Articles by
Steve Dennie

Travel Articles

The Hills (of Virginia) are Alive

A little country church that's bursting at the seams and changing its world.

Steve Dennie

May 1989

Denny and Annette Sites continue serving the Jerusalem Chapel congregation, which continues to be a bright spot in the denomination. This article was written following a visit in February 1989.

Nestled deep in the Appalachian Mountains of central Virginia is the little town of Churchville, population 400. The town is appropriately named. There are four churches in town, and three more within a few miles.

One of those is named Jerusalem Chapel. That's where the UBs go.

Jerusalem Chapel's parsonage, built in 1972 a half-mile or so from the church, stands right up against a mountain. From the window, you can sometimes see deer and turkeys running wild. One lady in a house nearby went outside to feed her dog, and found herself facing a bear. Eldon Griffin, chairman of Jerusalem Chapel's board, killed a 250-pound bear this year.

Welcome to the mountains. But please, put away your hillbilly stereotypes--shanties, poverty, outhouses, tattered clothes. Churchville doesn't qualify. This is a beautiful piece of country where the houses are nice and modern (about 200 homes are being built within five miles of the church), the roads are well-kept, and the people hold good jobs. A good place to live, if you don't mind being a long way from the mall and MacDonalds. And a great place to attend church.

Whenever UB leaders talk about the bright spots in the denomination, Jerusalem Chapel is mentioned. Has been for five years now. The attendance has more than doubled during that time.

Jerusalem Chapel isn't doing anything fancy or especially innovative. It looks and, in most ways, acts like a typical, traditional UB church. But they are making a major impact on their corner of God's creation. And, quite frankly, that's not very typical.

The pastor at Jerusalem Chapel is Rev. Dennis Sites (yes, he's the son of Bishop Wilber L. Sites, Jr.). Denny and his wife, Annette, have three girls: Erika, Kajsa, and Tabitha.

Denny and Annette met at Huntington College. Soon after their marriage in 1981, they moved west to First UB in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, where Denny completed the three-month internship he needed to graduate from the HC School of Christian Ministries.

Then they headed north to begin their first pastorate: the UB church in Clarksburg, Wash. They stayed there two-and-a-half years.

Denny came to Jerusalem Chapel in the spring of 1984, about a month after the Church Leaders Clinic with John Maxwell in Columbus, Ohio. The church was at a low point, having just gone through a very traumatic period and a pastoral transition. The attendance had been declining for several years. On Denny's first Sunday, only 62 people attended.

But it turned around quickly. Within a few months, news of something wonderful happening began emerging from those hills. Denny notes three reasons.

The first reason was Rev. Howard Yohe, a retired minister who stepped in as interim pastor for eight weeks prior to Denny's arrival. Rev. Yohe, who had pastored Jerusalem Chapel twice, used his rapport with the people to reconcile relationships and bring about healing and forgiveness.

Denny says, "He absolutely without question laid the groundwork for the church's success."

Second, God brought about a renewal in Denny during the Church Leaders Clinic."I wasn't the same guy after that." So while Jerusalem Chapel was on a downer, Denny was sky high.

And things began happening. Many people became Christians. Excitement began building in the pews. And suddenly there was a third reason for the growth. "The people," Denny says, "learned to believe in themselves again."

Two years ago, in the spring of 1987, Jerusalem Chapel had a friend day. The attendance hit 367--not much less than the population of Churchville. That wasn't a normal Sunday; usually, attendance runs anywhere from 140 to 170 (the 1988 average was 158). But it does give an indication of what is happening at Jerusalem Chapel.

What exactly is happening?

It's good to take a look at what growing churches do. So let's do that.

The most unique ministry is the Card Shower, which shows people that Jerusalem Chapel genuinely cares about them. Every week, the bulletin gives the names and addresses of people who have a need of some kind. Members respond by sending these people cards.

They've been doing this for four years now. Around 25-30 people send cards regularly to the people listed, but it's common for people, especially those who are better-known, to receive 100 or more cards. More like a Card Downpour.

The church also reaches out to people through prayer. Consider the January 22 bulletin. Under the heading "Prayer Requests," it listed the names of 75 people. There were also a few lines of general requests concerning the spiritual life of the church: "That God will honor us with His presence in each serviceÉ.That Jesus Christ will help us to be faithful to harvest the fields."

Jerusalem Chapel was one of the original GRADE churches. Every Wednesday, 8-10 very faithful Barnabuses (encouragers) visit shut-ins and others, showing people that they care. The WMA and Men's Brotherhood, two other bright spots, make a point of responding to the needs of people..

They care about kids. The strong Christian Endeavor program ministers to about 60-70 kids every Wednesday night (around 35 people attend the adult prayer meeting). The church also pays the total amount to send about 18 kids to Rhodes Grove Camp each year.

In these and other ways, Jerusalem Chapel sends a clear message: "We care about people. We care about you."

No wonder the church grows.

Denny himself is very much a caring pastor. He loves being with people, talking to people, hugging people as they enter the church Sunday morning. He loves to love people. That contributes to another of his strengths: personal evangelism. Denny is a soul-winner.

About himself, Denny says, "I'm very loyal to our widows. Scripturally, we don't have a choice. I think God won't bless a lot of churches, because they don't meet people's needs."

Denny started a men's group, but it fell apart when a series of tragedies hit the church--two deaths and two families involved in serious accidents, all within a four-week period.

At the beginning of this year, Denny tried again from a different angle. He began a discipleship group using the GROW materials published by the Department of Church Services. Four men committed themselves to the 37-week course. They meet 5-7 p.m. on Sundays to grow deep in the Word and deep in their Christian walk.

Jerusalem Chapel burst a number of seams. They had the growth, and they had the momentum. What they didn't have was space. Jerusalem Chapel is a typical country church with a small sanctuary. They just couldn't squeeze more people into the pews.

Denny presented to the church board the three options he saw. They could break ground for a new building, they could begin holding two Sunday morning services, or they could lose their momentum and begin declining.

On Easter Sunday, 1986, they began holding two services.

Denny asked the board members to attend both morning services every Sunday. That was helpful at first, giving the impression of more people attending and allowing everyone to worship with the church leadership. But the new format took root quickly, and after four months, Denny told the board members, "Pick your service."

Denny credits the people for the success of the two-service format. He says, "I want to stress that the laypeople are the ones who made it happen."

About 60% of the people attend the 8:30 service, and 40% attend the 11:00 service. In the summer, the split is weighted 80-20 in favor of the first service. On a very cold January 22, exactly 75 people attended each service. So it varies, depending a lot on Mother Nature.

After the first service, the church is inundated with people coming for Sunday school. Everyone meets in the sanctuary for a brief opening. A multitude of kids and adults pack the pews, with no empty space. Seeing so many people jammed together--and this not the full congregation, just those who go to Sunday school--it's obvious why they hold two services.

As the congregation continued growing, they felt two needs. One was to get everyone back together in one service and regain the closeness they had known throughout their history as a single body of believers.

"Two services has not been easy," Denny explains. With the growth during the past three years, there are many new people who hardly know each other, because they attend different services. Plus something spiritually exciting might happen in one service, but not in the other. "In a sense, it does make two congregations."

The other need--a very crucial one--was for more Sunday school space.

Time to build.

A new sanctuary and additional Sunday school rooms would cost Big Bucks. Could they handle a large building project financially?

Good question. The church decided to not do anything until they had $100,000 in the bank. Denny kept the vision before the people. And suddenly, they were there. The bank account rose to $111,000.

Rev. Carlson Becker, associate director of Church Services, traveled to Churchville early last fall to help them go deeper into the building project. He gave them advice about conducting a capital fund drive, and presented some of their options (including hiring a professional firm to run the campaign. The people decided to continue using Carlson's expertise, and to do a lot of the work themselves.

Carlson Becker returned on January 22. While most of the Known Universe watched the Super Bowl, about 30 Jerusalem Chapel board members and their spouses assembled at the church for a presentation on the building program.

A board member described the facility itself--what it would include, costs, timetables, etc. With a road on one side and a cemetery on two sides, the building could be expanded in only one direction--into the parking lot. So be it.

The new sanctuary would seat 300, doubling the current capacity. The fellowship hall, on the lower level, would hold a minimum of 200 at sit-down meals and could be divided into six classrooms. Other features included two more classrooms, restrooms, a kitchen, and offices.

The total project was estimated at $385,000. The $111,000 in the bank was an excellent start. Beyond that, they planned to encourage the people to give sacrificially during the next three years to minimize interest costs. The rest of the debt would be financed over a 15-year period, but hopefully paid off in three years.

Then the program was turned over to Carlson Becker. He was there to help them with the three-year-sacrificial-giving part.

Carlson began by showing a short video by Ron Blue, a financial consultant who specializes in this area. Blue explained three levels of giving.

1. What people should give--their 10% tithe.
2. What people could give--the amount they could give sacrificially, if they felt strongly enough about the need.
3. Faith promise--the money they don't have and don't envision having, but which they will give if God makes it available.

Carlson then commented briefly on these points, and encouraged people to give out of the "could" and "faith promise" levels.

Denny and Annette had already decided how much money they would commit over the next three years, and he made it known. In turn, the board members were asked to determine their own pledges during the next week. The total of their pledges would be announced at a banquet two weeks later to demonstrate the commitment of the church leadership to the project.

Attractive brochures went far and wide to anyone who might be interested in Jerusalem Chapel's venture. It informed them of the building plans, and specifically invited them to the Loyalty Banquet on February 4. Although free to those attending (an anonymous donor underwrote it), people had to make reservations.

Carlson returned for the Loyalty Banquet, which was held in the fellowship hall of a United Methodist church in town. The 107 adults who attended heard a presentation on the proposed church building and were challenged to take part in making it a reality. Detailed building plans hung on a wall, and response forms were distributed. It was also announced that the board members had already pledged $43,500.

They concluded the evening on a very fun note, raffling off the extra pies. The lowest price paid for a pie was $22. Actually, they were getting pie a la mode, since Denny promised to provide ice cream. All of the money went into the building fund.

No financial commitments were made or sought that night. That came two weeks later.

In the days after the banquet. Carlson met individually with a few persons who had questions about certain types of giving, especially relating to taxes.

Then came Victory Day. Each morning service featured its own "Loyalty March," as they called it. People walked to the front of the church and put their pledges in a big treasure chest. When the amounts were tallied, they were thrilled to learn that the 170 people attending that day had pledged a total of $141,779 over the next three years. More pledges trickled in over the next few months, bringing the total to around $150,000.

That night, 165 people came to hear a concert by a country gospel group. Eighteen people went to the altar--some with needs, some to make a deeper commitment.

On Victory Day, everyone in the church, children and adults, received a gold-painted 20-penny (spike-sized) nail. It was intended to remind them, every time they saw it, to pray for the church.

One lady taped it to her telephone receiver; every time she picked up the phone, she would feel the nail and remember to pray for the church. A man heated the nail and drove it into a candle sitting on a mantle in his home, so that the prayer reminder towers above everything else in the room.

The groundbreaking will most likely occur later this month, and the contractor says they can probably be moved into the new building by Christmas. Meanwhile, the work goes on.

On Palm Sunday--a regular Sunday, with nothing special happening--202 people worshipped at Jerusalem Chapel. A week later, Easter, 255 people attended. That night, 245 people came for a children's Sunday school program. Ten people rededicated their lives to Christ during the first couple weeks of April, and several others made first-time commitments to Christ.

Yes, the hills are alive. The UBs of Churchville are spreading the gospel of love and salvation, and making a difference.

What makes Jerusalem Chapel so special is that it's not special. It's just a down-home group of people who meet in a little white church out in the country--just like a lot of other UB churches.