Frequently Asked Questions

We are a small church and do not maintain formal office hours.  However, with modern technology, someone is available to respond to your questions quickly.  Contact us by email stjohns@becometruthstrong.com or call/text 434-728-4095.    

Prior to July 2023, this church was known as St. John's United Methodist Church.  Members of our church elected to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Conference; therefore, we had to change the name of the church.  According to our historical records, the name St. John's has been attached to this church from the earliest days.  We selected our new name to honor our history and make it clear that this is a gathering place to worship God. 

St. John's Church confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  This Church seeks to serve God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as representatives within His Holy Catholic Church.  

We believe every person is a sinner and falls short of the glory God.  Each of us, as we are able, must become aware of this truth.  Therefore, God sent His only Son our Lord, Jesus so that whosoever shall call upon his name shall be saved.  Upon repenting of your sins and accepting Jesus as your Savior, we believe that you are born again and sealed for eternity by the Holy Spirit.  

It is our responsibility as a church, to help each other as we become more aware of our shortcomings and need for salvation.

We believe that salvation comes through a personal relationship with Jesus, "No man shall come to the Father, but through me."  Salvation does not come from a priest, saint, or other intermediary outside of Jesus.  Any belief otherwise is not based on scripture.  

No.

When the word catholic appears, many people immediately think of the Roman Catholic Church.  However, if you Google the term catholic, you'll find that the word is defined, as an adjective, as "including a wide variety of things; all-embracing."  Similar words used to describe the meaning of catholic include diverse, broad, or broad-based.  Therefore, when you come across the phrase, Holy Catholic Church, as written in the Apostles' Creed for example, the term simply means the whole or entire Church body as created by God.  It is not a reference to one specific belief or denomination within the church body.  

Technically we are a non-denominational church.  However, if you attend one of our worship services, you will find that we independently follow some Methodist traditions.  This means, for example, that during worship service we extend an invitation to recite the Apostles' Creed.  We also use liturgical colors to mark different seasons during the year, and we still use our old hymnals.   

Regardless of these small formalities, we welcome you just as you are.  

Great question!  It starts with our Pastor or lack thereof!  Jason is not an ordained pastor and refers to himself as a Worship Leader.  Why?  Respect!  

What qualifies him to be the worship leader?  He stood up and accepted the call to fulfill a need at his home church.  Jason began attending St. John's Church as a young child and was an active member for many years before leaving the area for college.  Even then, he maintained a relationship with the Church as members of his family continued to attend.  When the call came that the Church was in need of someone to fulfill pastoral duties, he didn't hesitate to step in regardless of the fact that he's not a pastor.  

Although his undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech is in business and not theology, he has an ever-growing relationship with Jesus, which to this point, has involved decades of hard praying, reading scripture, contemplating the meaning of scripture, and listening to hours and hours of sermons in a passionate pursuit of Truth.  From this pursuit, he suddenly found himself leading a Church.   

Church is a gathering of people assembled in God's name to seek, learn about, and worship God in faith through His Son Jesus. We do this through scripture, music, devotionals, and personal testimony among others.  

Absolutely!  Our greatest hope is that you will consider joining us for worship.  You are welcome to the cross of Jesus just as you are.  Keep in mind, however, to know God, to have a relationship with Him, to worship Him, and to have eternal salvation requires an act of denying yourself, acknowledging your failure or sin, and accepting Jesus.

We will treasure the opportunity to love you and to help guide your understanding of the cross. Our church does not exist to judge you.  We believe the world (all of humanity) has already been judged and found guilty.  Our salvation, our hope comes only from the price that was paid by Jesus.  

Worshiping God is an act within your heart, mind, and soul to deny yourself, become aware of His presence, seek His will, and glorify Him through works of faith.

You cannot worship God and worship yourself.  For either you love the One and despise the other, or you serve the other and hate the One.  Reference: Matthew 6:24 NIV. This is an ever-present, ongoing battle within the human mind: Pride vs. God.  Regardless of your belief, God wins.  Your choice is to submit to Him on His terms or reject Him.   

Truth is God.  Truth is before us and beyond us—unchangeable, eternal—for which human life is not.

In human life, evil is a heart, mind, or soul that's focused on pride or serving self to the detriment of others.

Salvation begins with acknowledging that you are a sinner or someone with a disobedient, broken nature that falls short of God's glory. Secondly, you must have a repentant heart or a desire to make every effort, to fight the good fight, in trying to repress and let go of your sin nature. Lastly, you must acknowledge that you are hopeless in your own strength and ability to live the life that He calls us to live. You must recognize the vast expanse between your imperfections and perfect, Holy God. You must overcome your pride and accept the only possible hope for salvation; the only acceptable sacrifice made on your behalf: Jesus.  He is the bridge between perfect and imperfect. 

From this humble mindset, you can reverently enter God's presence through the Holy Spirt and engage in a journey to love Him and love others—giving your time, talent, and resources.  Through this journey, He will transform your heart. You’ll look back on your life one day and won’t recognize the person that you once were. That’s what a growing relationship with Jesus can accomplish: salvation and transformation. 

We realize that national trends show a steep decline in both church attendance and belief in God.  We're also aware of the negative consequences as our world seems to be crumbling.  We believe that we're in a unique position with a unique opportunity to be a small part in God demonstrating to His people through their faith in Him, His awesome power. As a church, we're called to press forward and share the Gospel of Jesus.  In our efforts to do so, we believe that our church can become an inspiration that encourages people to turn back to God.  We hope you’ll consider joining us on our journey.   

We like our good ole hymnals.  However, each Sunday we also try to incorporate at least one Christian contemporary piece.