The beginning. . .
In the fall of 2005, Andy was driving off I-95 onto the Lorton exit like he has hundreds of times. This time was different because God quickly impressed that he was to plant a church in Lorton. Immediately, he began arguing with God as to why he was the wrong choice for a calling like this, but Andy couldn’t shake the divine message.
The Launch. . .
In preparation for the launch of the church, picnics and surveys were done on numerous occasions to find out what the needs of the community were. There were great interactions with the community and a building excitement for the start of this new church. God specifically had given South County Church a target area to reach - 165,000 people in a 5 mile radius. The vision was to bring Freedom to our City and the mission was specific...to CARE. To care about connecting people to Christ, to care about growing in a small group and to care about serving in ministry and care projects locally and globally.
Monthly services were held January and February 2008 and we had our first weekly service on Easter – March 23, 2008. We launched with 147 people, but averaged 65 people for our first year. We have seen numerous commitments to Christ, over 40 baptisms, and an average attendance of 240 in our nine year history. Many people have come to know of South County because of our many care projects in the community. From Easter Egg Hunts, to leaf raking, to serving snow cones at the July 4th Parade, God has given us favor as we have blessed our community and shown that God cares. An additional key to our continued growth has been our small groups called Care Groups. Our goal is to have more people attending weekly care groups than we have attending Sunday morning services. We want our Care Groups to be a bridge into the church and we are seeing this happen each care group season.
Key Milestones
In 2012, we sent our first missionaries sent out of South County. Eric served as both young adult pastor and care groups pastor at SCC. Elizabeth served as our children’s director. It is a privilege for SCC to be one of their major financial supporters.
Our first church plant was launched in 2012. The Journey Church was planted in Culpeper, VA. Pastor Kevin, Tabitha, Jordan and Jaden served South County for over a year as they prepared to launch this new church.
The Best is Yet to Come
We are focusing on our 2020 Vision believing that God has a permanent place for us in the community, along with a coffeehouse and a housing ministry for families in transion.