FALLS CHURCH, Va. — For more than a half-century, Glencarlyn Road Baptist Church had ministered to its Bailey’s Crossroads community in Northern Virginia when the congregation’s dwindling numbers and resources convinced it to take a radical step. Discerning through prayer that God was leading it to make a decision to ensure that a witness work for God’s Kingdom would continue in that locale, the congregation voted to give itself away.
Like all churches, when it was planted the church expected to reach hundreds of people for Christ during a long and fruitful life. Unlike many churches, it did not begin as a split from another congregation. To the contrary, in 1949 the Virginia Baptist Mission Board purchased two acres and the next year enlisted J. C. Jones to begin a work there. And the Lord blessed.
Glencarlyn Road’s 1970 sanctuary now houses the worshipping congregation of Columbia@Crossroads.
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In 1951, services began in Bailey School; in 1952 the church was constituted and by the next year the church began meeting in its first building. By 1957, 300 worshippers gathered weekly necessitating a larger building with Jones continuing to serve as pastor.
By the time of Jones’ retirement in 1987 however, attendance which in 1970 had led the church to confidently build a large sanctuary, had dwindled. By the time the church called its second pastor, Greg Loewer after an 18-month interim, attendance had dropped to 70.
Although the church tried several innovative approaches — including contemporary worship, additional staff and new programs which yielded some growth — by 2003 it had experienced another decade of decline. By then, it became apparent to Loewer and key lay leaders that at the rate of decline and at the rate they were using financial reserves, they could not survive many more years. At that point, Loewer began to seriously explore options.
With the endorsement of church leadership, a Futures Group was formed in January of 2005 to search alternatives and make a recommendation. After researching all the information they could find and discussing the possibilities with Glenn Akins, assistant executive director of the VBMB; Steve Welch, executive director of Northstar Church Network; and Jim Baucom, pastor of Columbia Baptist Church in Falls Church, they came to the conclusion that, for them, it made sense to offer their facility to Columbia. Independently, Columbia had reached the decision that it needed to pursue multi-site ministries.
After six months of study and discussion, members of Glencarlyn Road voted to present the church property to Columbia as a "Kingdom Gift" for the purpose of starting a new work. Church members voted overwhelmingly to adopt a covenant between the congregations, and then to disband. The following week Columbia graciously received the gift of this new campus, and after renovations to the facility, community wide publicity, launch team building, and lots of prayer, Columbia@Crossroads began services on Easter Sunday, April 16, 2006.
Most of the former Glencarlyn members moved to Columbia where they were warmly received and where they have found places of service in the larger congregation.
Today, a thriving congregation is serving God and ministering in worship, discipleship, and outreach. In 2008, two other Columbia congregations (Brazilian and Hispanic) moved to the Crossroads Campus in a shared venture of utilizing the campus in a variety of ministries.
“I can’t begin to tell you how courageous the Glencarlyn congregation was,” Baucom says of that action. “And Greg Loewer is a real hero.” All the experts Baucom consulted said it would never work to ask the former pastor to stay on. Conventional wisdom assumes that former leadership must have been ineffective and in large measure part of the reason the church had been in decline. Such assumptions are not without merit, of course, in some cases.
From the beginning of their conversations, both Loewer and Baucom assumed that Loewer would not be a part of the future at Columbia@Crossroads, but as Baucom began to sense his heart for ministry, he became convinced that Loewer needed to stay on to be the host pastor at Columbia@Crossroads in addition to duties with Northstar. This conviction has been proved correct by the effectiveness of their mutual ministries.
Intentionally multi-cultural and reflecting the diversity of its community, the Crossroads congregation now consists of persons from many nations and backgrounds. Their worship experience utilizes a live contemporary praise band and both live teaching by Loewer and video teaching by Baucom.
Jim White is editor of the Religious Herald.