WINCHESTER ANGLICAN CHURCH
FIRMLY ESTABLISHED, COMMITTED TO THE VALLEY
GreeTINGS We’ve
worshipped
in
homes,
hotels, borrowed buildings, and a rented church. It’s clear that now God is leading us to firmly establish our church community in our own permanent location. Now is the time for us to settle down and put down some roots. Why “Rooted?” Because roots give a tree its strength. Roots nurture. Roots provide grounding so that the tree can expend its energy, not on staying in place, but on producing fruit. It’s our desire to see this community planted deeply into the fabric of Winchester so that we can expand and deepen our efforts to love God, love people and make disciples of Jesus Christ. We are rooted in the gospel, rooted in worship, rooted in evangelism and discipleship. Now it’s time to be rooted in Winchester. As we walk forward through this campaign, it’s my prayer that you can envision the blessings that are to come and the lives that will be drawn near to God because you joined this effort to establish the roots of our community in Winchester. What a blessing to be part of this mission with you! Gratefully, The Rev. Patrick A. Ware March 2016
Driving up and down the Shenandoah Valley, you'll find one or more churches in almost every small town and city. These Christian houses of worship were established in another age for a vastly different context. When the Valley was originally settled and evangelized, most people walked to church. There was no television, no Internet, no mobile phones, and Islam was an ideology of far-off places. For the early settlers, Christianity was the normal lens through which they viewed the world, even to the point of being the foundation upon which good character was judged. These men and women, who made many personal sacrifices to initially bring the gospel to the people of the Valley, are now generations gone from this earth. Yet their legacy and many of their church buildings remain—enduring evidence of their commitments to love their God, love His people and to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Will we leave as lasting a mark in our time on the lives of the people in our valley?
“Every church has its pioneers - people to whom the Lord assigns the special privilege of laying new cornerstones of mission in every time and place. We are these pioneers….” Every church has its pioneers—people to whom the Lord assigns the special privilege of laying new cornerstones of mission in every time and place. We are now these pioneers, and the work of laying missionary foundations can be tough. It’s not unlike the necessary task of removing vast amounts of Shenandoah shale from the soil of a field in the hopes of raising a new barn. The early work is hard, but the long term benefits are great. This valley and its people that God so loves are our mission field. As disciples, we build not for ourselves but for the glory of God, and so that people might be drawn into life with Him. We teach and disciple and worship as members of God’s kingdom; as such, the focus of our community must always be to bring—with love, gentleness, and respect—His kingdom to bear on every soul of this valley. Will we risk what we have, so that others can also receive what God has given us? I hope that within these pages you will understand clearly why we are seeking to raise the funds to establish our future ministry in Winchester. I have
“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As is it written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”
truly come to love the people of this valley. Will you join me in sacrificing so that they can know Jesus and his salvation? Will you help me feed their bellies and their souls? Will you undertake this call to found and firmly establish our church community in the city of Winchester so that we might love and serve God’s people here for years to come?
Romans 10:14-15 (ESV)
Jefferson Street
July 2009–November 2009 (Average Sunday Growth from 15 to 25–35)
On July 12th, 2009, the Wares rolled into Winchester and began unpacking their truck with the help of four families whom God had provided as the initial launch team. Our first service was held in the kitchen surrounded by the Wares’ unopened boxes! During these first five months we established weekly worship, called together our first leadership team, enjoyed weekly meals and Bible study together, and began to get organized. Our fellowship was characterized by love and friendship in Christ. By November of that year, this fellowship had become contagious and grew to include about
OUR HISTORY
35 of us. It was time to find a bigger space!
JIM BARNETT PARK
December 2009–April 2014 (Average Sunday Growth from 35 to 70–80) When we moved into the War Memorial Building at Jim Barnett Park, the room swallowed up our new community. All of a sudden we had to figure out how to set up church every week, hold children’s classes, advertise, and relate to our city as a new community of faith. This season of our church can best be characterized as a time when we truly labored for the gospel! God brought us some inspiring servants: week after week for 4 1/2 years, volunteers packed trailers, set up signs, struggled with rented AV equipment, moved chairs and began to build what has become a hallmark of our community— generosity. By the time we found our next location we had grown to about 75 worshippers on Sunday mornings. We had no idea that God was about to hand us a complete church building….
Double Tollgate
May 2014–May 2017 (Average Sunday Growth from 75 to 100–130)
Nearly triple the annual cost of the War Memorial Building, our current building in White Post has become our beloved, short-term home. We took this leap believing that our savings would cover some of the additional costs and so far, the growth of the church and the faithfulness of God have provided for two years of positive cash flow! It’s easy to see how much we’ve grown—numerically and spiritually—since moving to our current location. These days we offer two full Sunday services to accommodate between 100—130 worshippers. Our time here has been a welcome yet temporary stop on the journey to our permanent home. As the expiration of our lease approaches, we look forward to the next exciting provision from God.
How will our next location glorify God and draw people to Himself?
Who is Winchester Anglican? When the church began, our vision was simple: “Our new church must be biblically grounded, Christ-centered, mission driven, outwardly focused, committed to evangelism and discipleship, and proudly Anglican. Winchester Anglican must be committed both to maturing believers and to reaching those far from God.” In the first seven years, the church has come closer to fulfilling this vision than we ever imagined it would in such a short time. We knew that with this vision to establish an Anglican church in the northern Shenandoah Valley, God would give the church texture and character through the gifts of the people that He would gather. Because of your gifts, the Holy Spirit continues to transform us into: • A LOVING church that welcomes the stranger and cares about people where they are. • A GENEROUS church that is building missional relationships in Winchester and abroad. • A CONCERNED church that cares about its community and wants to make an impact on both the material and spiritual needs of people inside and outside the church. • A NURTURING church that is genuinely friendly and nonjudgmental, making it uniquely equipped to help people hear and respond to the gospel while healing from their own brokenness. • A DISCIPLING church that cares about the spiritual formation of children, students, and adults and seeks to raise and grow them into disciples equipped to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Winchester Anglican is a unique member of God’s Kingdom in the Valley, and today we find ourselves at a pivotal juncture in the long-term development of our congregation. We have a real opportunity to firmly root our church in the Winchester community if, together, we commit ourselves to reaching this corner of the valley with the transforming love of Jesus Christ. It’s clear that now, in order to ensure that we continue the growth of our congregation and our ministry, we need a permanent home in Winchester. Why is moving essential to fulfilling our vision?
Winchester Anglican is a unique member of God’s Kingdom in the Valley, and today we find ourselves at a pivotal juncture in the long-term development of our congregation.
Graph&MAP
4%
Linden
4%
4%
Lake Frederick
Martinsburg
5% Front Royal
10%
45%
Stephens City
Winchester
12%
Boyce/ Berryville
17% Other
The Limitations of Our
Current Location Two years ago, God handed us a gift when He brought us to our current location. Our growth had plateaued due to lack of space for our children’s ministries, and the four and a half years of weekly Sunday morning set-up was taking a toll on our team of volunteers. Since moving into our current building, not only has the church grown numerically and spiritually, but we have shared some deeply meaningful times of worship together. We will always look upon this location as God’s temporary provision, but a number of factors prevent us from remaining here for years to come.
The Sanctuary - Too Small • It isn’t big enough for our current congregation or to support long-term growth • It can’t be expanded given the issues with the broader building
The Location - Too Far Away • Our current location is largely out of sight, and therefore out of mind, for most of
Winchester’s residents
• It’s not within walking distance for Winchester’s poorer residents • It’s too far away to offer successful midweek or Sunday evening ministries because many
will not travel all the way to White Post at these times
• It does not facilitate our congregation’s goal of being rooted in the Winchester community
The Building - Too Far Gone and Not Expandable • It’s in terrible shape structurally and visibly and would require a lot of work for a
long-term occupancy
• It does not permit illuminated signage for easy, nighttime visibility • It does not include the parking lot, which is actually owned by the county (and would
likely need to be purchased in addition to buying the building itself from our landlords)
• It does not offer adequate parking for growth • It does not include the large green space south of us that borders the intersection • It’s currently in violation of VDOT easement rules (the educational space was somehow
built into the easement)
In short, although our current location has been a blessing for where we are now, it provides neither sufficient space to grow our ministry in the foreseeable future, nor proximity to the people we are praying to reach in Winchester.
So what should we do, and why now?
The SOLUTION THE ROOTED CAMPAIGN It’s time for us to take this leap of faith together and raise the money needed to invest in our future! Our goal is to raise $525,000 to purchase and renovate an existing building in Winchester.
THE PURCHASE OF A BUILDING IN WINCHESTER • Buying an existing building and renovating it for the needs of our ministry is the best next step at this time. • The cost of buying land and building from the ground up is easily 40–50% more expensive than renovating a building in Winchester for our ministry. • New construction would also take 2–3 years longer to complete. • We’re searching for about 10,000 square feet to provide adequate space for worship, for our ministries to children, students, and adults, for fellowship, and for outreach to our community.
WHAT WILL WE DO IF A USABLE AND AFFORDABLE BUILDING DOESN’T PRESENT ITSELF? We will remain open to buying land and building from the ground up if this is what the Lord provides for us.
Why Now? We Are Growing Maintaining our growth momentum is vital to the long-term development of the church. Moving into our own facility in Winchester will support the continuance of this growth, especially by providing closer access for those in Winchester who would otherwise be coming to the church.
We Want to Develop Midweek Ministries Because of our location, we aren’t developing midweek programming right now. Whenever we offer something on a weekday, we have only marginal participation. Part of this is due to the distance parishioners live and work from the church. A more usable space close to town would allow for Wednesday night worship and prayer services, daytime classes, and midweek and Sunday evening student ministry opportunities.
We Are Ready to Establish Long-Term Ministry in Winchester To develop our ministry in Winchester, we need to put roots down as soon as possible in order to establish programs within our target area.
We Want One Sunday Service Currently, because our sanctuary is small and in order to facilitate growth, we hold two Sunday services every week. Although this is working for now, it’s not ideal. Our hope is to return to one Sunday morning service as soon as possible. At our current size, two services puts undue pressure on our staff and volunteers.
Our Lease Is Up in May of 2017 The lease on our current building expires in May of 2017. To the best of our knowledge, our landlord’s plan is to sell this building if we don’t exercise our option to buy (which expires in May of 2016). It is unknown at this time whether we can negotiate a longer stay. We do know that we don’t want to unnecessarily delay our goal to establish our congregation in Winchester for the future. We need to put ourselves in a strategic and financial position to take action.
HOW CAN WE PARTICIPATE? RESPOND PRAYERFULLY Ask the Lord to lead you on how you can significantly participate.
RESPOND PROPORTIONALLY Seek to respond to God’s provision in your own life. We can’t out-give God, but we can allow His pattern of generosity to guide all that we do.
RESPOND FAITHFULLY Don’t put yourself in peril, but don’t give cautiously either. Let us walk in faith in what the Lord can do, and not rely on our own understanding.
RESPOND SACRIFICIALLY What might you change about your current lifestyle in order to enable our future ministry to be rooted in Winchester?
GIVING GUIDE
# OF COMMITMENTS
$ AMOUNT OF EACH COMMITMENT
TOTAL $ AMOUNT
1
100,000
100,000
1
75,000
75,000
1 45,000 45,000 1
35,000
35,000
2
25,000
50,000
3
15,000
45,000
4
12,000
48,000
“I WILL NOT SACRIFICE TO GOD THAT WHICH COSTS ME NOTHING.”
7
7,500
52,500
2 SAMUEL 24:24
8
5,000
40,000
9
2,500
22,500
10
1,200
12,000
www.winchesteranglican.com