded organizations and individuals, we've seen this vision come to life in remarkable ways. As people were nurtured and grew spiritually within the walls of PC3, many answered the call to become mission partners, carrying the hope of the Gospel to the furthest corners of the globe.
Episode Three of our 25 Years Docuseries, “Expanding Perspective” is below.
Back home, discussions began in 2011 about how we might extend this transformative work even further, exploring the possibility of a local expression in Brunswick County. The following year, that dream became a reality as we launched the Port City Leland campus, with over 700 people gathering for the very first service at Belville Elementary School.
Below are photos from our first Sunday of Port City Leland!
To learn more about the incredible story of our Leland Campus, check out the webpage below!
Inspired by this multiplication, we then birthed additional campuses in Jacksonville and New Bern in 2014, allowing us to thoughtfully care for the unique needs of those communities. But our vision for growth hasn't been limited to physical locations. We've also embraced a digital expression of Port City, launching an online experience so that no matter where someone lives, they can connect with the life-giving message of Christ's love.
As we looked around, it seemed like everything was running so smoothly, almost effortlessly. The auditorium was filled each Sunday, giving remained strong, small groups were thriving, we were addressing the critical needs of our community, and our ministries to college students, middle and high schoolers, and global partners were vibrant and growing. In the eyes of the world, we had truly accomplished our goals - we had become the epitome of success. In many ways, we had arrived. Yet, beneath the surface, a growing sense of unease had begun to stir. Despite our outward achievements, we couldn't escape the nagging feeling that we had grown a bit too comfortable, that we had started resting on our achievements.
The old ways, the familiar patterns, had become a cozy refuge - and in the process, we may have begun to lose touch with the restless stirrings of the Spirit. But even as these doubts crept in, a flicker of hope began to kindle. We sensed that God was calling us to loosen our grip, to trust Him more deeply, and to embrace the unknown - to step out into a new era, a new chapter for our community. The future might not be predictable, but it held the promise of renewal, of transformation - and that was worth embracing, come what may. The details of this "new thing" remained elusive, but the invitation was clear. Would we have the courage to follow where the Spirit was leading, even if the path ahead was uncertain?
A hurricane might have delayed our initial opening as a church, but God used another storm to usher in a new way of understanding church years later. When Hurricane Florence battered our community in 2018, cutting our city off from the rest of the world, our church became a beacon of hope in the darkness.
On September 15, 2018, Florence made landfall just south of Wrightsville Beach, bringing with it heavy rainfall that resulted in extensive flooding and strong winds that uprooted trees and power lines, leading to widespread power outages across our state.
That night, we opened up our building to 500+ Duke Power workers to a dinner under flashlight & candlelight. These men and women drove in from all over the country to work in the wind and the rain to restore power.
We opened our doors, our hearts, and our hands to those in need, partnering with Convoy of Hope and Samaritan's Purse to provide aid and comfort to our hurting neighbors.
For weeks our parking lot and our building were filled with organizations and individuals who could bring their skills and talents to bring relief to thousands in need.
In that moment of crisis, we rediscovered the true nature of the church - not just a building but a family of believers called to love and serve one another. The storms have come, and the storms have gone, but through it all, the church endured.
Episode Four of our 25 Years Docuseries, “Hurricane Florence” is below.
Then came the pandemic, upending our comfortable routines and forcing us to redefine what it means to be the church. No more Sunday morning rush, no more seats packed with familiar faces. Instead, we found ourselves scattered, longing for connection in a world that had seemingly grown cold and distant. Yet, in the midst of this upheaval, a new understanding began to take root. The church is not a place, but a people - a gathering of believers united by a common faith and a shared mission to bring the light of Christ into a world in desperate need.
As we navigated this uncertain terrain, we were reminded that compassion is the foundation upon which the church is built. It's not enough to simply gather and worship; we are called to go out, to live out our faith in the everyday moments of life. When our hearts are broken by the same compassion that drove our Savior to the cross, we find that our capacity to care expands, and our impact on the world around us grows. The church is not a relic of the past, but a living, breathing entity, constantly evolving to meet the needs of a changing world.
Episode Five of our 25 Years Docuseries, “Redefining Church” is below.
As we embraced this concept of a life with God together for the world, we were filled with hope - hope that through our collective efforts, we could be the salt and light that this world so desperately needs. People began to truly own our mission, making it a personal calling. During this time, we recognized that significant problems require people of great courage and conviction. Rather than standing on issues, we chose to walk alongside one another, investing in the next generation and trusting in God's unwavering faithfulness.
Our foundation was laid in the past, but our eyes were fixed on the future. Discipleship wasn't just a separate program – it became the very heartbeat of our community. Living with God was not a compartmentalized experience, but a deeply integrated way of life. We learned to abide in His presence, allowing His Kingdom mindset to become more normal, and less foreign. Together, we discovered that life with God is the starting point for His grand redemptive plan.
We were created to live in loving community, mutually transformed by the exchange of our lives. As we gave ourselves to one another, our collective display of God's love revealed Him to the world around us. This calling extends beyond our walls, for God's heart is for the entire world. We strived to be a distinct people, actively working alongside Him for redemption and human flourishing - expressive, selflessly and abundantly pouring out the love we have received.
Togetherness has a trajectory, and, as we look toward the future, we know that we each have a part to play in shaping its course. By living, serving, and learning together, we offer the world a glimpse of God's restoration and love. This is our sacred purpose – to be a people actively serving within our church and throughout our city, for the good of all.
On Sunday, October 20th, 2024, we spent intentional time telling stories, reminiscing, contemplating, and celebrating 25 years of God’s faithfulness to Port City Community Church!
On Friday, October 25th, we hosted a special Night of Celebration with all our campuses under one roof to mark a moment with our Port City family, past and present. We invited friends from all over the country who were involved throughout meaningful seasons of the church to join us for a a special event that was part family reunion, part birthday party, and part Night of Worship. This was a night that we won’t soon forget!
Looking ahead, we're excited to build on the foundations of our shared journey with God. Our experiences have deepened our understanding of what it means to live out our faith in community and in service to others. We're committed to nurturing a culture where following Christ infuses and impacts every aspect of our lives.
As we move forward, we invite you to join us in this adventure of faith - exploring what it means to be bearers of hope and agents of change in our neighborhoods and beyond.
Your presence and contribution matter to the community we’re becoming.
So, together, let's discover how our individual stories can weave into God's greater narrative of love and restoration for the world. Let’s look ahead in faith and imagine how God might act in and through Port City Community Church over the next 25 years.
