Within a mile and a half of Virginia Wesleyan College are a number of places where people gather to worship. At different times during the week worshippers gather in Monumental Chapel and in the Blocker Science Auditorium. Traditional Methodist, Baptist, and Episcopalian churches are at the edges of the campus. At the Weblin Shopping Center, in a building behind the 7-11, people gather to hear lectures at the Institute of Divine Metaphysical Research. A few doors down, in the opposite direction of the convenience store, one can find Christians meeting at the Rhema Outreach Center.
Listed below is information on the various religious communities found around VWC. Links to each organization's web site has been included, if they have a web presence, and can be accessed by clicking on the name or photo of each individual entry. A map is also included at the bottom of the page for help in locating where these groups meet.
VWC Chapel
The Rev. Bob Chapman has been the chaplain at Virginia Wesleyan since 1997. Although he himself is an ordained United Methodist minister, and although the college is grounded in the Methodist heritage, the Virginia Wesleyan Chapel holds events for a variety of denominations and religions. A traditional Protestant service is held during the school year every Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. (this is soon to be changed to a Wednesday evening service), and periodically a Catholic mass is held on Sundays at 4:00 p.m. For more information on worship and on Religious Life on campus, call the VWC chaplain at 757.455.3400, or you can find him, twice a week, sitting in front of the John Wesley statue, sitting at a "listening table", eating peanuts, and listening to the joys and frustrations of students, faculty, and staff.
Chinese American Family Bible Church
Although most members of the church were either born in China or are descendents of those born in China, the worship service at the Chinese American Family Bible Church is held in English. This Southern Baptist church meets in the Chinese Community Center (722 Newtown Road) each Sunday at 10:45 a.m. Visits are welcome. For more information, call the Community Center at 757.499.2675.
Ebenezer Baptist Church
Ebenezer Baptist Church (875 Baker Road) is a growing African-American church inspired by its self-description as "A Church That Reaches Out." Worship at Ebenezer is non-liturgical and interactive (members of the congregation offer vocal responses to the music and the preaching). For information about worship or activities, call 757.490.9690 (church office) or 757.490.1004 (pastor's study), or feel free to attend the 11:00 a.m. Sunday worship.
Good Samaritan Episcopal Church
Good Samaritan Episcopal Church, or "Good Sam (as it is lovingly known), is a dynamic, growing church, whose motto is "Proclaiming Christ's Embrace for the World!" In fulfilling this mission, Good Samaritan opens its doors to the community for a wide variety of programs. The Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, area civic leagues, Alcoholics Anonymous and Families Through Adoption are only a sampling of the organizations that call Good Sam "home." VWC has enjoyed a special relationship with Good Sam. Active on the campus, Good Sam has hosted monks from Taize, France, shared their facilities with the college when classroom space was needed, and has had students staff their nursery on Sunday for "a little extra pocket money." In appreciation, VWC presented Good Sam with a beautiful photo of the cross that stands in front of the church (the photo is now on display inside the church). Caring, diverse, active, diligent, and outgoing describe Good Sam's congregation. For more information feel free to visit one of two Sunday morning worship opportunities, at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. The church is at 848 Baker Road and can be reached by telephone (757.497.0729) or by e-mail (goodsam@norfolk.infi.net).
Heritage United Methodist Church
Heritage United Methodist Church (715 Baker Road) is a friendly, welcoming church near VWC (you can walk there from campus; it is a baseball's throw away from VWC's softball field). The racial diversity at the church is quite unique in this Methodist conference; parishioners include a mix of African-Americans, Asians, Euro-Americans, and Filipino-Americans. There is a youth coffeehouse on Friday nights from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Visitors are always welcome. For more information, call the church office (757.497.3943) or attend worship (Sundays at 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.).
Institute of Divine Metaphysical Research
The IDMR, or Institute of Divine Metaphysical Research, meets near campus, at the Weblin Shopping Center (it is the building behind the 7-11). The IDMR does not consider itself a "church" in the traditional sense of the word; it refers to itself as a "Non-Profit Religious and Scientific Research Organization". Alluding to scripture from the book of Hebrews, the Institute sees itself as an educational facility or as a school. As described in IDMR literature, the members' common desire is the "obtaining of factual knowledge concerning Yahweh our Elohim as he really is and actually exists and to know Yahshua Messiah, whom he has sent." Public lectures are held on Sunday (11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.), and on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (either from 7:00-9:00 p.m. or from 8:00-10:00 p.m., depending on the time of the year). For more information, call IDMR (during the lecture time) at 757.497.0377.
Servicemen's Christian Center
Affiliated with Independent Baptist churches, Missions to Military, Inc. is a Christian organization which provides a ministry to men and women in the Armed Forces. Service personnel may spend their off-duty time at this home-like atmosphere, eating with other Christians (on Tuesday and Friday evenings), gathering together for Bible studies, joining in worship, or just relaxing and gathering for recreation. For more information, visit the Military Christian Center at 5632 Shell Road or contact the Center's Director, John Seaton (464-0886).
New St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church
New St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church is a small church hidden off N. Newtown Road in Virginia Beach (at 5501 Rock Creek Lane). The Rev. Emmanuel Terrell, Jr., has been the pastor at New St. John's for nearly 25 years. In a denomination that frequently rotates pastors among churches, Rev. Terrell's ministry stands as distinctive. The worship service at St. John's is lively, participation is encouraged by everyone, and the sermons are powerful and relevant to concerns in today's society. For more information, please call the church (757.499.936) or feel free to join in worship (11:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings) at "The Church with a Vision."
Rhema Outreach Center
The Rhema Outrach Center, a nondenominational church, is located at the Weblin Shopping Center (on Baker Road), near the VWC campus. The church meets at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings. There is a Bible study at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday nights. The church is kept locked at all other times. The church's pastors are Gregory and Val Perry. For more information, please visit the Center.
Tidewater Christian Church of Christ
Every Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m., the Tidewater Christian Church of Christ meets in the Blocker Science Auditorium on the VWC Campus. Like other Churches of Christ, this congregation seeks "to throw off denominationalism, to throw away human creeds, and to follow only the Bible . . . . With the Bible as our only guide we seek to find what the original church was like and restore it as closely as possible." Worship is enthusiastic; parishioners are friendly and inviting.
Unity Church of Tidewater
"Practical Christianity" is an appropriate description of what the Unity Church of Tidewater seeks to encourage. Emphasizing that the Kingdom of God is within each person, Unity encourages individuals to follow the eternal spiritual principles and universal laws taught by Jesus and, in the process, to become mentally, physically, and spiritually healthier. Some language in the worship service is used differently than in traditional mainstream Protestant churches (e.g., an Affirmation of Oneness reads "The Christ in me greets the Christ in you and we work together for the glory of God"). The church is warm, friendly, and inviting. Feel free to join worship at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings (the church is located at 5580 Shell Road). For more information, contact the church office at 757.464.0772 or call Dial-A-Blessing at 757.420.8711.