College Hill Update: God is Moving!
By Austin Whiteheart, GCCH Ministry Resident
God is moving at College Hill: this has been the recurring theme since the beginning of our merger process a little over a year ago, and it was the overwhelming takeaway from our block party held last Saturday, September 14.
Our goals for the block party were to introduce ourselves to our neighbors, make them feel welcomed by our church, and show them the love of Christ. These goals were not only met, they were surpassed! I was overwhelmed with joy at how intentional our church was with serving and interacting with our neighbors. Everyone—from volunteers to attendees, new members to longtime College Hill Baptist members, students to Lynchburg residents—was unified in the mission of making Christ known in this community. It was a beautiful picture of the unity that Jesus prays for future believers (that’s us!) in John 17: 21, “May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me.” We have already seen some of the immediate fruit of the block party: two families from the community came to church the next morning!
Here are some of the other visible ways God has been moving over the last year at College Hill: the average weekly attendance has nearly
tripled; the Kid City ministry has grown exponentially; the baptismal was used for the first time in years; GCC and CHBC officially and legally merged over the summer, plus there have been multiple community engagements, a discipleship community has launched, and our volunteers (and volunteer opportunities) have increased. We are also looking forward to new Gospel Communities launching later this fall!
We are confident that God is also moving in ways that we cannot yet see, and we are excited for what He does next. Please continue to join us in prayer as we seek to create and cultivate relationships with our neighbors for the sake of gospel expansion in the College Hill community!
For more information about College Hill click here and revisit Karen’s testimony of God’s work at that site here.
About the Author
Austin has been attending GCC since the fall of 2015 and has had the joy of being involved with College Hill since September of 2018. He hopes to eventually work in cross-cultural ministry and is currently completing the ministry residency at Gospel. Austin enjoys unhealthy amounts of coffee, sharing meals with others, playing piano, and exploring new places and cultures.
God is moving at College Hill: this has been the recurring theme since the beginning of our merger process a little over a year ago, and it was the overwhelming takeaway from our block party held last Saturday, September 14.
Our goals for the block party were to introduce ourselves to our neighbors, make them feel welcomed by our church, and show them the love of Christ. These goals were not only met, they were surpassed! I was overwhelmed with joy at how intentional our church was with serving and interacting with our neighbors. Everyone—from volunteers to attendees, new members to longtime College Hill Baptist members, students to Lynchburg residents—was unified in the mission of making Christ known in this community. It was a beautiful picture of the unity that Jesus prays for future believers (that’s us!) in John 17: 21, “May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me.” We have already seen some of the immediate fruit of the block party: two families from the community came to church the next morning!Here are some of the other visible ways God has been moving over the last year at College Hill: the average weekly attendance has nearly
tripled; the Kid City ministry has grown exponentially; the baptismal was used for the first time in years; GCC and CHBC officially and legally merged over the summer, plus there have been multiple community engagements, a discipleship community has launched, and our volunteers (and volunteer opportunities) have increased. We are also looking forward to new Gospel Communities launching later this fall!We are confident that God is also moving in ways that we cannot yet see, and we are excited for what He does next. Please continue to join us in prayer as we seek to create and cultivate relationships with our neighbors for the sake of gospel expansion in the College Hill community!
For more information about College Hill click here and revisit Karen’s testimony of God’s work at that site here.
About the AuthorAustin has been attending GCC since the fall of 2015 and has had the joy of being involved with College Hill since September of 2018. He hopes to eventually work in cross-cultural ministry and is currently completing the ministry residency at Gospel. Austin enjoys unhealthy amounts of coffee, sharing meals with others, playing piano, and exploring new places and cultures.
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