Category: Testimonies

Gail and I visited Tabernacle in 1964 at the urging of our good friends, Bill and Jean Finley. We were immediately impressed with the warm and friendly congregation and their strong commitment to sharing the message and love of Christ. Tabernacle’s strong emphasis on religious training and spiritual development were also very attractive to us. At the same time, opportunities were provided that would help us identify and utilize our gifts and talents in ministry and service.

Tabernacle’s decision in the 70’s to remain in the Fan and minister to a diverse and changing community, when other churches were leaving for the suburbs, motivated us to remain faithful to Tabernacle even after we moved more than twenty miles away. Over the years our love for Tabernacle has continued to grow and our optimism about the church’s future has never been stronger.

– Bill Welstead, Sunday Class Teacher

I am a recent graduate at the University of Richmond and I’ve been going to Tabernacle since the Advent season of my first year in college. I think what I enjoyed most about this church was the unique combination of old and new – traditional and radical. While the traditional service is held in a historic building, many of the members are new and the congregation has completely changed in the last few years.

I’ve been pretty cynical about churches at various points in my life and it bothers me most of all when churches lose sight of their mission in Christ and care more about air conditioning and carpet. In Tabernacle, I have found a church that was struggling through many growing pains because they had realized that Christ doesn’t operate on a formula. Local residents and Burmese refugees alike have gradually become a reborn church inside an old building and that is what is beautiful about TBC.

– Michael Rogers

From the moment I first spoke with Pastor Sterling Severns after receiving news of my social work internship placement, it was clear how special and unique TBC truly is. I entered TBC at a time when most things in my life were either changing dramatically, or completely new to me. I was a new graduate student at a new University in a new city full of strangers; I was overwhelmed.

During my first several weeks at TBC, I felt completely comforted by the welcoming nature of the staff and diverse members of the congregation. Even though I became connected to the church as an intern, I immediately became part of the TBC family. What I find so unique about TBC is the overwhelming spirit of community and acceptance. To the members of TBC, it does not matter how diverse of a background you come from, or which path led you to one of the many church entrances, you can always find a place in the TBC family. Through my internship at TBC I learned that even though my life is constantly changing, I can always rely on TBC as a source of comfort and stability.

– Nicky Zamostny, VCU School of Social Work Intern, 2011-2012

I sing, play bells, and love directing preschool choirs. Being able to work with children and watch them mature musically and as people has been a great joy in my life. I work with the Tabernacle Adult Group to plan trips and fun outings for the adults in our church.

This has also been very rewarding because I get to see our members enjoying themselves with fellow Christians and nurturing one another in a less structured setting. Finally, I enjoy being part of and exploring the history of the church. I have multiple interests and I’m allowed to explore many of them at Tabernacle.

– Helen Davidson

Tabernacle Baptist Church is very dear to us. We first visited a Sunday worship service as newlyweds, then joined the Young Adult Bible Study group that met weekly, and also spent time serving with the food ministry. The good people of TBC inspired us with a picture of what it could look like to be the church, and to be intentional about loving Jesus and others in his name.

Our time at Tabernacle was short, but the impact of our time there continues to last. We are so very grateful that God allowed us to be part of Tabernacle Baptist Church.

Rev. Kristen White

Rev. Kristen White is the Associate Pastor at First Baptist Church of Gretna, Virginia. Nathan,Kristen’s husband, is our webpage designer extraordinaire.

Tabernacle, more than any other church I’ve attended, is a glimpse of what the Kingdom claims to be.  It is a collection of people from every walk of life being present without charade or false humility.  It does not demand respect, but it certainly earns it.  What TBC has taught me and what I value is that TBC is willing to take a chance and do what is right rather than what always makes sense.  TBC does not have all the answers, and is not so perfect that it can say to anyone, “You have it wrong.”  Instead, it understands that it can only follow where God is leading and that its duty is to invite anybody, and everybody along for the adventure.  Tabernacle has taught me that there is a sacred value in being a community of authenticity and of chance.  These are the qualities that I miss and which make me hold “that church in the Fan” in such high esteem.

Rev. Alec Miller

Program Manager, Supportive Services at YWCA of Nashville and Middle Tennessee

Alec and Amanda Miller were ordained at Tabernacle Baptist Church on January 20, 2008.

Five years into my first pastorate (and having had plenty of conversations with other pastors about the state of congregational life), I think what makes Tabernacle unique is simply its willingness to embrace the ideas, vision and leadership of new people.

Plenty of congregations pay lip service to the need for change and renewal, but when these possibilities knock at the door, they go unrecognized and unheeded. In claiming a desire for growth, these churches spend more time lamenting the loss of the good old days and less time wondering what God might be working on today and tomorrow.

As a result, newcomers are recruited to be little more than seat fillers or to reinforce outdated structures. Long-timers refuse to trust the vision and leadership of folks who haven’t “paid their dues,” and fresh shoots of growth and life are snuffed out before they have a chance to mature and become fruitful.
The beauty of Tabernacle – and a key to its vitality – is that it is not that kind of church.

From the stories of creation, with its reminders that each of is made in God’s image, to our Baptist beliefs about soul competency, we confess that all people are precious. Tabernacle puts this conviction into practice, celebrating the gifts of all comers as they contribute to richness of the community.

Rev. Justin Joplin, Pastor

Westover Baptist Church

For me, Tabernacle has been more than just a church or even a home away from home.  Tabernacle is a place where I could belong and be pursued by God. Tabernacle was a refuge on my journey, a sanctuary for me to reflect and become more fully myself. I feel privileged and blessed to have been part of the family of God at Tabernacle Baptist Church. From the creative worship experiences to working in the food pantry, Tabernacle ministered to and through me.  Tabernacle will always be a place I call home and where I feel welcomed by the presence of God. It is a place where everyone can feel like they are held in God’s love.

Joshua Bair

I’d looked for a church home for months.  I’d gone from church to church looking for something that didn’t require I leave my seminary training at the door but something that felt like home without all the seminary fluff.  The first day I walked into Tabernacle, it was like grandmother’s living room.  Comfortable. Safe.  Friendly.  When I learned of the food pantry/clothes closet ministry, I knew I’d found the inner sanctum…the heartbeat of the church and my own soul.  Without so much as a question why, I was given a place to serve.  I was able to give and be given to in that place.  I found family in that space.  I was home.

Tabernacle has raised more than one rascal of a seminarian.  I’m grateful for the call to see us through those winsome years of theological discernment.  But, not only have you raised us, guided us, ordained us, you have been strong enough, mature enough and loving enough to let us go.  Bless us as we go, in fact.  You have served as the holy parent in an arrangement that could have easily been interpreted as someone else’s problem.  Tabernacle Baptist Church made me into the minister I am today.  I find myself referencing what TBC would do on more than one occasion in my daily ministry in Massachusetts.  When I come back to visit, it’s like that first day all over again: comfortable, safe, friendly.  I guess you never really become a stranger in grandmother’s living room.  There is always a place for you when you come home.

Thank you for loving me.

Rev. Lindsay C. Comstock

Lindsay was ordained at Tabernacle Baptist Church on January 6, 2007 and currently serves as Minister of Christian Education and Youth at The First Baptist Church Worcester, Massachusetts.

I still remember the day that I met Sterling for lunch, and we talked about the possibility of my serving as an intern at Tabernacle. Little did I know how that conversation would shape my future both personally and professionally. From the moment I set foot in the church, I was greeted with warmth, kindness, love and care. Over the course of my internship, the people of Tabernacle allowed me to try on the role of minister and to explore my calling.

They affirmed me when I needed encouragement and challenged me when I needed growth. They cheered Nathan and me on when we got engaged, and they nurtured us as we began married life together. When the call came for Nathan to serve at Central, we received a gracious send off with bread for the journey. We have such fond memories of our days at Tabernacle and only wish we could have stayed longer. I remain forever grateful that we were a part of the Tabernacle family for this season of our lives. This special church and its people will always hold a dear place in my heart.

Bryn Bagby Taylor

Bryn is the Director of Spiritual Formation at the University of Richmond and served as a Pastoral Intern in Tabernacle during the 2004-2005.