“Hometown boy” leads church plant

Brian, Danielle Waters, and family. Photo courtsey of Brian Sanders.

Brian Waters arrives at the familiar, oft-used building early on Sunday mornings. Many of the townsfolk know it well. For, though its tenants have changed over the years, the natives still refer to it as the “old Hills” building. However, they may not know that it now serves yet another function—as a church home.

Waters roams through those longstanding halls and rooms, already filled with chatter and abuzz with preparations for the day. Ministry teams are setting up chairs and sound equipment and readying the nurseries for children of all ages. The melody of worship songs hangs in the air as the music team warms up their voices and instruments. Settling in for a final glance over his sermon notes, he pauses to take it all in. Who would have thought? Brian Waters didn’t.

When he was attending Christiansburg High School as a teenager, he never thought he would be pastoring a church right down the road. When he met his wife, Danielle, at James Madison University and later worked in the businesses of landscaping and mortgages in the Shenandoah Valley, he certainly didn’t know he would be called to ministry. But, he was.

After years away in seminary, Waters finally returned to Virginia—to his home. He’s a hometown boy pastoring a new church plant, raising four children and reaching out to a community he knows and loves. It might sound like a daunting task but, somehow, it’s not.

He would not have envisioned it in 2008 when he first came to Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Blacksburg as an Associate Pastor. Nor would Grace Covenant have envisioned that, four years later, they would willingly send one-third of their congregation to start a reformed church in a neighboring town. But, he did, and they did.

And, after the faithful prayers and financial support of many, Providence Presbyterian Church opened those doors for the first time on August 12. According to Waters, “The church hopes to make much of Jesus Christ in our teaching, community and mission.” Simply, their website states they desire to be “faithful to the Scriptures, true to the Reformed faith, and obedient to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.”

Providence Presbyterian Church meets in the building now serving as Pathway Christian Academy on weekdays, also formerly known as Hills department store. An education hour begins at 9:15 a.m., and the worship service begins at 10:30 a.m. Childcare is provided. For more information please visit www.providencechristiansburg.org or contact Brian Waters directly at brian@providencechristiansburg.org. All are welcome! 

Written by Dawn E. Johnson of Dublin, Va.

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