Vital Conversations: Lessons Learned from the Margins.

Name: Terry Swiney

Spouse: Donna Swiney

Kids/Grandkids: Sarah and Stephen both grown

Church: Parkview Church of God

How long have you pastored this church? 6 years

Other churches you have served?

Cornerstone Fellowship, Hampton (now Greater Discipleship)

New Life Worship Center, Richmond (now New Life Richmond)

1. How has God confirmed His calling on your life?

God has confirmed His calling many times through life and ministry. Through the inner witness of the Holy Spirit, the confirmation of others, and prophetic revelation God has confirmed His call. Finally, God has confirmed His call by fruit to the glory of His name and Kingdom.

2. How has God proven His faithfulness in your ministry?

God has proven His Word and power both personally and in the churches we have served. God has worked greatly in the lives of people who were in need and hurting. God has saved, healed delivered, and provided.

God has opened doors to travel to different parts of the world to preach, teach, train, and reach a global harvest. God has provided the financial and spiritual resources to accomplish ministry for His glory.

3. Why do you enjoy pastoring your local congregation?

I enjoy watching people growing in their faith and into ministry service. Some enjoyment is instantaneous, and some joys are experienced over time in ministry. Seeing God’s plan for His people and His church unfolding together is a powerful thing. Seeing God’s faithfulness to Parkview through 82+ years of ministry and seeing the plan God has for our future is a true joy. Our best is yet to come.

4. Why is your local congregation vital to your community?

We are striving to make our church and ministry more relevant and vital to our community week by week. I believe God plants each in community because that church has (or should have) something that your community needs. We offer Gospel centric, Spirit-filled ministry to the southern neighborhoods of Newport News. Our community/city needs help that only God can provide. We stand with other gospel/Bible believing churches in our community to share the love and light of Christ to the 4000 households within a mile of our church.

5. What is one valuable lesson you’ve learned from a misstep or mistake in handling a situation?

As humans, sometimes we begin to feel that we can do ministry in our strength and power. Through the years of pastoral ministry, I have learned repeatedly that human effort can only produce human results. I need the help and power of the Holy Spirit in my life, family, and ministry. Human efforts equal human results but Spirit empowered ministry produces divine supernatural results! It’s the Lord’s church. I need to operate with the Lord’s power, so the fruit of ministry is supernatural, so the Lord will receive all the glory!

6. Have you had to think “outside the box” to accomplish a task or mission in the church and what was it?

We continually try things that gets the church out of the building and in the community.

1) Two to three times a year we offer Drive Thru Prayer in the church parking lot. We pray for people who drive up and we reach through the car window to agree for God’s power, healing, deliverance and salvation. We have prayed for broken homes and families, cocaine/drug addictions, various healing and blessing. 99.8% of the people who drive thru are not affiliated with Parkview and about 50% are unchurched.

2) We have given Thanksgiving dinners to our community through what we call the Great Gobbler Giveaway. 80% of the people we minister to are not affiliated with our church.

3) We have sponsored First Responders Dinners for our local heroes.

4) We have gone door to door giving Hams, Little Debbie Christmas cakes, cases of water, Christmas gifts to our neighbors.

5) For the past three years we have sponsored a community outreach on our church property, we call it Spring Fling. Free food (hot dogs, chips, drinks, popcorn, sno-cones, cotton candy), inflatables for the kids, cake walks for the adults, music, giveaways every 15 minutes (TVs, gift cards, gift baskets, etc.) and Community giveaway (free yard sales type items). Everything is free! The goal is to love our community and connect with them.

7. What are some of the future ministry goals for your church?

We have two major goals:

1) To purchase and prepare a food truck (or trailer) to take to ballfields and the lower income areas of our city to offering free food and the love of Jesus to our neighbors.

2) We also dream of a City of Refuge/Dream Center type of ministry for Newport News. A place where we can offer short-term and long-term housing, homeless ministry, counseling, rehab centers, educational opportunities for children, youth, and adults, vocational training, free laundry mat, free/low-cost grocery store style food pantry and gospel centered ministry for the whole person.

VITAL Conversations with Pastor Terry & Donna Swiney