We have been talking about this theme for about three years. But even though it’s on banners and ProPresenter slides and on the cover of this magazine, it’s much more than just a theme. Not Alone has really taken hold. We are hearing over and over how pastors, church staff, and church members understand more and more how they are Not Alone. This Not Alone power of Gospel partnership is seen in so many ways. One distinct area is our Disaster Relief (DR) teams currently serving in Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia. Just in 2018, SBCV DR has had 11 responses from 550+ volunteers who have come from 42+ SBCV churches. They’ve volunteered 21,000 hours of service. And the best thing of all—13 people have made salvation decisions for Christ!
Not Alone
We’ve seen this in the fact that 93 SBC of Virginia churches are partnering to plant new SBCV churches in Virginia. That means that more than 13% of SBCV churches are working together to reach the mission field through church planting. The number of churches partnering to plant outside of Virginia is even higher!
Not Alone
We’ve seen this in how churches are coming alongside other churches in the area of revitalization. Whether it’s helping with VBS, AWANA, evangelism outreach, or construction projects, this two-word theme has come to life. To see this in living color, watch the video about Woodlawn Baptist Church in Danville at tinyurl.com/woodlawn-revitalization.
Not Alone
Finally, I was personally able to see this played out in front of my eyes in two different transitional pastor roles. In both situations, SBCV regional missionaries supported the pastor search team in their process. And as we welcomed the next pastor (Stewart McCarter at Calvary Baptist in Staunton and Jamie McClanahan at Wayne Hills Baptist in Waynesboro), you could see in real time SBCV churches coming together to bless an outgoing staff member while another church welcomed an incoming pastor. In each commissioning service, multiple churches came together to celebrate and praise God for what He was doing.
Not Alone. This theme is not just two words that go well together—it’s really who we are and why we continue to minister.
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