The Virginia Evangelizing Fellowship, in collaboration with the Eastern Christian Conference, is playing host to ICOM in Richmond, Virginia Oct. 29 – Nov. 1. Tim Cole, the Executive Director of the VEF, shared this profile with us about who they are and what the VEF does in the Mid-Atlantic region:

The VEF is known in our region primarily as a strong force for church planting, but that only tells half our story. We’ve planted over 80 churches since our founding in the 1930’s. Since 1990 we’ve planted 31 projects around Virginia and in the adjoining states of North Carolina, Maryland, West Virginia and Tennessee. Those newer projects have celebrated more than 1000 baptisms in the past two years alone and have grown to average over 300 in attendance per plant each Sunday. We’re really proud of the work they do transforming lives and communities in our region.

The flip side of our story is the spectrum of services we provide to the 240+ existing churches around Virginia to help them accomplish their mission. The past decade has seen the development of programs like:

  • A Guest Services Seminar and training to help churches keep their guests coming back.
  • A Comprehensive Facilities Evaluation that provides churches with a fresh perspective on their most used ministry tool.
  • Fusion Groups: Peer learning communities of 4-5 ministers who covenant together for a 2-year journey to become better pastors together. We’ll have 24 of these groups active the Fall.
  • One-on-one Ministry Coaching from our team of trained, certified Ministry Coaches.
  • A regular schedule of Leadership Seminars and Retreats that raise the bar of leadership within our churches.
  • No-interest loans to help churches purchase property, make repairs or otherwise enhance their ministry.
  • Media and Branding Services that help churches design modern, relevant websites, logos, custom brochures and signage to enhance the graphic communication to their community.

All of these programs together along with the new churches we plant help us ambitiously accomplish our mission, Pursuing Kingdom Growth, through an environment of partnership and synergy among all the churches in Virginia.