• Shane
  • New members and Adults
  • New members and Adults
  • Session

Meet Our Pastor

The Reverend Dr. R. Shane Owens became the stated supply pastor of Raeford Presbyterian Church on March 1, 2022. He is an honorably retired pastor having last served Union Presbyterian Church. He is a graduate of Presbyterian College and holds two degrees from Columbia Theological Seminary. He is married to Susan, who is a teacher, and together they have three children--Wesley; Amy; and Andrew. Shane looks forward to getting to know everyone.

Staff

Financial Secretary: Joy Tompkins

Joy Tompkins joined our staff in January of 2024. She has over 20 years of bookkeeping experience. Joy is a life-long native of Hoke County. She is the wife of Roy Tompkins and mother to Taylor Tompkins.

Organist: Mrs. Nancy McNeill

Nancy McNeill has been organist at Raeford Presbyterian Church since June 1996. She formally held positions as organist at Rex Presbyterian Church and Raeford United Methodist Church. Nancy graduated from Wake Forest University in 1973 with a BA degree. She studied organ under Dr. Paul S. Robinson at Wake Forest and continued studies with Chris. C. Watkins after moving to Raeford. Nancy retired from the Hoke County School System in 2007 and is currently a storyteller with The Familes All Read Program at the Hoke County Library. She resides in Raeford and is married to Steve McNeill. Nancy and Steve have two children, Mark McNeill, M.D. of Asheville, N.C. and Erin McNeill of Raeford.

Director of Music: Victoria Martin

Victoria Martin is a Senior at UNCP, majoring in Music Education. She currently doing her student teaching at Rockfish Elementary school in Cumberland County. Victoria intends to teach in the elementary grades for a few years before working on a masters in Music Therapy. She lives Hope Mills NC.

What We Believe

Raeford Presbyterian Church belongs to the PCUSA. We are served by the Presbytery of Coastal Carolina. As Presbyterians, we turn to the Book of Confessions and the Book of Church Order for constitutional questions. Following you will find some very basic but important questions concerning our form of government and our denomination.

Theology

In making decisions, Presbyterians listen to each other, to the Bible, and to the church’s Constitution. Presbyterians stress the importance of a unified body of Christ. We are one body because God has called us together in Jesus Christ. Presbyterians rely on the Bible and the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for authority and guidance.

For more information, visit www.pcusa.org

Our History

The Raeford Presbyterian Church has a rich heritage. In 1776, the Bethel Presbyterian Church was organized about four miles south of Raeford, North Carolina. The Bethel Church can be called the “mother church,” as 27 of 31 charted members from Bethel presented letters in 1899 at the spring meeting of the Fayetteville Presbytery with a petition containing names of 65 persons asking to be constituted as a church in Raeford. During the reading of the letter, seven of these men were commissioned to organize the church.

The commission met on June 27, 1899 in the auditorium of the Raeford Institute with a sermon by Reverend P. R. Law, prayer and thirty-one people presented a letter to connect themselves to the new church. The early congregation met in the “Main Building” of the Raeford Institute until they could construct a building.

A new facility was erected and became the Raeford Presbyterian Church from 1901-1921. The Raeford Presbyterian Church was the first church building in the town. After its completion, the Baptist and Methodist congregants were invited to worship with the Presbyterians. The Presbyterian pastor preached on two Sundays each month with the Methodist and Baptist ministers alternating on the other Sundays. The youth group and choir consisted of members of all three churches.

The first brick for our present facility was laid by Mrs. W.C. Brown on July 25, 1921. Work proceeded steadily on the building until completion with the first service on Easter Sunday, April 1, 1923. Early on the evening of Saturday, October 23, 1943, the church suffered a fire loss to its sanctuary. Due to the war and other extenuating circumstances, the first service in the renovated building was held on December 23, 1945.

Historically, the Raeford Presbyterian Church has accepted the challenge of improving and expanding the facilities to enhance worship and accommodate the needs of the congregation. A Casavant organ was installed in October of 1969. This organ continues to be a major part of our worship service. A capital campaign was passed in 1974 to include the installation of an elevator, painting, carpeting and general re-modeling. Pew cushions and hearing devices were added to the sanctuary. In 2007 a capital campaign was begun to add an additional 14,000 sq. ft. for new offices, a kitchen and fellowship hall along with remodeling of bathrooms and other improvements in the main building. The church was able to move into the new addition in 2008.

For a more complete history of the Raeford Presbyterian Church, you may want to read A Century of Worship, 1899-1999.

Session Members

The Session is an elected body consisting of men and women, which are "responsible for the mission and the government of the church." Those elected are called elders. Elders agree to a three year term.

The current Session Clerk Officers of the Raeford Presbyterian Church include:

Moderator

Rev. Shane Owens

Clerk

Carrie Posey

Assistant Clerk

Jean Powell

Treasurer

Jim McClanathan

Class of 2024

Gary Hendrix
Frank Inman
Grace McDonald
Carrie Posey
Wayne Willis

Class of 2025

Margaret Johnson
Jim McClanathan
Jean Powell
Penny Pusey
Johnny Smith

Class of 2026

Bobby Conoly

Lace Hauver

Benny McLeod

Janet Plummer

Jimmy Teal