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Union Chapel / Venable Baptist Church

Carrboro Baptist Church

HillSong Church began in a small 20 x 30 foot structure on Weaver Street as Union Chapel Church under the leadership of Rev. J. C. Hocutt. The building was shared with the Methodist Church on land donated by Mr. Thomas Lloyd, owner of several mills. When the community incorporated in 1911 and became known as Venable, for UNC President Dr. Preston Venable, the church also changed its name to Venable Baptist Church. When the Lloyd Mill was bought by Julian S. Carr in 1913, the town became Carrboro and the church’s name was changed to Carrboro Baptist Church in 1914.

By the early 1920s, the original facility became inadequate and a new structure was built on the corner of Greensboro and Main streets. As an act of faith, the church borrowed $50,000.00 (equivalent to almost three quarters of a million of today’s dollars) to pay for this construction. As with any step of faith, the commitment of the people was soon tested—in this case by the economic hardship of the Great Depression. Creative sacrificial giving by the congregation to pay off this debt by 1942 included taking second mortgages on their homes, selling Brunswick stew, giving up luxuries, and naming the church as beneficiary in their wills and life insurance policies.

As the church outgrew its building, alternative solutions to more construction was used for a time, such as renting a building and purchasing a house next to the church. Eventually, renovation was begun in 1962 to add an educational building and remodel the sanctuary, which was completed in 1964.

Once again the church needed more space. Since there was no room to expand on the property, land was sought in Carrboro without any success. In 1995 the current Culbreth Road property in Chapel Hill was purchased for a new church building and in 1997 the old structure was sold to the Town of Carrboro. In April 1998 the congregation moved out of that building and met in McDougle Elementary School until January 2000, when the new facility was ready. During this time of transition, the church again changed its name to HillSong Church, A Baptist Fellowship based on Isaiah 55:12.