Happy Anniversary, Dan River Church

Today we celebrate five years since we launched Dan River Church. My, how time flies!

Our first Sunday was October 4, 2009.

We prayed for months ahead of time.

We built a team of volunteers to help us launch. We prayed together.

We prepared the materials we would need for the service, as well as children's ministry. We prayed some more.

We had a dress rehearsal, a run-through, the week before. We prayed some more.

We set up George Washington High School at what seemed like the crack of dawn. And we prayed.

And we waited . . . and we prayed.

God drew 364 people that first Sunday. Praise the Lord! God gave us the opportunity to reach out to the people of Danville.

One of my most favorite memories that day happened on the way home, though. I asked my two boys what they thought of our first service.

Kaden, my 4-year-old, was quiet except for saying that his class was "good". He didn't know what to say. Then as we crossed the bridge, he saw the sign for the river. He exclaimed, "I can't believe they named the Dan River after Dan River Church!" What a funny kid!

Hunter, my 7-year-old, said, "Well, I did my part today; I told ten kids about God before our class even started!" I went from laughing over Kaden's confusion to choking back tears of gratitude. Not only did we get to serve the people of Danville as a new church, but we had the privilege of doing it together as a family.

The mission statement of Dan River Church is to change our world by developing Christ-followers who love God and love people.

In the past five years, we've seen many come to know the Lord as their personal Savior.

We've seen many follow the Lord in baptism, publicly proclaiming their faith.

We've seen lives changed, families restored, relationships reconciled.

All of that is made so much richer because we've ministered together as a family.

What a blessing these five years have been. Thank you, Dan River Church!