Jerel Law, pastor of Love Lake Norman
March 30. By Dave Yochum. Five years after he launched Love Lake Norman, the pastor of the non-denominational church still wants everyone to call him by his first name. Jerel Law takes a very down-to-earth approach to the heavenward journey.
“We want to be a place where you can belong before you believe. You don’t have to have your faith all figured out and buttoned up before you arrive—because none of us do,” says Law. “People have questions and doubts. Church ought to be a place where you can share that, where you can be real and be authentic.”
The meeting space in the Oak Street Mill is open and casual. There’s neither an altar nor a pulpit, and Law shares his message standing on a low stage, in a chair by a table or on the edge of the stage. There’s a very good band, not a choir, while Sunday School is a well-established tradition.
Services are at 9 am and 10:30 am.
The past five years have seen attendance go up, go down and go back up, but with a different, COVID-related mix. On any given Sunday, 150 people attended pre-COVID—about the same as now. “But I guess we lost 20 percent and gained 20 percent,” Law says.
Members are from all denominations. While Love Lake Norman is nondenominational, it aligns with denominations that adhere to historic Christianity.
Background
Law had a traditional Methodist upraising, followed by youth pastoring at Mt. Tabor United Methodist Church in Winston-Salem. At UNC-Chapel Hill, he was also active in the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. He went on to get a Masters of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, an evangelical, non-denominational seminary, and then planted a number of non-denominational churches.
Outreach
Outreach includes sharing meals and activities with residents of the Cornelius Village Apartments as well as providing lunches to Hough High teachers to thank them for what they do.
On Mothers Day weekend Love Lake Norman is partnering with the Neighborhood Care Center to provide oil changes for moms. The event will be at Tire Doctor on North Main Street.
Law is inviting everyone to attend a special fifth anniversary service at 10:30 am on April 3. Plans are to hold it outdoors, with music, baptisms, a message—and a party, complete with inflatables, an Easter egg hunt and food.
