It seems likes just yesterday (Late June 2007 to be precise) that Chantel and I rolled into Richmond with a truck full of furniture and hearts energized with faith in what God had in store. Our first summer in our new city was exciting but also filled with uncertainty as we began to pray and plan for the launch of Aletheia Church Richmond in the fall 2007. In those early days we were blessed with team (Carrie and Jason Zinn, Jordan Minnick, and Sam Polhamus) cultivated by Dave Proffitt and the gang from Aletheia Church in Harrisonburg Virginia. Erin At lee arrived at the around the same time. She came to Richmond through the coaxing of Carrie and of coarse the Holy Spirit. This team was the relational, teaching, administrative, and community building center of our baby church.
Most of our time that first summer was spent building relationships with the existing team and gathering the rest of the people that would comprise our core launch team in the fall. Amazing people like: Rick Hatcher, Joelle Bennett, Josh Fultz, Shing Yue Tang, Caitlyn Powitz, John and Mary Anne Rimmer, Brandon and Athena deGraaf, Timmy Elliot, Conner, Kevin, Allyn Clark, and Jesse Kell. This group made up the foundation in the early days and I think the biggest proof of the the work of God in our church is that most of these beautiful people are still a huge part of Aletheia. As the summer moved on we transitioned from Thursdays on campus to Sunday nights in the park to our launch on Sunday nights in the VCU Commons.
The first year Aletheia slowly grew into a biblical community that had a passion to communicate the message of Jesus in both word and deed. We were rooted firmly in the biblical concepts modeled for us by our friends in Harrisonburg which include: relevant orthodoxy expositional teaching, intentional specific evangelism, genuine love, systematic discipleship, and sacrificial hospitality. I have said this before, but I always stand amazed at how the gospel word gathers a people passionate to make Jesus famous. This is exactly what happened that first year. Since then God has miraculously granted the gift of salvation to many (Susan, Tina, Alysha, Udit, and Tony to name a few), He has raised up several generations of leader (Though they are to many to list I think of: Sandra, Ryan, Ashton, Tim, Keilan, Nathaneal, Chris , Sterling, Matt, Kyle, Tommie, and Trent), and He has sent us to cities (New Orleans and New York) and far off countries (China 2x, Brasil, Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Belgium) to proclaim Jesus.
We are a little more than three weeks from the launch of the 2009 VCU fall semester and the beginning of our third year ministry as an established church and I still stand amazed at the grace of our Lord Jesus. How true are His words in Mark 4:26-29:
“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
So if you are reading this and you are apart of Christ body as reveal in and through Aletheia Church Richmond, get ready! I believe that God is going to show Himself mighty through us this year as we passionately and patiently wait on the sovereign move of His hand on the campus VCU, in the city of Richmond, where God has placed us. Come back to Richmond soon we miss you!
OnlybyHISgrace,
josh
