Living the Love of Jesus
Living the Love of Jesus is the mission of our church. Here at the Waynesboro Seventh-day Adventist Church, we are focused on discipleship that can be defined by these three principles: (1) spiritual growth, (2) social relations, and (3) needs-oriented service. Discipleship means we are focused on becoming more like Jesus in everything we do as we are blessed by God in order to be a blessing to our community and to the world.
Brief History of the Waynesboro Seventh-day Adventist Church
Our story is one of amazing miracles. How could two young college students start a church that has grown to more than 300 members? With prayer, faith and action. Fresh out of Columbia Union College (then Washington Missionary College, and today Washington Adventist University), Fenton From and Bill Coffman pitched their single-pole tent beside the South River at Main Street in the summer of 1942.
They had a story to tell about a Man named Jesus. They preached, sang, visited and invited, and nine people were baptized in beautiful Sherando Lake. Six more Adventist Christians from Staunton joined another young couple who were baptized at Seawright Springs, and the Waynesboro church had been planted!
At first they met in storefronts, members' homes and rented halls. Then in 1946, 29 charter members officially organized the Waynesboro Seventh-day Adventist Church, while in 1953 they moved into their own attractive stone church on Main Street.
As members kept living the love of Jesus with their family, friends, and community, the church grew. The stone church was now "bursting at the seams." Prayer, vision, sacrifice and lots of work together brought the exciting day when, on June 4, 1994, the congregation moved into its new building on Lyndhurst Road. (Adapted from the 60th Anniversary Directory)
About Seventh-day Adventists
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a mainstream Protestant church with approximately 21 million members worldwide, including 1.2 million members in North America. The Church currently operates over 8,000 schools, colleges and universities, nearly 200 hospitals, and over 50 publishing houses around the world. The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) works within communities in more than 130 countries to provide community development and disaster relief.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church seeks to enhance quality of life for people everywhere and to let people know that Jesus is coming again soon.
Adventists believe a Trinity of three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—make up one God. They made salvation possible when Jesus, the Son, came to earth as a baby in Bethlehem and lived a sinless life in accordance with the Father's will. When Jesus was crucified for the sins of the people of the world and arose from the dead on the third day, victory was won for everyone.
When He returned to heaven following the resurrection, Jesus left the Holy Spirit to serve as our Comforter and Counselor. He promised to return to earth a second time to complete His plan of salvation and take His people to heaven. Adventists are among the believers who look forward to that day.
Adventists believe that God is concerned with the quality of human life, and that everything—the way we live, eat, speak, think, treat each other, and care for the world around us—is part of His plan. Our families, our children, our jobs, our talents, our money, and our time are all important to Him.
