RICHMOND, Va. — Over four years ago, with a vision for Kingdom expansion through church planting, a church planting think tank was initiated by John Upton, executive direcctor of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, and Stephen Welch, executive director of NorthStar Church Network, the Baptist association of churches in Northern Virginia.
From the origination of this think tank in June 2007 to its evolution into a task group called the Virginia Church Multiplication Initiative (VCMI) in September 2008, this intentioned focus on church planting has led to V3, a church multiplication movement of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board.
V3, as it has been known since May 2010, focuses on partnering in planting churches that have in their founding DNA and core mission strategy the desire and intent to start more churches, all for the purpose of making disciples of Jesus Christ.
 |
V3 is led by co-coordinators Phil and Jody Faig. Phil also serves as senior pastor at Gayton Baptist Church in Richmond, Va. Jody has been employed at the Virginia Baptist Mission Board since 2006. In addition Brian Hopper serves as V3 coaching coordinator. Brian is pastor/directional architect at Imago Dei, a Baptist congregation in Richmond.
In the role of V3 coaching coordinator, Hopper recruits, develops and trains a pool of coaches within the V3 movement and matches these coaches with V3 supported church planters. Brian coordinates V3 coach training events and serves as a coach to V3 coaches.
V3 has a board of trustees who champion and monitor the progress of V3. Though currently V3 is primarily funded by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, a key task for the V3 board is to develop multiple channels of financial resources for V3’s work.
The board includes:
• Chris Backert, an emerging church strategist at the VBMB, director and organizational architect of the Ecclesia Network and national coordinator for Fresh Expressions US;
• Travis Collins, pastor of Bon Air Baptist Church in Richmond;
• Rusty Coram, pastor of New Hope Church in Lorton, Va.;
• Don Davidson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va.;
• Michael DuVal, pastor of Journey Church in Roanoke, Va.;
• Jay Lawson, pastor of Warrenton Baptist Church in Warrenton, Va.;
• David Olive, president of Bluefield College in Bluefield, Va.;
• Bill Reynolds, senior vice president of CBRE, a real estate service company in Richmond;
• Jeff Ukrop, executive director of First Things First, an advocacy organization in Richmond committed to strengthening families;
• Dee Whitten, pastor of Fairview at River Club, a church in Fredericksburg, Va.
The Faigs and Upton serve as ex-officio, non-voting members of the board, as does Wayne Faison, team leader for the Mission Board’s courageous churches team.
The three Vs of V3 stand for:
Voice — Proclaiming the Word: V3 invests in multiplication movements that focus on giving voice to the gospel of Jesus and voice to those called to proclaim his word through church multiplication.
Viral — Spreading the Word: V3 focuses on multiplication through networks, rather than simply geographical boundaries. V3 desires to go where the Spirit leads in an effort to spread the good news of Jesus in a viral and contagious church multiplication movement.
Volume — Churches Planting Churches So All May Know Jesus: V3 focuses on volume through partnering in launching healthy, sustaining and reproducing Gospel communities that will reach thousands for Christ.
The dream of V3 is for a multiplication movement that will not only result in a lot of new churches, but one that will result in a lot of new people coming to faith in Jesus Christ.
V3 uses a C.A.R.T. approach because it believes that a multiplication movement is most effective when what is being multiplied is healthy and strategically focused. C.A.R.T. is:
• Coaching: Because V3 believes a trained and qualified coach for every new church planter in their network will enhance their ministry effectiveness, wholeness and longevity.
• Assessment: Because V3 believes an in-depth assessment to help church planting candidates discern from God if they are called to be a lead church planter is a vital part of the church planting process.
• Recruiting: Because V3 believes there are ready planters for the field of church planting. They also wholeheartedly believe in being champions for pastors and leaders of the inherited church to be “callers & carriers” of the church multiplication vision.
• Training: Because V3 believes that being equipped for carrying out Kingdom vision leads to greater harvest.
More information on V3 is available at www.v3churchplanting.org or from the Faigs at [email protected] or jody.faig@vbmb.
Related story: The District Church in Washington aims to reach Millennials in their context.