An Encouraging Summer Update
August 14th marked one year since the church plant was officially approved by the Blue Ridge Presbytery, I was called to be the church planter, and the support raising process began.
Over these past 12 months:
Our family moved back to the area.
I began meeting with people who were interested in the church.
Westminster Presbyterian Church allowed me to preach at their evening worship services.
We hosted Vision Gatherings.
The Lord provided a location.
We launched our first worship service.
And most recently:
A temporary session was approved to oversee our church.
One of the most exciting updates to happen recently has been the Blue Ridge Presbytery’s approval of Charlie Nave, Don Craighead, and Doug Hart to serve as Providence’s temporary session. (A “session” is the word Presbyterians use to describe the group of elders tasked with leading a congregation.)
Charlie and Don serve as elders at Christ the King Presbyterian Church in Roanoke, and Doug is an honorably retired pastor. These men have graciously offered their time to oversee our church plant until we elect and ordain elders of our own.
Charlie, Don, and Doug bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to our church plant and I couldn’t be more grateful for their willingness to serve in this way.
The next step in the church planting process is to begin receiving members, which ultimately helps Providence take one step closer to becoming a particular, self-sustaining church.
Our attendance has continued to grow during the summer.
A dip in church attendance is common and expected during the summer months. People are taking vacations, visiting friends and family, and everything in between.
So whenever a church plant launches their first worship service on Easter, they’re staring down the transient summer months. For larger churches, the inevitable summer dip is a part of normal church life. But a major drop in attendance in a church plant could wind up with the pastor preaching to his family.
We felt a bit apprehensive heading into summer early in the life of our church plant. But by God’s grace, He has sustained us. Providence has been averaging approximately 60 people on Sunday mornings, which has been extremely encouraging!
We hosted summer book studies and fellowship events.
We’ve continued meeting one Saturday morning each month at Longwood Park, and it’s been a blast for both adults and kids. The kids enjoy playing on the playground and organizing games of tag while the adults are able to catch up with each other. And of course we all enjoy donuts and coffee (which are proving to be the lifeblood of a church plant!).
We’ve also had to bump our worship services back to the evening on a couple Sundays this summer due to a Coin Show that is hosted quarterly (no pun intended) at the American Legion, so we’ve made the most of it by having a potluck in the outdoor pavilion after the worship service. Not only has the food been amazing, but the time it’s given everyone to spend together and get to know one another better has been a blessing.
We also read through Jon Payne’s In the Splendor of Holiness, an excellent book that describes and explains the different elements of Presbyterian liturgy. The men met one morning to discuss the book and the women met together one evening, and it was a great time of fellowship and conversation.
We’ve met our Year 1, 2 and 3 external support goals.
We’ve reached our goals for external giving for our first three years! Praise the Lord! Thank you to all of you who have supported and have pledged to support Providence. Each year, our outside support decreases in hopes that Providence will be fully self-supported by internal church giving by year four.
Year One has been entirely supported by external support, Year Two will be funded by two-thirds (66%) external support, Year Three will be funded by one-third (33%) external support, and we hope to be completely supported by internal church giving by Year Four.
By God’s grace we’ve hit these goals. Please pray that the Lord would continue to bless Providence’s finances and that we would be good stewards of what He has entrusted to us.
Prayer Requests
Please continue to pray for Providence! We would especially appreciate prayer for:
The men serving on our temporary Session. Please pray for wisdom, strength, and protection as they serve and guide our church.
Our upcoming Inquirer’s Classes. The next exciting thing on the horizon is our first inquirer’s (new member) class. We’re still trying to nail down dates, but it will probably be held on a Friday evening and Saturday morning. This class will be a great opportunity for people to learn about the origins of Providence, our church’s theological convictions, philosophy of ministry, future direction, and goals.
Our upcoming Bible studies. We are looking forward to our first men’s and women’s Bible studies this fall! The men will study the book of Judges using Dale Ralph Davis’s commentary in September and the women will study the book of Ruth using John Currid’s commentary in October. Please pray that these studies would deepen our understanding of God’s Word and increase our love for Him.
Our congregation. Please join us in praying for continued unity, love, and care among the people of Providence as we worship together and serve alongside one another each week.
The Lord is building His church, and we’re grateful to be a part of it. Thank you for following along and supporting us! We’re eager to see what the Lord has in store.
Until next time,
Jake Hooker
