Who
We Are!
On July 7th, 2005, Pastor Tom and his wife Laurie sat at a booth in
Outback Steakhouse under strong conviction from God to start a
church. As the evening progressed and prayers were offered, a
coaster and napkin were used to invent a church name and logo.
With so many churches marked with disunity and conflict, God
provided a name that Pastor Tom wrote on a napkin, CommUNITY Church.
Unity being capitalized as a focal reminder that nothing grieves the
heart of God more than strife between His people in regard to
church. Then Pastor Tom and Laurie set their sights on a logo.
It was their desire to break away from traditional and contemporary
church growth models and revive that New Testament Church elaborated
upon in Acts chapter six. So, God impressed upon Laurie a
cross with a heart in the middle. The cross demonstrating the power
of God and the heart the love of God. Finally the church motto
was developed, "A New Church with an Old Vision" as
was a mission statement (see below) and theme scripture, "Behold
how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in
UNITY" PSALM 133:1 (Emphasis mine).
On July 10th, 2005 CommUNITY Church held it's first service in a
donated office building with just a handful of people present, many
from out of town showing support! Our Pastor stepped out of 8 years
of full-time ministry, became a school teacher and became CommUNITY
Church's volunteer pastor, refusing any salary or benefits until the
church was stable. Less than 1 year later the church had purchased
property and a building, sound/visual system, started a bus
ministry, raised over $11,000 to send 17 members to North Dakota on
a mission trip and voted to receive our founding pastor Tom
McCracken, as a full-time paid pastor. Our church is on the brink of
crossing a 300 membership with no sign of slowing down!
We continue to grow physically as we grow spiritually. Our church's
mission statement is, "To demonstrate Christ's love in specific
ways, so that every person we meet will know they are IMPORTANT,
LOVED and WANTED in Jesus' name. And are invited to become a part of
the Greatest Network of Caring People our world has ever seen!"
We are affiliated with and support the Southern Baptist
Conservatives of Virginia (SBCV), the Roanoke Valley Baptist
Association (RVBA), and the Southern Baptist Convention
(SBC).
We are currently meeting at 901 Russell Dr. in Salem
Va. God has answered our prayers for a location. Come and
Worship Jesus with us!
(Map)
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