Ministry on the Margins in Danville

In November 2014, the Lord spoke to our hearts and began a new chapter on this journey of faith in our lives. The city of Danville, Virginia has over seventy-eight churches listed within the yellow pages. Nestled between Winstead Drive and Kimberly Avenue is where you will find Danville Christian Fellowship. A small church compared to some, yet a growing beacon of light, saturating the surrounding community with the love of God.

As I look back over the first year of pastoring Danville Christian Fellowship, I have realized over and over again that the size of the church does not determine the impact it can make on a community. Although there have been challenges along the way, we have seen and experienced great victories in the lives of our local church family. We as a church have determined to flourish right where we are as we pursue His heart for the community.
God has called us to be a safe place where the broken and hurting can come and be healed, restored, refreshed, and renewed. We are a REAL church with REAL people serving a REAL God. Our heart is to be His hands, His feet, His voice, and His touch to those in need. Over and over again we have seen the excitement and the joy of the Lord stirred within the hearts of people.

We have a “Street Beat” outreach which is where we go out into the community inviting people to church. On our first outreach, I met a man who wanted to know why I believed there was a God, but before the visit was over he let me pray with him. He also let me shake his hand and told me that he normally didn’t shake hands with anyone. Since that time he has visited our church and has called for prayer on several occasions. He is just one of the many people that the Lord has given us the privilege to minister to.

This past year we have had the honor of sharing the love of God through several outreach events. During our Community Cupid outreach, we handed out over 75 roses at an assisted living facility and a nursing home on Valentine’s Day. At our Children’s Easter Celebration and egg hunt there were over 100 individuals who enjoyed a fun filled day of activities. We had the opportunity to witness and meet many people within the community while participating in the Festival in the Park.

We had a blast throughout Son Spark Labs Vacation Bible School where everyone had the time of their lives.We have hosted numerous Nights of Worship where hungry souls have gathered together to passionatelyworship the Lord.

We realize that we are not only called to touch our community, but we are called to see the gold in each soul, the diamonds in the rough, the treasures hidden inside the lives of those that God has placed within our local congregation. Our prayer has been and will continue to be for God to send to DCF those who desire to go deeper and are hungry for the REALNESS of who He is.

We have seen Him do just that, time after time by sending those who want MORE! We have one family that came to church to support their daughter. After attending a few services, the Lord led them to start attending regularly with us. They have shared with us how they have seen their grandchildren witness and pray for people out in public. Each week we are seeing people saved, the hurt and wounded being restored, the sick being healed and made whole, the hungry being filled with the Holy Spirit, and those bound by addictions being set free. We give God all the glory!

My desire is for all churches to see that each one is an essential piece of the Body of Christ, no matter the size, location, assignment or name. God has proven that He is more than able, if we make ourselves more available!

Pastor David Bryant
Danville Christian Fellowship