Bon Air Baptist Church, a congregation with multiple campuses on Richmond’s Southside, has launched a new church on the site of New Covenant Baptist Church in the city’s near West End.
Called Bon Air Baptist @ the Village, this church aims to offer people throughout Richmond, and especially those in its immediate community, a vibrant place to gather for a family-focused worship service and Sunday school program.
While the official launch date is Sunday, Sept. 8, the new church plans to reach out to the community this summer with a neighborhood barbecue, vacation Bible school and a small-group program that nurtures spiritual development. The church eventually plans to open a coffee café with free wi-fi, as well as a preschool program in 2014.
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“New Covenant Baptist is a church that’s rich in spirit, and its members are strong in their faith,” said Travis Collins, senior pastor at Bon Air Baptist. “So when they approached us last fall about making their facility one of our campuses, we saw this for the blessing that it is.
“Our mission at Bon Air Baptist is to increase the number of lives transformed by a relationship with Christ,” Collins said, “and one of the ways we accomplish this is by establishing new campuses of our church. Thanks to the vision and faith shown by members of New Covenant, Bon Air Baptist @ the Village has been born.”
To give the new church momentum, more than 100 people from Bon Air Baptist formed a launch team, committing themselves to worshipping at the church and assuming leadership roles to encourage its growth. Together with former members of New Covenant, members of the launch team will serve the church in a variety of ways, from teaching Sunday school and singing in the choir to initiating mission projects and caring for the grounds. These members will also play a key role in helping the church start a preschool program in 2014.
“Different people have different styles of worship,” said Jake Maxwell, the campus pastor at Bon Air Baptist @ the Village, “and Bon Air has grown over the years both in membership and diversity by meeting the distinct needs of each worshipper. We have found this approach to be the most effective way to bring people into relationship with Christ at a time when membership at some churches is waning. That is not the case at Bon Air Baptist. We’re growing.”
The name Bon Air Baptist @ the Village implies community, leaders said.
“We want to create a sense of closeness and fellowship among the members of these two churches, and the word ‘village’ connotes that kind of relationship,” said Maxwell. “But what’s just as important, if not more important, is the sense of community we want to develop with people in the neighborhoods that surround us. Located at the vibrant intersection of Patterson Avenue and Horsepen Road, we want people to view us and use us as a resource that’s vital to their spiritual growth.”
The original campus of Bon Air Baptist on Buford Road was founded in 1952 on the growing outskirts of Richmond. Since then, the church has grown to be one of the largest and most dynamic churches in the city, offering dozens of ministries. In addition to its Buford Road campus, the church worships in several other locations. The James River campus began in 2006 and the Robious Hall campus, which offers two services, one of which is in Spanish, opened its doors in 2009.
The church is also home to Northstar Community, a Christ-centered recovery ministry.
David Hogge is an editor and writer living in Richmond.