Mountainside
opening the doors of church...in a bar
by noah gerringer and monica crawford
Bar on Saturday, Church on Sunday
On Mondays, the community and college students of Boone go to Galileo’s for “$5 Local Burger and Beverage Night.” Every Tuesday is general trivia night, with specialty trivia, like “The Office” and “Friends” trivia on Thursday. Along with beer specials and live music, Galileo’s hosts the typical atmosphere one might expect from a small bar. What might not be expected, however, is that every Sunday the bar shuts down and the doors to a church open up. No ID. No cover charge.
Meet The Team
Shannon McCready
Lead Pastor
Zach Hoffman
Associate Pastor
Isaac McCready
Lead Worshiper
Mountainside Community Church was officially launched on March 25, 2018 with the purpose of serving the community. The church is lead by the lead pastor Shannon McCready, the associate pastor Zach Hoffman and the worship leader Isaac McCready.
“We’re just a church for everybody,” Shannon McCready said. “We’re not exclusive to a specific denomination or anything. We just have the basis of good Christianity.”
The McCready family has been a part of church planting for over a decade now. Originally starting in Asheville, Shannon McCready along with his wife Sherri McCready helped start and maintain the beginnings of a church for nearly nine years.
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The decision to leave their Asheville church was not easy, according to the couple. Shannon McCready said that during that time he became a “mission man.” He felt that his life had turned into accomplishing missions and focusing on the wrong things. He explained that God doesn’t want him to be a “mission man” he just wants Shannon McCready to be like his son Jesus and focus on people rather than accomplishments.
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After a break from building up their church in Asheville, Shannon McCready and Sherri McCready felt ready to get back into it. Shannon McCready said when he and his wife were presented with the idea of planting a church in Boone, North Carolina, they knew it was right for them.
Mountainside in one minute
Mountainside’s associate pastor Hoffman and his wife had a similar start to their time in the church, but with a twist. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the two got married.
Shortly after, Zach completed seminary at Columbia International University in 2013, which lead them to their place of leadership in ministry, in Moldova.
They served as missionaries planting churches in Eastern Europe from March 2015 to November 2016. Because of a sickness Hoffman’s wife had developed as well as the pregnancy of their second child, the Hoffmans returned to the United States in 2016. Hoffman’s wife had thyroid cancer and underwent surgery in March 2018. Soon after, the Hoffmans and McCreadys were connected and plans came to fruition.
“We’re not asking you to follow a church or person,” Hoffman said, “but rather to come, find and follow Jesus.”
Sherri McCready
Children's Director - Mountainside
Community Church
Mountainside school of mentoring and art
Mountainside Community Church offers art classes through their school of mentoring and art. Right now they offer a drama class and a "Mom's Morning Out." The church plans to add a crocheting, journalism, creative writing, and guitar class.
Mountainside is partnered with Waypoint Church Partners, a nonprofit organization in Virginia focused on providing funding to plant churches along the east coast.
Shannon McCready explained that the process begins with a small group so one individual isn’t carrying the weight of an entire church on his or her shoulders. They go through a two day assessment of interviews and tests to make sure that everyone involved is prepared mentally, spiritually and emotionally.
Hoffman said his mindset is for the church to be an expression of the family of God. He wants each and every person who comes to have an interaction and encounter with the living God. The McCready’s echoed the sense of community that they want to have at Mountainside.
Expand and Pause the graphic to learn more about mountainside's mission
Sunday mornings at Mountainside involve kids singing songs they had learned in their children’s classes with Sherri McCready, the Children’s Director at the church, and people and families of all ages gathered to worship together, in a bar.
John Shoaf and his family were one of the first families who attended services at Mountainside. After looking around for a new church for almost a year, Shoaf said the “no strings attached” type community at Mountainside was just what his family was searching for.
“We’ve just found that the people who have come maybe have been in other places and seasons of their lives,” Shoaf said. “But they’re really hungry. They want relationships, and they want to find and follow Jesus, and we are so happy to be a part of it.”
Shoaf explained that the space at Galileo’s has opened up the doors and made Mountainside an inclusive space for anyone to come and learn about Jesus.
“It’s kind of fun to meet at a tavern,” Shoaf said. “It opens up the door to people who might not meet at a traditional place, and those are important people.”
For Hoffman, the people who attend Mountainside are what makes the church special, not a fancy church building full of lights and high-tech sound systems.
“Where you are isn’t important,” Hoffman said. “The church is the people.”
Mountainside does not have any immediate plans to move into their own building. They will be looking into more options in the future like a community building to house their small groups, art programs and other community service opportunities.