Redeemer Stafford

August 15, 2022

“And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” Acts 14:23
              This Sunday is very important. During the 11:00 service we will pray for, and send out with blessing, our brothers and sisters to officially begin a new church in Stafford – Redeemer Stafford! The beginning of every church is filled with both joy and struggle, hope and sadness. Joy at seeing the expanding work of the Gospel transforming people’s lives through the forgiveness of sins and the fruit of the Holy Spirit. A struggle in working to forge a new work where there was nothing before. Yet through common struggle the deepest friendships are formed. Hope by seeing the work of the Lord renew and expand further in our adjacent community. Sadness because we will see dear Christian friends even less than we do now. However, this is the missionary calling of Jesus Christ to us – go out and bear witness to Jesus’ resurrection!
              I am deeply thankful for and proud of Pastor Justin and Molly. There has never been a more self-sacrificing, authentically godly, and courageous couple. Christian leaders in the church are to set an example for us to follow, and they set the bar high. They only see themselves as humble servants. I am thankful for Brandon and Brooke Whitis, Jenner and Nicole Yuhas, and Luke and Kimberly McIntyre coming alongside Justin and Molly as key leaders in this new church. They are each one people of great faith, courage, and sacrifice. Together with other dear brothers and sisters in Christ, they will reach many people in Stafford with the Gospel.
              It is important that we continue to pray for and support these friends as they go out from us. They are our closest fellow church, and we will continue to cooperate with them on many ministry and missionary ventures. Please keep this article as a reminder to pray for our friends at Redeemer Stafford. Pray for:

Pastor Justin as he works and serves as teaching elder
Brandon, Jenner, and Luke as elder leadership to be wise, godly men, together with Justin, leading the church well
Molly, Brooke, Nicole, and Kimberly as key women in the church, caring for their families and actively ministering
Unity of purpose and clarity of direction
Protection from temptation and division
That North Stafford Baptist Church would join with them in this new church that there might be unity, a decisive place to meet, and the watching world could see churches cooperating together instead of dividing
For all key supporting ministry positions to be filled by capable volunteers
For local visitors to find their way into the church
That those who have been out of church for a long time, or who are ashamed of Jesus, would once again come into the fellowship of the church
That the lost would be saved through this expanding ministry
For the Holy Spirit to inhabit every service bringing joy and hope
For an evident sense that the Lord is blessing the work and that people’s lives are being changed
That this church would be known for its authentic Christian love
That many orphans would be cared for through this church
That every financial need would be met

May this be the first of many new churches planted from an original work of the Lord. May the Lord get all the glory for the great things He has done and is doing!
–Pastor Vic

Redeemer Bible Church Stafford

August 15, 2022June 2, 2022

Redeemer Bible Church Stafford (Update)

For those who may not be aware, Redeemer Bible Church is planting a church in Stafford. Praise God! For all of you who have been walking through this process with us, Pastor Vic asked me to send out a short update to keep you up to speed on our progress.

Why are we planting a church?

The local church is primary in God’s redemptive plan for sharing the gospel and making disciples. Those involved with this church plant have felt God’s calling and leading to be part of this commission in Stafford.
The local church should be local. For the handful of families that drive from Stafford to Spotsy each Sunday, this church plant represents an opportunity to gather for worship and outreach in our community where we live, work, go to school and do life. Our aim is to strengthen and compliment, not compete with, the other biblically faithful Christian churches already established in Stafford.
From the beginning, Redeemer Spotsy set out to be a church that plants churches. Sending out Redeemer Stafford is the first step towards this goal.

How will the church be organized?

Unlike other church models, Redeemer Stafford will not be a satellite campus of Redeemer Spotsy but an autonomous cooperating church. This means that both churches will hold to the same core beliefs with regard to the Bible, theology and church governance/essentials (link to RBC cooperating agreement). We will also share the same name, Redeemer Bible Church, and continue to seek ministry partnerships together (i.e. orphan care, short term missions). However, Redeemer Stafford will be led by its own team of elders and ruled by the church members in Stafford.

Where will the church meet?

Since Aug of ’21, North Stafford Baptist Church has expressed a desire to potentially join with Redeemer Stafford. We have held two combined church services with North Stafford Baptist and are in ongoing conversations with their elders about becoming one church. Should this happen, we will come together as Redeemer Bible Church of Stafford at their current location (11 Meadowood Drive, Stafford).

When will weekly Sunday church services begin?

Since last October, we have been meeting weekly on Sunday evenings for small-group home Bible studies and once a month for church services at North Stafford Baptist.
Our goal is to begin meeting for weekly Sunday services on August 21^st.

How can you pray for us?

Pray for unity between North Stafford Baptist and Redeemer Stafford.
Pray that more people would be called and equipped to fill key leadership roles within the church (elders, deacons, ministry leaders).
Pray that in all of this, the families of Redeemer Stafford would be filled with joy and stay focused on our primary mission of exalting God, growing disciples of Christ and making the gospel known through our words and deeds!

You can find more information on our website (redeemerstafford.org) and you are welcome to join us this Sunday from 5:30-7:00pm at 11 Meadowood drive for our monthly worship service and see for yourself what God is doing through Redeemer in Stafford.

On behalf of the elders and families that currently represent Redeemer Bible Church of Stafford, we genuinely want to thank each of you for your steadfast encouragement and prayers on our behalf. I can say without hesitation that Molly and I have never been a part of a church family that has supported and loved us like you have over the last three years. Your example has transformed our lives.

We love you, church.

In Christ,

Pastor Justin

New Church Plant

August 15, 2022August 12, 2021

New Church Plant

“And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” –Acts 2:46-47

I want to update you on some exciting developments in our church family that have been prayed about for months but are now beginning to take shape. We ourselves are a church planted by another church – Spotswood Baptist Church. We believe that the multiplication of local churches is the foundation of how the great commission will be accomplished. It is in the local church context that new believers grow in their faith, use the spiritual gifts given to them, partake in the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and grow in relationship to each other. This has been the plan and purpose of God since the ascension of Jesus Christ. We believe that the multiplication of local churches happens best through churches planting new churches, instead of denominational structures planting churches or one famous preacher’s words being broadcast to many campuses.

Planting a local church begins with an able spiritual leader that feels called of God to lead a new church. Since early on in the life of Redeemer we have had a group of passionate Christians driving nearly an hour one-way from north Stafford (through weekend I-95 traffic) to be a part of what the Lord has been doing at Redeemer. I rejoice in the devotion and friendship of these dear brothers and sisters, but I have long felt that at some point in the future the Lord would call one of the spiritual men in this group to lead and form this group into a new church. That time has arrived.

I’m excited to announce that Justin Woodruff feels called of the Lord to begin forming up our first new church plant in northern Stafford, VA. Please be praying for Justin and Molly and their amazing family. Forming and planting a church is not like launching a business. A healthy church is formed around relationships, not marketing techniques. Relationships take time to grow and form in healthy ways. At this point, Justin has simply raised his hand and said “Yes!” to God’s call to lead. The current Redeemer elder board is working with Justin to establish a starting elder board for the new church. We are together in an exploration phase of determining where they will meet, what needs they will have, and who will fill key positions. When we were at this stage with Redeemer, it was a year before we launched our first service at Ni River Middle School. There is no set timeline, only steady and intentional progress forward.

Our goal is for Redeemer Stafford to become it’s own autonomous (self-governing) church. By creating new self-governing churches, there is a greater multiplication of Christian leaders and teachers. There is a greater focus on Jesus being the head of the church, than any one personality. There is also a greater accessibility to pastoral care. We talk often about not wanting Redeemer to become so large that we lose meaningful personal relationship. The answer to this is not to close the doors, but to expand the mission outward. My prayer is to create over years, a cooperating group of Redeemer churches that intentionally share doctrinal agreement, a commitment to expository Bible preaching, elder led / congregationally ruled church governance, and meaningful church membership.

Our vision is a group of churches that are organically related through shared discipleship and planting, but functioning under the SBC denominational umbrella. This will allow for much more personal encouragement and cooperation, but retain the benefits of national affiliation. We’ll see how this goes as the Lord leads! At this point, the elders ask you to pray for Justin and Molly, pray for the initial elder group, and consider whether you may want to join them in this effort. We strongly believe north Stafford needs a church like Redeemer! If you feel like you may want to be a part of this new church, please let Justin know.

One of the hardest things about sending out strong leaders on mission is…sending out strong leaders on mission. There’s a reason why so many of the New Testament letters are filled with emotion about missing beloved friends. Separation is hard. We would all prefer to stay together and just enjoy those we already know, but this is not what Jesus would have us to do now. This rejoicing and rest will be fully enjoyed in heaven. We must now have a great love for the lost, like Jesus did. We must go out and seek them in Jesus’ name. We must be fishers of men. But for every leader that goes out, another must stand up and grow into their vacant place. As some of our strong leaders go out, I will be calling on others of you to fill their places.

My prayer is that this will be the first of many new churches planted out of Redeemer. Together let us live on mission for our Redeemer Jesus Christ.

What a joy to serve Jesus with you,

Pastor Vic