Project Richmond
September 6–9, 2007 TENTATIVE
Late this Summer, we will travel to Richmond, Virginia to help launch a new church in the Ashland community and assist the efforts of the planting pastor, Josh Karrer, formerly of NCC. Serving Crossings Church will grant us the opportunity to reach into the Randolph-Macon College community and help students find a church home. We will also support Pastor Josh and this new community of faith through hard work and fervent prayer.
We trust that God has something exciting in store for the city of Richmond and the community of Ashland, and Crossings Church will help many people in this area find a relationship with Christ. Consider joining us on this regional missions project as we partner with Pastor Josh and his team.
Latest From the Journal
A Passion For Richmond
Chris Jarrell · June 18, 2007 · 12:42 PM
Over the last six years, my wife Lora and I have lived in the Richmond area and have grown love its uniqueness. I really believe Pastor Josh and the Crossings Church have an amazing opportunity reach and transform a growing area in the suburbs of Richmond. As we partner with Pastor Josh Karrer and the Crossings Church we will get to experience first hand the need for an authentic and new community of faith for the area.
In the six years that I was in the Richmond area, I have seen an area steeped in religious history, that spans 400 years to the original Jamestown settlement in 1607. There are many churches in the church in the Richmond area, unfortunately many them have ceased to reach out to the emerging culture in the Richmond area as a whole.
There are five college campuses in and around the Richmond area including Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Richmond and Randolph-Macon College . Randolph-Macon is only minutes away from the Crossings Church. There is a great opportunity reach college students, however there are not many churches who targets that growing population in the Richmond area.
I want to give some context to the city of Richmond and the surrounding area.
Population: The city has an estimated population of 195,251, and a metro population of 1.2 million.
Demographics by Age: In the city the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 13.1% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.
Religious History: Richmond has several historic churches. Because of its early English colonial history from the early 1600s to 1776, Richmond has a number of prominent Anglican/Episcopal churches including Monumental Church, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and St. John’s Episcopal Church. Methodists and Baptists made up another section of early churches, and First Baptist Church of Richmond was the first of these, established in 1780. In the Reformed church tradition, the first Presbyterian Church in the City of Richmond was First Presbyterian Church, organized on June 18, 1812. On February 5, 1845, Second Presbyterian Church of Richmond was founded, which was an historic church where Stonewall Jackson attended and was the first Gothic building and the first gas-lit church to be built in Richmond. Due to the influx of German immigrants in the 1840s, Saint Johns German Evangelical church was formed in 1843. Richmond is also home to a prominent Greek-American community. Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral held its first worship service in a rented room at 309 North 7th Street in 1917. The cathedral relocated to 30 Malvern Avenue in 1960 and is noted as the only Eastern Orthodox church in Richmond and home to the annual Richmond Greek Festival.
The first Jewish congregation in Richmond was Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome. Beth Shalome was the sixth in the United States and was the westernmost Jewish congregation in the United States at the time of its foundation. By 1822 K.K. Beth Shalome members worshipped in the first synagogue building in Virginia. They eventually merged with Congregation Beth Ababah, an offshoot of Beth Shalome. Today there is a diverse Jewish community. There are three Orthodox Synagogues, Congregation Kol Emes, Keneseth Beth Israel, and Chabad of the Virginias[14]. There is an Orthodox Yeshivah K-12 school system known as Rudlin Torah academy, with two locations (the boys high school being located further east). There are two Conservative synagogues, Beth El and Or Atid. There are two Reform synagogues, Beth Ahabah and Or Ami. The largest synagogue, Temple Beth El, is located in Henrico County. Along with such religious congregations, there are a variety of other Jewish charitable, educational and social service institutions, each serving the Jewish and general communities. These include the Weinstein Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family Services, Jewish Community Federation of Richmond and Richmond Jewish Foundation.
There are several seminaries in Richmond. Three of these have banded together to become the Richmond Theological Consortium. This consortium consists of a theology school at Virginia Union University, a Presbyterian seminary called Union PSCE , and a Baptist seminary known as Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond.
Two bishops sit in Richmond, those of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia (the denomination’s largest) and the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, which encompasses all of central and southern Virginia and its eastern shore. The Presbytery of the James—Presbyterian Church (USA)—also is based in the Richmond area.
There are five masjids in the Greater Richmond area, accommodating the growing Muslim population. They are Islamic Center of Virginia (ICVA) in the south side, Islamic Society of Greater Richmond (ISGR) in the west end, Masjidullah in the north side, Masjid Bilal near downtown, and Masjid Ar-Rahman in the east end.[15]
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was penned in Richmond by Thomas Jefferson.
Will you pray about being involved in Project Richmond. I am looking forward to leading a team back to an area that I called home for the last six years. If you are interested in going and reaching this community in an authentic and practical way, email me @ .
Reaching Our Judea
Chris Jarrell · June 05, 2007 · 8:29 AM
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:8
When we look at the four locations mentioned in this passage of Scripture, we first must realize that we called to be witnesses in each area. Let us look at the four locations in our contexts today.
Jerusalem represents our community or neighborhood. The place where we do our everyday life. This is for many of us the Washington metropolitan area. We are first called to serve in our own community; to be witness at our workplace; college campus; our block; or our own backyard.
Judea represents our region. In the fall we will be headed down to Richmond, Virginia to be witnesses in our very own Judea. So often we overlook a place like Richmond, however there are people there are in spiritual need and they are looking hope and answers for their problems. It is my hope, that we reach our Judea, we can get them plug into a faith community at Crossings Church.
Let us look at Samaria. Samaria represents our own country or even continent. We can look at America and even the North American continent and see people in desperate need of God’s Truth and love. There are people in our nation who are hurting and need God’s transforming power in their lives.
Finally, to the ends of the earth. I know not everyone can go throughout the world and reach places like Kenya, Uganda or Bolivia. We are called to be witnesses in some of the most challenging places in this world. We so often focus on the ends of the earth, and we forget our Samaria, our Judea and our Jerusalem.
This fall, you can have an opportunity to reach our Judea by going on a short term missions trip to Richmond, VA. If you are interest in reaching our Judea, please email me Chris Jarrell at .