Written by Andy Barnes

Vision and perseverance are the foundation of The Spring, a church plant in Gate City, VA. These two qualities are critical to nearly every effort that is begun, if it is to be sustained. Like a child who becomes a fine young man or woman, effective churches enjoying momentum were often born through challenge. Challenge is not a bad thing; it generally means something worthwhile is being pursued.  

I was the pastor of First Baptist of Gate City at the time. It was January 2018, and God had begun to deal with me about starting a second worship service. When I shared this with the leadership of the church, there was total buy-in and excitement. There was a significant number of young adults there who loved their church; they loved it so much that they wanted to see the birth of a worship experience there that would be as exciting and fulfilling for their children as the worship experience through the years had been to them. Part of the experience would be in moving downstairs to the coffee shop for a more relaxed experience—casual in form, but serious about pursuing and experiencing God. And so, The Spring was born. The name itself spoke of new beginnings, but not at the expense of all those faithful followers of Jesus who had given of themselves and served well for years and years.  

In pondering how I might bring unity in the midst of what could possibly be perceived as a dividing posture, I got some help from our high school basketball coach. My son was playing basketball for him at the time, and “Coach” had given the team T-shirts with a profound exhortation displayed on the back. This exhortation would be both the springboard and the sustaining foundation to the spirit into which the church was being invited: “When you’re drinking the water, don’t forget who dug the well.”  That was it!  

We would have two services—the traditional service would be called “The Well,” in honor of those faithful generations through the years who had invested themselves to see Jesus honored and exalted in their community and beyond. In addition, a generation would be raised up to invest themselves in the birth of something new. “The Spring” was born.  

As followers of Jesus, we often want to see far down the path. But my reality has been that God’s revelation—to me—most often manifests by illuminating the NEXT STEP—the “lamp to my feet.” Now, all these years later, The Spring is no longer a second service at First Gate City, but a church plant less than a mile away. And both First Gate City and The Spring are flourishing.

So we welcome The Spring to Gate City, and we are excited that you are here. Pastors Israel and Whitney Crawford and others on the leadership team are investing themselves to see generations of believers worship in Spirit and in truth, and out of their own excitement about Jesus do their part in impacting a community for God’s glory.  

Rev. Andy Barnes is BGAV’s Field Strategist for the southwest region.  

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