Valley Banner/Daily News-Record
ELKTON - A church that mixes the old with the new has sprouted in Elkton.
Church of the Lamb, an Anglican congregation that began meeting in December, has already doubled in size.
Although Church of the Lamb now averages 50 or more on Sundays, the goal of the congregation is not to be big.
The ministry grew out of Church of the Incarnation in Harrisonburg, which began in October 2010.
The Rev. Aubrey Spears started Church of the Incarnation with help from the Anglican Diocese of Rwanda. The church, which started as 27 people meeting in Spears' home, now holds services in a building at 292 N. Liberty St., Harrisonburg, and averages over 200 attendees.
The Elkton group is the Harrisonburg congregation's first church plant.
Although the Harrisonburg and Elkton congregations still maintain a connection with the African diocese, they are now in partnership with the Anglican Church in North America.
ACNA was founded in June 2009 by former members of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. They were dissatisfied with the increasingly liberal doctrinal teachings in their former churches, which they considered contradictory to traditional Anglican belief.
"Our goal is to become a small, healthy church deeply rooted in our neighborhood," Spears said. The churches also want to plant other small, healthy churches.
"Our strengths are hospitality and strong teaching," he said.
Home Groups Are Key
Even though its first service was as recent as Dec. 7, Church of the Lamb already has three home groups that meet in congregants' houses on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. The home groups are seemingly one of the keys to church growth.
The home groups' meetings usually consist of a meal, prayer, fellowship, a Bible or book study or video.
"If you want to know and be known, that's going to happen in a small group," said The Rev. Kevin Whitfield, a pastoral resident who travels from the Harrisonburg congregation to minister three times a month.
Spears, who ministers at Church of the Lamb once a month, said that a group of folks in the Elkton area had wanted for years to worship in their community instead of traveling to Harrisonburg. Church of the Lamb fills that void, he said.
Worship includes formal Anglican liturgy with contemporary music.
Spears, who grew up a charismatic Baptist, migrated to the Anglican church after an eight-year journey. Whitfield also was raised Baptist and was recently ordained.
The men see a beauty in the traditional Anglican worship but enjoy modernizing the worship experience by using contemporary music.
Sunday services are held at 10 a.m. at 315 W. Spotswood Trail in a yellow building and are followed with locally-roasted coffee and a dessert.
More information on Church of the Lamb is on the congregation's Facebook page and on its website at elktonchurchofthelamb.org. For more information on Church of the Incarnation, call (540) 432-5533 or visit theincarnation.org.
Church of the Lamb, an Anglican congregation that began meeting in December, has already doubled in size.
Although Church of the Lamb now averages 50 or more on Sundays, the goal of the congregation is not to be big.
The ministry grew out of Church of the Incarnation in Harrisonburg, which began in October 2010.
The Rev. Aubrey Spears started Church of the Incarnation with help from the Anglican Diocese of Rwanda. The church, which started as 27 people meeting in Spears' home, now holds services in a building at 292 N. Liberty St., Harrisonburg, and averages over 200 attendees.
The Elkton group is the Harrisonburg congregation's first church plant.
Although the Harrisonburg and Elkton congregations still maintain a connection with the African diocese, they are now in partnership with the Anglican Church in North America.
ACNA was founded in June 2009 by former members of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. They were dissatisfied with the increasingly liberal doctrinal teachings in their former churches, which they considered contradictory to traditional Anglican belief.
"Our goal is to become a small, healthy church deeply rooted in our neighborhood," Spears said. The churches also want to plant other small, healthy churches.
"Our strengths are hospitality and strong teaching," he said.
Home Groups Are Key
Even though its first service was as recent as Dec. 7, Church of the Lamb already has three home groups that meet in congregants' houses on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. The home groups are seemingly one of the keys to church growth.
The home groups' meetings usually consist of a meal, prayer, fellowship, a Bible or book study or video.
"If you want to know and be known, that's going to happen in a small group," said The Rev. Kevin Whitfield, a pastoral resident who travels from the Harrisonburg congregation to minister three times a month.
Spears, who ministers at Church of the Lamb once a month, said that a group of folks in the Elkton area had wanted for years to worship in their community instead of traveling to Harrisonburg. Church of the Lamb fills that void, he said.
Worship includes formal Anglican liturgy with contemporary music.
Spears, who grew up a charismatic Baptist, migrated to the Anglican church after an eight-year journey. Whitfield also was raised Baptist and was recently ordained.
The men see a beauty in the traditional Anglican worship but enjoy modernizing the worship experience by using contemporary music.
Sunday services are held at 10 a.m. at 315 W. Spotswood Trail in a yellow building and are followed with locally-roasted coffee and a dessert.
More information on Church of the Lamb is on the congregation's Facebook page and on its website at elktonchurchofthelamb.org. For more information on Church of the Incarnation, call (540) 432-5533 or visit theincarnation.org.
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