Continuing our “Praying for Our Partners” series with Grace Community Church, of Ashburn, Virginia, USA.

A bit about the church.
In the summer of 2001, 38 adults and their children were commissioned and sent out from Sovereign Grace Church of Fairfax to begin a new work in Ashburn, Virginia. For the sending congregation, this had been a dream for more than a decade as they watched neighboring Loudoun County swell in population and longed for a New Testament Church to be established there.

The first public service was held in September 2001 at Cedar Lane Elementary School. Since then they’ve outgrown the Cafeteria and Auditorium, and moved to Briar Woods High School. By the grace of God, they’ve multiplied from just two Caregroups to fourteen.

The church now stands at about 250 adults (almost half of whom are aged between 18-30) and approximately 110 children and 40 teenagers. The average gathering on any given Sunday morning is around 385 people.

The pastoral team has proportionally expanded as the Lord has so graciously added to the church. There are now 5 pastors at Grace Community Church:

From left-to-right:

Brian Gash is a pastor and administrator and has served since 2005. He is responsible for administration of all office and ministry teams. He also oversees children’s ministry and the youth group and supports the Family Life ministry by counseling, overseeing caregroups, and helping to lead members classes.

Kirk Whitworth has been a pastor since June 2008. He preaches, currently oversees the worship team, and oversees the Protos ministry for young adults, including caregroups for engaged and young married couples.

Bob Donohue, the Senior Pastor, has served since the inception of the church in September 2001. He is responsible to lead the pastoral team in discerning and setting forth God’s direction for the church, as well as preaching, leadership development, and oversight of the Sunday meeting.

Zach Jones has been on staff as a pastoral intern since 2004. He is currently enrolled in Pastors College. His prime responsibilities have been overseeing the youth ministry and the worship team, which he will likely resume when he graduates from PC.

Tito Mercado, the Family Life pastor, has served since 2002. He oversees caregroups, counseling, marriages, parenting, and membership. He also oversees the church finances.

Next time… how we can support and pray for Grace Community Church.

See also: Grace Community Church (Part 1) – for further background.

Next up in our “Praying for Our Partners” series is Grace Community Church, of Ashburn, Virginia, USA.

A bit about Ashburn & Virginia
Mid-Atlantic east coast state, Virginia – nicknamed ‘The Old Dominion’ – is the 10th state of the USA, covering 40,767 square miles and has a state population of over 6 million people.

Ashburn is in the northern part of the state, 30 miles west of Washington, DC in Loudoun County, between Washington Dulles International Airport and Leesburg and is part of the Washington Metropolitan Area.

Ashburn is a completely new town, with a sea of houses having sprung up in the last 15 years. The surrounding countryside is fairly flat and grassy, with some rolling hills and an abundance of hardwood and evergreen tress.

The area experiences the full range of all four seasons. Summers can be hot and humid, and winters have an average temperature of -1°C. They get plenty of snow, maybe 40cm in the winter!

Ashburn has a population that numbers approximately 70,000 people, the majority “professional” couples and families, under the age of 60. Relatively few people from the Washington Metropolitan Area are native to the area. Most people come from states with flagging economies to enjoy high-tech, wite collar jobs or jobs with the US government.

Ashburn is home to the Washington Redskins football team, the National Crash Analysis Center and the Old Dominion Brewing Company and AOL.

Virginia is the birth place of no less than 8 US presidents, and the home of the world’s largest office building – the Pentagon, in Arlington, VA.

Famous sons and daughters of Virginia include Edgar Allan Poe, Patsy Cline, Ella Fitzgerald, Warren Beatty and Sandra Bullock.

Next Post: Specifics on Grace Community Church.

Continuing our new “Praying for our Partners” series with Crossway Fellowship Church, of Athens, Georgia, USA.

See also: Part 1 & Part 2 for background info.

Paul Cooke (Crossway’s senior pastor) and I were at the Sovereign Grace Pastor’s College together way back in 2000-2001, and I recently asked him a few questions to give us some insight into how we can best pray for Crossway Fellowship Church.

Nathan:
“Can you describe for us the general state of people towards church and towards the gospel in Athens?”

Paul:
“Most people here in the South have a “family heritage”. Their granddads or great-granddads probably played some type of role in a “Southern Baptist” church of some sort. They know the “Jesus story”, so that makes them Christians in their eyes. Many can quote Scripture and can even relate the gospel story to you, but few actually believe and live lives changed by it. It is almost like Christianity is just a passed down tradition.”

Nathan:
“Can you tell us about a significant area in the life of Crossway where you’ve seen God at work, for which we can rejoice in and give thanks for?”

Paul:
“We’ve seen a number of new converts and a consistent stead growth in new members. We are still seeing a number of people moving here from all over the eastern United States, which is very encouraging. Some have come from other Sovereign Grace churches, and some not.

In October and November 2008, we also experienced an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as never before in our midst, that was very broad, which included a great deal of repentance and reconciliation taking place, as well as numerous charismatic evidences (tongues, prophetic ministry, etc). This lasted about 6-weeks and has continued to bring fruit in and beyond our church.”

Nathan:
“Can you share with us three specific prayer requests for Crossway Fellowship Church?”

Paul:
“Firstly, that God would bring and provide more leadership to the church, specifically pastoral.

Thirdly, I will go on my annual prayer and planning time in February and would greatly desire God to freshly fill me with His Spirit, to gain a further vision for what He wants us to do here in Athens.”

Nathan:
“Is there any other interesting or important things that you think we should know about you or Crossway fellowship Church?”

Paul:
“I have Lyme Disease, and its affects can be broad and numerous. If you guys would pray for God’s healing and sustaining grace that would be great!”

Nathan:
“Paul, Darby and the people of Crossway – on behalf of Grace Church, it’s our pleasure to lock arms with you and partner in this great gospel work, and we are delighted to be able to support you through prayer! May God richly bless you!”

We will be praying for Crossway Fellowship Church during our church prayer meeting on Sunday evening (7pm) 1st February 2009.

First up in our new “Praying for our Partners” series is Crossway Fellowship Church, of Athens, Georgia, USA.

A bit about Athens & Georgia
Southern state Georgia – nicked named ‘The Peach State’ – is the 4th state of the USA, covering 58,910 square miles, and has a state population of over 7 million people. Georgia generally enjoys a good climate and good weather – not too cold winters and sunny, hot, muggy summers.

Athens lies about 60 miles east of Atlanta, the state capital. Locals describe Athens as ‘a large town with a small town feel‘. Athens is situated in one of the wealthiest and most sought after counties in Georgia, close to the University of Georgia.

Athens boasts a population of approximately 100,000 people, with a racial make up consisting of mainly whites (64%) and blacks (28%).

The town is surrounded by country and farm lands on one side and the historic town on the other end. It is the home to such notable features as the only remaining one of two double-barreled canons produced during the American Civil War (pictured right) and the famous “Tree that Owns Itself“.

The bulk of the jobs in Athens are in education, government employment or agriculture. (Georgia is the largest producer of peaches, peanuts and pecans in the US.)

The classic southern stereotype of Georgia is one of folks who drink sweet [iced] tea, speak with strong southern accents, eat fried chicken, listen to country music and drive big red trucks with a big UGA Bulldog bumper sticker (see left) on the back!

One of Georgia’s claims to fame is that it is where Coca Cola was invented, and where the girl scouts organisation began! Famous sons and daughters include music sensations such as the B52′s, R.E.M and Widespread Panic.

More specifics on the church coming in the next post…