The Rowan County Church League set several records this summer as teams gathered weekly to play golf and raise funds to help those in need.

Sixteen teams played in the league, the most teams ever in the league’s 16-year history. The league logged another record, raising $5,042 for two local charities, Rowan Helping Ministries and Blue Line Brotherhood.

“This is the most we have ever raised for charities in the history of the league,” said Scott Perry, league founder and general manager of the league’s home course, McCanless Golf Club. “That’s because in the past few years we have engaged a title sponsor and this year our title sponsor, McLane Food Service, surprised us by doubling the amount of the sponsorship we requested.”

Each year, league members select two charities to receive donations collected during the four-month league season.

Perry said that this year’s team play was the most competitive in history. The team from Summerville Baptist Church No. 1 team from Denton won the first half of the season, while their No. 2 team won the second half of the season. The two teams played each other to determine the season winner. Summerville Baptist No. 1 team emerged as the regular season champions, Perry said.

Over the past 16 years, the church league has donated almost $40,600 to local charities, with Rowan Helping Ministries chosen as beneficiary for many years of the tournament, Blue Line Brotherhood was new as a beneficiary in 2020.

Churches participating in the league this year were Dunn’s Mountain Baptist Church, Faith Baptist Church, Kannapolis Church of God, Living Water Church of God, Nazareth Community Church, Providence United Methodist Church, Carolina Family Church (two teams), Dayspring Church, Trading Ford Baptist Church, Village Chapel, West Cabarrus Church, St. James Reformed Lutheran Church, Shiloh United Methodist Church, and Summerville Baptist Church in Denton (two teams).

“We are blessed to have the support of our local churches and the golfers who play in the Rowan County Church League,” said Kyna Grubb, executive director of Rowan Helping Ministries. “Religious congregations are a vital source of financial, in-kind, and volunteer support for our organization. We could not exist without their involvement.”

Rowan Helping Ministries served nearly 55,000 meals through Jeannie’s Kitchen last year and provided 1,178,000 pounds of groceries to almost 3,000 food insecure families.   

Over 1,400 households in crisis received nearly $1,618,048 in financial assistance, and 541 guests were given a safe place to spend the night. The agency also provides practical life skills training for shelter guests and a transitional housing program for single-parent families and individuals who are homeless but working.

The Blue Line Brotherhood exists to honor, support and encourage law enforcement through faith-based events. “We appreciate the support from the Rowan County Church Golf League. This donation is huge for our Blue Line Brotherhood ministry. We are in a critical time that all law enforcement officers need to sense this type of public support,” said John Campbell, director of Blue Line Brotherhood.

The Rowan County Church Golf League plays May through August. Those interested in joining the league can contact Perry at 704-637-1235 or themacgc@gmail.com .