Village Church Blog

Village Church at Midlothian

VillageServe Updates

Jan 17

Posted by Nate in Community Outreach, Mission & Vision | 1 Comment

Hi Village Church Family,

Here is a quick update on a few VillageServe projects from the end of last year.

Christmas Packages for the Troops:

Back in November, the Village sent 15 boxes of care packages to Marines in Afghanistan. Along with these packages were notes of appreciate and support. One of the Marines who has corresponded with us as a result of the care packages is an agnostic who has been asking questions about faith. Please join us in praying for this Marine and all those who serve our country.

 

Food Drive:

Also in November, we added almost 1,000 lbs of food to Tomahawk Creek Middle School’s food drive. This food was used to re-stock the Chesterfield food banks during the holidays and provide some much-needed support for many families. The administration at Tomahawk Creek Middle sent us a wonderful card thanking us for being a great part of their community.

 

Nueva Esperanza Church Plant:

We’ve had the opportunity to continue to support and encourage the Gospel work of Fernando and Marcella Mangieri at the Iglesia Bautista Nueva Esperanza (New Hope) church plant. Fernando and Marcella minister to the Spanish speaking population in Chesterfield and their church has grown to over 100. This past December, Village took up an offering that in part enabled Nueva Esperanza to provide meals to many people in their community. A woman from the Village also organized a coat drive at her work and provided the coats to Nueva Esperanza.  With many people in their community working seasonal jobs, the meals and coats were much needed in the winter. By providing opportunities for the Mangieris and Nueva Esperanza to care for their community, we are helping to build the Kingdom as God grows their church plant.

A Christmas Reminder

Dec 24

Posted by Steve in Uncategorized | No Comments

Christmas is a time of many traditions. From family to gifts to eating to decorating, it is a time where many people work very hard and get great joy.  For those of us who follow Jesus, it is a time in which we reflect on the greatest miracle in the history of the world.  We reflect on the miracle of God the Son becoming human to redeem mankind from sin.

Scripture reveals that the eternal God humbled Himself and took on flesh that we might be reconciled to God, as He would live in order to die as a sacrifice.  This sacrifice was no accident or mistake.  It was planned before the world was ever created, in order that God would receive ultimate glory, and we would receive eternal joy.  He who knew no sin, was made to be sin so that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21).

Last night, Village Church at Midlothian, along with a many other friends, gathered for a night of joy in worship and the fun of enjoying holiday traditions.  The evening was marked with a realization that the birth of Christ reveals that not only do our lives matter to God, but also He desires for us to bring Him glory through those lives, and has done everything for that to happen.

Tomorrow as you gather for gifts and food and family traditions, enjoy them.  Take heart that Jesus has freed us from the curse of the law and we are free to find joy in every part of life.  Above all though, reflect on the birth of our Savior, Christ the Lord.  Realize that the freedom that you have been given is a freedom that reconciles you to God in order that you may live as you were designed to, for the glory of God.  Give Him glory as you give gifts and gather with family.  Live His mission of redemption by forgiving those who have wronged you and engaging them with the reason for reconciliation, Jesus.

We will not gather corporately as a local church tomorrow.  Instead, we will be scattered throughout Virginia, with some of you in other states.  Remember the mission that you were redeemed for, and take joy that this is not all that there is.  The greatest gift is that of reconciliation with God. We may live life in relationship with Him through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  That is an occasion to be celebrated with no restraint.

From the Archives: Halloween

Oct 26

Posted by Steve in Community Outreach | 1 Comment

Every holiday marks an opportunity to live the mission of Jesus in the culture that surrounds us. Over the years, Halloween has been a holiday that has led to much confusion and controversy as to just what a Christian should do on October 31. The simplest answer to this quandary is to do what the Scriptures teach us to do every other day of the year. We must find the most strategic way to live the mission of Jesus inside of the context of the culture that surrounds us.

In the given context of Midlothian, there are typically 3 major possibilities for what you can do this coming Monday evening:

  1. Find a church building that is hosting a “harvest party” that is safe for the whole family and devoid of any imagery and theme that could be considered dark.
  2. Retreat within the confines of your home and turn off the porch light to indicate that your home is not a “candy friendly zone” for the kids that will be roaming the streets looking to trick or treat you.
  3. Actively engage your neighbors in areas that have an abundance of trick or treating by handing out candy and possibly greeting the families on the streets around you with conversation and refreshments.

Clearly, I am in favor of the third option. I am in no way demeaning the first two options, given the right circumstances. With the current climate in Chesterfield County, and especially the neighborhood that I personally inhabit, there isn’t a better day of the year for me to actively engage my neighborhood in order to build relationships that lead to redemption in Jesus. It is simply the most strategic choice that I have. Last year, I was shocked to witness a few hundred children descend upon my neighborhood from all over Chesterfield County roaming the streets for candy. Also, the residents of my neighborhood not only gave out candy, but designed elaborate front yard themes and met the treaters at the end of their driveways, putting on what can only be described as a community block party.

Because of THEIR efforts, I was given the opportunity to begin to build relationships with my neighbors and community members. Because of this experience, and many similar stories from other Villagers, we are actively encouraging all of you to gauge the temperature of your community and attempt to leverage this holiday to build relationships by intentionally living missionaly in your neighborhoods.

Yes, this will require a bit of strategy on your part as well as the possibility of some work. But the mission of Jesus calls us to live intentionally, forming strategy in order to reach those in the community around us. I also realize that for some of you, this simply isn’t strategic. There are a few neighborhoods that practice street wide blackouts of front porch lights in order to discourage trick or treating, and it typically works. There is also the possibility that you live in a neighborhood that simply doesn’t have any small children or an apartment complex that is gated or any number of possible reasons this won’t work for you.

This is why your community group can serve as a valuable resource. This week as you gather together, intentionally strategize with each other as to how to best to live the mission this Monday evening. Maybe you can gather as a group at the home of a group member who lives in a neighborhood that will be beaming with activity this Monday night to give out even more candy and invite cards (hint, hint) than could have been passed out before. We live in community to help each other live on mission.

Remember:

  • You are redeemed in order take redemption to others.
  • You are not alone. Gain strength from the community in the Village to step outside of your comfort zone and engage your neighborhood.
  • You don’t have to preach. Just pass out candy with a smile, engage people in conversation, and love them with the hope of building relationships that will lead to redemption.
  • You can pick up some invite cards this Sunday morning at our Worship Experience @ Tomahawk Creek Middle School @ 10 am. There is always the possibility that conversations will develop in such a way that you can hand a few invite cards out.  Maybe you will even muster up the courage to invite some friends to a worship experience with you.
  • Be creative. It may be a children’s holiday, but their parents will be with them. Maybe you should set a grill up and cook some hot dogs, or build a campfire for some s’mores.
  • Live the mission of Jesus in worship of Jesus!

Church Membership

Sep 24

Posted by Steve in Mission & Vision, Worship Experience | No Comments

Church membership can be one of the most confusing aspects inside of the life of a church.  At some places, it is nothing more than walking down an aisle and shaking a few hands.  After that, there is simply an invitation to a few business meetings, but no real life.  Some churches have a membership in the hundreds with only a handful of people actually accounted for.  Other churches require a seemingly intrusive account of every aspect of your life, right down to your preference of carpet color.

While these may represent a caricature of what actually takes place in most churches, there is a theme that many of us have seen and not quite understood about what it means to be a member of a church.  We have seen it be good, but usually seen it done bad.

Tomorrow at Village Church, we will tackle the missional environment of church membership.  Church membership is ultimately about the Gospel.  It offers us a way in which to outwardly express the work that Jesus is doing inwardly and identifies us as being a part of His body. Sure, you may think being a part of the universal, invisible Church is enough, but God has called us to build that Church.  How will we do that if we don’t identify with a local church, and then how are we tangibly building that church?

In church membership, we enter into a real life of discipleship where we know and are known by each other and enter into environments in which we are made to be disciples as we are making disciples.  Join us!

Cultural Missionaries

Sep 16

Posted by Steve in Worship Experience | No Comments

Living missionally means to live in such a way that we are making disciples of Jesus. Disciples of Jesus are called to be ambassadors for Christ and messengers of reconciliation with God through the hope that is found in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).  As we seek to do this we will find that this requires us to enter into the culture that surrounds us as Jesus did, and engage them with the life and message of the Gospel.

As we seek to live the mission of Jesus in any cultural context, there are challenges.  What posture do we take toward cultures that are not “Christian” in nature? Aren’t there temptations to sin if we have relationships with “non-Christians?” No matter how we look at it, there is an obvious need for discernment and discipleship when seeking to engage the world around us as a messenger of reconciliation.

We must enter into missional community to be equipped for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:12). As we do that though, the key is that we must be doing the work of the ministry. That work is taking the Gospel to those who are far from God so that they can come near to God through the hope of Jesus.  As we do this, there is a constant need for discipleship to continue to take place as it begins to take place in the lives of others.

We must come together as a church to seek to understand the different postures that we are being called to take towards the culture around us. We must use Gospel discernment as we look at the good as well as the bad parts of it.  This Sunday at Village Church, we will take a look in the book of Acts and beyond. Taking the Gospel to others is not an option.  It is what it looks like to be a disciple.

There is a great need to stop living life for ourselves and begin to be true followers of Jesus.  We must consider what it looks like to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus as we consider the changes that must take place if we will reach the culture with the Gospel of Jesus. What will it take for us to become cultural missionaries?

Missional Community

Sep 9

Posted by Steve in Uncategorized | No Comments

We were designed to live in relationship. We were created to live in connected community with one another. We live in an era though, where we seem to become more disconnected from one another by the day. We now seek community in online environments where we attempt to form relationships with many people that we have never, and may never come into physical contact with. As people are further isolated from one another depression reaches new heights every single year.

Is there something that we are missing? Is there something that is driving us away from the relationships that could bring healing and life change? What role does the church play in a world that needs the beauty of community? What if we have attempted to form community with others, even in the church and have been left disappointed or even hurt?

The truth is that God has created us to live in relationship with one another and even redeemed us through the work of the Gospel so that we could experience the community that He has eternally had in the Trinity. What is it then that we are missing? God’s role of community in our lives is to propel His mission of redemption further and further.

This Sunday at Village Church, we will take a look at what it looks like to enter into missional community with other Christians and the purpose it plays in God’s purpose of redemption for the world.

 

Clover Hill Football Field Clean Up

Sep 8

Posted by Steve in Community Outreach | No Comments

School is back in session in Chesterfield County.  With the beginning of the school year also comes the beginning of football season.  For last 2 years, Village Church has partnered with Clover Hill High School in cleaning up the football field after each home game, and we will start year 3 this Saturday morning at 8 am.  It is our privilege to serve the students, staff, and faculty through helping out.

We approached the school 3 years ago and asked how we could serve them.  They informed us that the football field was in dire need of maintenance in the form of cleaning.  We immediately accepted the invitation, and will continue to do so this year.  This is an intentional environment of mission that we are inviting you to enter with us this fall.

Please join us this Saturday morning, September 10, at the Clover Hill High School Football field at 8 am as we serve our community together. No sign-up needed – we’ll see you there!

Village Church Worship Experience Sept 4th

Sep 4

Posted by James in Mission & Vision, Worship Sets | No Comments

This morning we started a new series called Missional Environments. We explored Matthew 28 and the great commission. As a church we want to be obedient to God to make disciples of Jesus. We should make the most of the Sunday morning service and leverage that time to reach our community with the gospel.

We sang these songs together:

You Alone Can Rescue- Matt Redman

All Creatures Of Our God And King- Francis of Assisi/David Crowder

Forever Reign- Kristian Stanfill

Marvelous Light (slow version)- Charlie Hall

Tear Down The Walls- Hillsong United

Filled With Your Glory- Starfield

 

““The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”- Matthew 13:44

HURRICANE 2011 UPDATED EVEN MORE

Aug 28

Posted by Steve in Uncategorized | No Comments

Due to the ongoing power outage at the Grove Avenue Baptist Church Campus, all services have been cancelled.  I (Pastor Steve) was scheduled to preach, and will not be doing so due to the power outages.

All Village Church services this morning have been cancelled due to the Hurricane’s aftermath.  Please stay safe this morning, and pray for all those affected throughout the East Coast. Check on your neighbors, and family members.  Be the church in your neighborhood this morning to those who have needs that you can meet.

We will meet next Sunday at Tomahawk Creek Middle School at 10 am.  See you then!

Pastor Steve

HURRICANE 2011 UPDATE

Aug 27

Posted by Steve in Uncategorized | No Comments

As Hurricane Irene makes her way through the Richmond area, power is out throughout much of the city.  This has also affected Grove Avenue Baptist Church.  Due to power outage, the 9:15 am service for tomorrow, August 28, has been cancelled.

If power has been restored at the Grove Avenue Campus by the morning, the 11 am service will be held as planned.  We will keep you updated here.

Please pray for the people who are being affected by this storm all over the east coast, and stay safe!

Pastor Steve