Five years ago the Abundant Life Baptist Church building in Dumfries tragically burned to the ground. The small congregation disbanded and the property was given to the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (SBCV). The SBCV decided to sell the property and use the money for church planting in Virginia. The property has been listed for sale in since 2005 with very little interest.
At the same time the same organization was helping us to get started in Dumfries. Pillar Church is now in need of a permanent meeting place and the property where the Abundant Life building formally sat is an ideal location for our ministry. We are praying that those in leadership at the SBCV will consider allowing Pillar Church to rebuild on the 5 acre

“Abundant Life” property in Dumfries. The property sits vacant and vandalized in the center of the community we are trying so desperately to reach with the gospel.
The good news is that the SBCV is an organization that is dedicated to helping new churches get started and established. They have been dedicated supporters of our ministry since our inception in 2005. The have given thousands of dollars to our efforts and supported each of our church planting endeavors over the past five years. Additionally they have given valuable instruction and training along the way that have saved us from an unknown number of mistakes.

The bad news is that they are not yet convinced that allowing us to rebuild on the property is the best use for the property. Over the past several years we have made many requests for the property but every attempt has stalled. We have written letters, met personally, sent emails and researched other possible uses for the property but made very little progress.

Here’s how you can help… In the spirit of THIS STORY I am asking folks to comment on this post telling why you believe that allowing Pillar Church to rebuild on the “Abundant Life” property is a good idea. I’m going to forward these comments to those who have the weighty responsibility of making this decision. Here are a few of the comments I have recieved so far…

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“I am pictured here with three of my six children, and as a father, I appreciate the spiritual values consistently preached at Pillar Church and their emphasis on church planting. I know my family and I would have more time to impact our community for Christ, if I didn’t spend nearly two hours a week setting up and tearing down temporary locations. You have an opportunity to bless a vibrant ministry, and I pray you do so. – RAY

I have been a believer for many years and have served on many missions teams, but never I have a seen a local congregation more focused on missions and church planting than Pillar Church. Equipping these folks with a building allows them to spend less of their time setting up and tearing down temporary service locations, and more time doing what they have proven they do well, plant churches and equip believers to live out the great comission in their daily lives. Please help us serve Him! – Shannon

As Christians we are called to use our talents and gifts to further the kingdom of God.  What is a better use of the gift given to you then to allow a new Church to rise in the ashes of the Church that once was there?  Great ideas of what to do with God’s gifts to further his Kingdom that are never realized are the same as burying them. Please help us to spread God’s word and grow his Kingdom buy establishing a permanent place to congregate in Dumfires. – Adam

Sunday morning Pillar Church gathered in a local hotel because the school where we regularly meet was closed. The winter weather prohibited us from having services for two weeks in a row and I was determined not to allow it to become three. So, with the news of another weekend cancellation from our school, we moved our operation to the Comfort Inn.

It was great to be back with the church after being apart for a few weeks.

My wife snapped this photo on her camera phone so it’s not the greatest of quality but hopefully it gives you a glimpse of what it was like.. we had several small groups meeting in the lobby and our babies and toddlers were in guest rooms. Since the rooms were paid for, my family and I crashed at the hotel for the night, went swimming and put a pretty impressive dent in the continental breakfast.