Hezekiah's House (interviewed by Evelyn Rivera)

 Hezekiah’s House is a new ministry movement of Asbury Church in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

Vision:

A people focused, Spirit-led ministry movement offering help, healing, and hope while reaching new people for Christ.

Community Context:

Ranson (Charlestown) is a city in Jefferson County, West Virginia. The population was 4,440 at the 2010 census. Today, Ranson is transitioning from a small industrial town, which boomed in the late 19th Century, to a community that blends major corporations with quiet residential neighborhoods and a developing commercial district. Many of the homes are modest, vernacular, frame or brick, single family, two-story dwellings or one-story cottages. Newer one-story homes, townhouses and apartment complexes have been built on vacant lots throughout Ranson with most new development being on the western and northern boundaries along the Route 9 four-lane bypass.

Pastor’s Call, Gifts and Philosophy

Pastor Ginger Medley is currently the Campus Pastor for Hezekiah’s House. She grew up in Winchester, VA and acknowledged her need for salvation at the age of 15. Ginger earned a B.A. in Mass Media Advertising from Hampton University and a Masters of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary.  In the spring of 2014 Ginger was commissioned and appointed as a provisional elder through the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church.  She has a passion for creating dynamic worship that welcomes, connects, and strengthens all people in their walk of faith. 

During the Fall of 2012, the Baltimore-Washington Conference made it clear that a vital congregation was needed in Charlestown, West Virginia and they agreed to make a financial commitment for the following three years. Over a six-month planning period, a group of 60 individuals came together as a core team who would move the vision forward. However, after much prayer and discernment, 30 high-functioning individuals have stayed on course with carrying out the vision for Hezekiah’s House.

Pastor Ginger launched her first contemporary worship service the latter part of July 2014 and has attracted between 30-35 individuals. The Praise Band leads in a time of praise and worship, Scripture is proclaimed with clarity and conviction, and the worshippers are free to hang out afterword for fellowship connecting and building relationships.

 Pastor Ginger’s main approach has been to immerse herself in the community by establishing relationships with people she meets at the thrift stores, local grocery stores, and the community Laundromat.  She has also become the Campus Pastor at Shepherdstown University where she interacts with students on a weekly basis. Out of this experience, a student was baptized and welcomed into the new faith community.

She recently initiated a small group with the mission of growing a Christ-centered community through loving relationships in a warm and safe environment. People are being accepted for who they are while at the same time encouraged to reach their full potential in God. Pastor Ginger shared that this small group has been a care-giving community as well as a place to grow in areas of serving others. They have been learning about “extravagant generosity”, looking at scripture through the lenses of pop-culture, combining a close reading of biblical texts, and  role playing to investigate the bible in an exciting and lively way.

As a top priority, Pastor Ginger continues to form prayer teams with people who are committed to praying regularly for her and the new church plant. She strongly believes that such a movement requires a strong foundation of prayer and surrounding oneself with prayer partners is the single best thing you can do to ensure success.

Critical Assessment:

            Based on my interview with Pastor Ginger, I believe that she has made the following “smart moves” and an indicative that she is on the right track:

·       Pastor Ginger is connecting with ordinary people and places. She is receptive to their life stories and in turn she has begun to bear the fruit of her witness.

·       Pastor Ginger is continuously connecting to the source of inspiration via prayer and has made that her strong foundation for doing the ministry. She has partnered with other people

·       Pastor Ginger is living out the church’s mission in the community of Charlestown and Shepherdstown, West Virginia. She views herself as a community pastor and is letting herself be known to important organizations and agencies in the community. 

·       Pastor Ginger is in the process of getting people to buy into her vision. Presently, she has a core team that has demonstrated a shared passion and is committed to working together to bring about the dream.

·       Pastor Ginger is using secular music as part of the worship experience to convey a message for God. This is a way of connecting with people through something they like or something that applies to daily living. Her theme one Sunday morning was “Get your party started” and the background music she had for that particular Sunday was “Celebrate Good Times (Come On).

Areas of Concerns:

·       Pastor Ginger could benefit from a church planter coach who could “walk” beside her by assisting with setting goals to reach important milestones, creating the “next” action steps to move forward, and to offer her a safe place, where struggles can be talked through. Unfortunately, there are financial constraints that won’t allow for this at this time.

·       Pastor Ginger is not only a church planter but also the pastor of assimilation/worship ministry for Asbury UMC which takes up most of her time. She could be reaching out to and learning more about who the key stakeholders are in her community. This may include business owners, local businesses, hospitals, social service agencies, schools, community centers, and residents. This can be a wonderful opportunity to let them know she wants to integrate into their lives as well.

·        I believe that Pastor Ginger could benefit more from connecting people into relationships and intentional spiritual formation and growth at this time. I would strongly encourage her to wait on launching a worship service.