In this series of posts we interviewed members of KingsWay that have been attending since the church was planted in 1989.
Written by Steve and Donna Whitman.
Our family, along with about 40 people from a small church in Keyser, WV, attended Celebration ’88 where we met Gene Emerson. Our experience at Celebration 
convinced us that we absolutely must be part of a People of Destiny church. (to become SGM). We’ve had the privilege of watching our children grow up in the church. We got to see our daughter enter into a relationship with and marry a young man who also grew up in the church, and now we delight in their cute little red-haired son, who is our grandson – unbelievable! [to read Daniel and Heather’s story, click here.] Before joining KingsWay, we felt like we were wandering. 
I remember that first Celebration. Looking at the folks in the SG churches was like peering through the window of a candy shop! We had only gotten a taste, but wanted more! Now, after 20 years, we are grateful for the foundation of truth we have received and for the deep relationships we have benefited from. The memory most dear to my heart, is when I was expecting Stephanie, after having suffered several miscarriages. My pregnancy was very risky, and I had to be on bed rest the majority of it. The church rallied. We NEVER had a need. My floors were mopped, meals were brought, and friends sat by my side, praying this child. When Stephanie was born, I remember folks saying, she (Stephanie) belongs to all of us!!! So many played a part in her safe arrival. That is the church.
Written by Marsha Dixon.
Bob and I came to Richmond with Gene and Liz from Franklin, W.Va. We were serving the church there with the Emersons when Gene felt led to come to Richmond and plant a church here. We came along! We have stayed at KWCC because be believe in the vision of Sovereign Grace Ministries. God is building His church…”the pillar and buttress of truth” and we wanted to give our lives to something that would count and last for eternity.
Over time the size has changed! We started out with 30 and now we are 700! Songs have changed in that they are more doctrinally sound and full of content! We used to sing wonderful worship choruses but the rich words of our songs now thrill the soul!! There is a focus on “grace” being extended to one another that has become more pronounced in the past years. There has always been a focus on sound, Biblical teaching, worship, childrens’ ministry, and fellowship. These things have not changed over the years.
I think the biggest change in our family over the years has been to see them “step up to the plate” in their love and service in the church. It’s their church now. They are using their gifts and talents to serve in various areas of church life. “One generation will tell another generation“….and we are seeing that happen in our family! What a joy!
One of my favorite memories was a Sunday morning meeting in Midlothian High School. The worship was particularly sweet that morning. There was a sense that you didn’t want it to end! And it didn’t! Gene stood up and said he wasn’t going to preach that morning because the Spirit was directing us to continue to worship in His presence! It was such a joy to see the Spirit interrupt our plans and “linger” in His presence. It kind of felt like a big care group going on and on…..so sweet and intimate was our time with the Lord that day.
I remember my husband, Bob, telling me one month before we were married that he felt the Lord was directing us to help Gene and Liz build churches. Well….I like “comfortable” and I don’t like “risk.” I like “being at home” and I don’t like “new adventures!” So, to think that we were going to leave all that I “liked”, everything that made life “comfortable” for me was not what I wanted to hear as a new bride! But ,as I look back at the two churches we have been privileged to serve and start, I’m glad I followed the lead of my “visionary” husband. Church was primary….all else was secondary. His passion became my passion. What a joy to see this church growing and thriving! It was worth it all…to lay aside the comfortable for the eternal.
In this series of posts we interviewed members of KingsWay that have been attending since the church was planted in 1989.
Daniel and Heather Robertson both grew up in KingsWay. Their families were a part of the original church plant. This is how Daniel 
describes one of their early interactions: “In 1989, at age 7, with the smell of heavily buttered popcorn wafting through the dimly lit, sticky floored movie theater, our fathers tuned their guitars, and discussed song transitions for that morning’s worship service. I sat in a squeaky, poorly padded movie theater seat next to a young girl who shared her pop-tart with me, well the pop-tart crust, that is. That young girl, Heather Whitman, whom I married on October 14, 2006 in the KingsWay auditorium, is now not only my wonderful wife, but the mother to our beautiful son.”
There have been so many changes in KingsWay over the past 20 years; this was Daniel’s view on what the 
biggest change in KingsWay has been over these 20 years. “A. well.. there were home 
groups, then cell groups, then small groups, then care groups, then community groups… Considering we started meeting in our living rooms and then a movie theater, then a school, then another school, I would have to say that our largest change has been the building.” Daniel said that the biggest change in his family was the fact that he now has over 500 brothers and sister!
In this series of posts we interviewed members of KingsWay that have been attending since the church was planted in 1989.
Kathryn Dixon is one of the youngest “original members” of KingsWay. She was attending KingsWay with her parents as an infant. “When I was 16 years old, God began to show me how blessed I had been to have had the privilege of being a part of KingsWay for so long. I realized that one of the main reasons why my faith was strong was because of the godly teaching I had for so many years… Kingsway made every effort to make sure my heart was always being spiritually nourished with scripture and biblical teaching.”
When Kathryn was 17 she officially became a member of KingsWay. According to Kathryn this was one of the most exciting days of her life. She was no longer committed because her parents were; she knew that God had called her to become a member as she continued to use her gifts to serve at KingsWay. “God has used KingsWay to affect my life and shape my values in so many ways.”
A fun memory Kathryn shared was from her teen years at KingsWay. “I always enjoyed going to frontline. When I first started attending frontline, we met at Walkins Elementary School… Frontline started at 7PM, but everyone who was serving had to get there around 4:30 PM. I can remember everyone helping unload all the sound and music equipment from the “big yellow truck” (usually Adam Hiler would drive it). Then we would set everything up, do sound check, practice our worship songs, and then eat pizza before frontline began. Afterward, we would have to clean up everything and load the “big yellow truck” back up again. Essentially, during those years, frontline nights for me lasted from about 4:30 to 11:00 PM. at night! I can remember finding it kind of strange once the new building opened not having to set up anything before frontline or take down any music stuff afterward. However, I think everyone quickly warmed up to this new concept!”
I was copied on this note to Gene and thought he might not be the only one encouraged by how God is helping us apply the teaching from the “Adopted!” message series.
“Hi Gene,
I thought you might be encouraged about how God allowed me to apply your message so quickly this week.
Each time I have gone for back injections it has taken the nurses multiple times to get the IV needles to go in correctly so that I can receive the medication during the procedure. This time was no different.
I caught myself on their second try praying, “Dear Lord, have mercy on me a sinner” but then because of yesterday’s message I quickly added “Oh, Lord, and I am your child, please show me your kindness as a Father”.
I was so thankful for that change in perspective - and that the nurse was able to get it on the second try and didn’t need to have the doctor come and get it - which happened last time!
Thanks so much for faithfully preparing and hearing God’s heart for His Church!”
Do you have an encouraging report to pass along? We’d love to hear more about what God is doing!
I was able to share this with the singles at Resolved Saturday evening and the rest of the church family Sunday morning, but for anyone who may have missed those meetings I also wanted to share an update here.
Since Jen and I moved to Richmond with our family 3½ years ago, it has been a distinct joy to serve as part of the pastoral team with a particular emphasis on evangelism and singles. It’s been a privilege to labor with the other pastors to serve you, but over the past 6 months, I’ve been sensing a redirection in God’s call to the marketplace where I would have contact with a wide variety of people, especially those that don’t know Jesus.
In this new season, going forward, God has made it clear that He is calling me to be a pillar and a light in this church. A pillar in the sense of being a strong support and encouragement through involvement in a Community Group, serving, and sharing the Gospel as part of the wonderful normal life of this church. God is calling me to be a light in the business world, pursuing excellence for his glory and sharing the Gospel. So, these two things excite me and we have faith for this new journey.
God is helping us to trust Him in this transition. We are experiencing the care and support of the pastors and their wives, whose friendship means so much to us. I want you to know that your pastors have been such a wonderful support in this process. I’ve never felt pressure to do anything but they’ve wanted us to follow God’s clear call of us for our family and so that you are best served.
I want to say thanks to you for bringing us so much joy over the past 3½ years. I have been the recipient of much encouragement and have loved seeing God working in you. Thank you for your love, your care and for making this past season in pastoral ministry for us, a joy.
None of this transition changes our hearts of love for you, the people of KingsWay. We are planning to stay in Richmond to continue to be an active part of KingsWay and pursue God’s plan for us in new endeavors. We look forward to continuing to walk this road together with you.
Hi Friends,
We just closed the books for 2008, and once again I find myself at a loss for words to describe the gratitude in my heart for you. During what has been a difficult year for many, God has used your gifts to extend His gospel in some wonderful ways. 
We’ve not only welcomed numerous guests each Sunday, but have added four new community groups and embraced 112 new members. With rooms filled to overflowing, we also added a classroom wing and in the process of expanding the foyer, seminar room and kitchen. All of this in the midst of economic downturn! By God’s grace, we’ve helped others with over $20,000 in benevolence and gifts and invested $153,000 in evangelism and missions–seeing the Gospel extended to the ends of the world!
So as you receive your statement of contributions in the days ahead, please consider the great good that your faithful giving has done in extending God’s care in very personal ways. On behalf of the pastors, thank you for honoring God through your life and giving. To Him be glory forever and ever!
With deep appreciation,
Gene
OK, so it’s officially Valentine’s Season (the retail market makes that very clear).
I’d love to hear from some of the ladies on how your guy has done it right. Tell me about a time when your man got high marks in the romance department (it doesn’t need to be from Valentines and it doesn’t need to be from this year) and I’ll try to post a few stories that might particularly honor some of the guys (and give the rest of us some helpful ideas!)
Simply submit a comment to this post and I’ll try to publish as many of them as I can between now and the 14th.
Today we had the joy of welcoming new members. Before praying for our members, we watched a short video:
Last week, I had the privilege to accompany 14 17-23 year-olds from KingsWay to “The Clash”, a Sovereign Grace Christian Worldview Camp at Messiah College in Grantham, PA. Since returning on Saturday, numerous people have asked me, “How was it?” My typical response has been, “An amazing experience. My head and heart are full (in a good way). I built meaningful friendships with our people, as well as those from other churches.” I am so grateful to God for Jeff Purswell and Nathan Sasser, who organized and taught at “The Clash”. Also, getting to hear Dr. D.A. Carson for a whole day was quite a blessing. This was a week full of sound doctrine taught for the purpose of worship and foundation-building. Add onto that rich Biblical Fellowship with new and old friends. What an amazing week we had!
Listen to this testimony from Amy Roberts:
“Monday after ‘The Clash’ I got into a conversation with a Catholic co-worker over how to know which religion has the right perspective, the nature of man, homosexuality, the reliability of the Bible, and more. To make a long story short, a conversation he and I had two weeks ago caused him to ask questions of the purity of the Catholic church. Equipped with Nathan Sasser’s (who taught several times during our week) worldview evaluation tactics, I quickly observed that his worldview was based on self, not God, and thought of more than a few ways to correct his faulty theology. But what Nathan said about Scripture being self-authenticating (and it’s redeeming POWER) came to the front of my mind. I mentioned to him that many of his questions could be answered by simply going to the source of Christianity: the Bible. Today I gave him a paperback ESV and recommended he start in John and read Romans 3. He took the Bible and wrote down my suggestions.
It’s not every day that your co-worker is eager to read the Bible and find truth. How kind of God to give me an opportunity to interact with someone so hungry directly after a week-long worldview/apologetics/bible doctrine conference! I don’t think the dialogue between my co-worker and I is over. I’m praying for wisdom when to speak and when to listen, when to let the Spirit work apart from my mouth and when the Spirit wants to work through my words. I trust that God is completely sovereign to call Bryan to Himself at any point. I’m just praying that He does.”
Thank you Amy for applying what you learned and for being faithful to God by engaging with your friend about issues that matter! I’m looking forward to hearing how God is at work in you and through you, as well as the other people that went to “The Clash”. The Clash will be taking place again in 2010.
- Steve
