Listen
Meet people, learn the community, and pay attention to spiritual hunger and local need.
Luke 10 in Northern Virginia
Not a church plant.
A church harvest.
A harvest begins with the belief that God has arrived before we have.
Why this language matters
I am not importing a finished institution.
In Luke 10, Jesus sends the seventy ahead of him. They travel lightly, enter relationships, look for people of peace, and announce that the kingdom of God has come near. Their first task is not to manufacture religious demand. It is to recognize what God is already doing.
That is the posture I want to carry into Springfield and the wider Northern Virginia community: prayerful attention, honest conversation, shared meals, service, and a willingness to let a covenantal community take shape with the people who are actually here.
Early steps may be as simple as coffee with one person, a meal around a table, a small Scripture gathering, or serving alongside neighbors. The point is not to imitate a weekly church schedule before a community exists. It is to begin meeting, listening, and discerning together.
The Congregational Way
Faith. Freedom. Fellowship.
My home association is the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches—the NACCC. This is distinct from the UCC and the CCCC.
NACCC Congregationalism centers the direct headship of Christ in the local church, the spiritual equality of believers, local autonomy, covenantal relationship, and voluntary fellowship without binding hierarchical authority.
Why Congregationalism →How a harvest begins
Relationship before infrastructure.
The invitation is intentionally honest about the current stage. There is no fully formed congregation to join yet.
Gather
Begin with conversations, meals, prayer, Scripture, local service, and small expressions of shared life.
Covenant
Allow the community to write its own “to be” statement—a living commitment to God and one another.
Become
Let worship, leadership, mission, and structure emerge from discernment rather than a prefabricated model.
A connecting practice
Listening to Scripture together.
Some gatherings may include Lectio Divina, an ancient practice of reading a short passage of Scripture slowly and prayerfully. Rather than beginning with a lecture or rushing toward the correct interpretation, we listen for a word, phrase, question, or invitation that draws our attention.
People may reflect quietly and, when comfortable, share what they are noticing. Lectio Divina is not a required format for every gathering. It is one way a community can slow down, make room for the Spirit, and practice listening to God and one another.
Curious about the harvest?
You do not have to be ready to “join a church” to begin a conversation.
Spiritual seekers, people familiar with Congregationalism, neighbors, and anyone interested in a relational Christian community are welcome to reach out.
Join the conversation →