Courage, Collaboration, and Compassion are Transforming a Church, Community, and City

The New Life SDA Church in the historic city of Hampton, VA was in a season of perpetual decline, averaging 25–35 attendees at its weekly services since returning from the pandemic. However, in 2025, as the church approached its 25th anniversary, the leadership made several courageous decisions to help revitalize the congregation.

The first was prioritizing children. The Pastor emptied his office and transformed it into a children’s suite. Every Sabbath, children ages 1–4 could now enjoy a Worship Experience filled with fun, snacks and faith during the main worship service.

The second courageous move was changing the worship time from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM. This shift allowed the district pastor of two congregations to spend more time building momentum and relationships at the church from week to week. It also gave families with young children more time to prepare in the morning. These two changes helped attract several young families to the church in the second quarter of the year.

The third courageous shift was disruption of routine, the community hosted an annual block party that usually disrupts the churchs’ worship experience—from limited parking to distracting noise levels. But instead of seeing it as a challenge, Pastor GP, led by the Spirit, made a bold announcement the week before: “Next week is Outreach Day. We will gather at 9:00 AM to volunteer with the Boys & Girls Club for the

Community Block Party.” The church quickly ordered t-shirts and spent the day serving at the block party—handing out water, engaging neighbors, and collecting trash. They connected with the community, appeared on the local news, and ended the day with a surprise baptism request from a young man named Angel, who later vanished without a trace—leaving many to wonder if they had unknowingly entertained one.

During the church’s 25th anniversary celebration, a bold vision was cast to renovate the building into a multipurpose space to better serve the community by providing a space for connection and fellowship and also to improve accessibility for all. Despite losing a few members along the way, the church pressed forward in faith believing the vision, and completed the renovations debt-free, and celebrated its Grand Re-Opening on November 1, 2025. A few days later, the church hosted its Compassion Project Revival for 10 days in November of 2025. Each night began with a Community Empowerment Spotlight with Q+A, featuring community partners such as:

• The City of Hampton Vice Mayor

• The Department of Innovation

• The Department of Healthy Families

• The Department of Community Engagement

• The Department of Economic Empowerment

• The Hampton Fire Department

• The Boys & Girls Club of Hampton

• Calvary Adventist School

• The Community Outreach Coalition

• Virginia BLOC

These partners engaged with more than 200 attendees each night before the revival services began. After the community empowerment spotlight, the nightly revival began with the song “Every Praise” by Hezekiah Walker, and evangelists Pastor Eddie Guerrier and Pastor Geston Pierre preached the gospel, made appeals, baptized those who made decisions, and then they distributed the nightly giveaways. By the end of the revival, 154 people made decisions for Christ. Eight weeks later, New Life is averaging a 55% retention rate for in-person attendance at Tuesday Night Bible Study and its Saturday services. Thanks to a very generous donation by the Allegheny East Conference and the willingness of the church, the community was able to be blessed before the holidays in the following ways.

• 400+ families with food.

• 300+ children with toys.

• 200+ children with brand-new Nike shoes.

• 150 individuals with monetary gift cards.

• 50+ families with diapers.

• 20 families blessed with $100 toward a 529 college savings plan.

• 20 children with sponsorships into the Boys & Girls Club after-school program.

• 3 new members with sponsorships into a phlebotomy training course.

Since the revival, New Life is grateful for the continued partnerships. The Department of Innovation, which provided surveys at the opening night of the revival with $30 gift cards, later returned to host another community survey at the church before Christmas—this time giving out $50 gift cards. Those survey engagement sessions will continue in 2026 quarterly, with Pastor GP serving as a liaison for the historic Wythe community to recruit participants. In addition, New Life was invited to collaborate as volunteers for the City of Hampton Community Christmas Giveaway at a local high school. And the compassion movement continues;

In December 2025, the church also baptized an employee from the Department of Human Services and celebrated a total number of 190 additions to the church in 2025. The new phlebotomists are preparing to serve the local community with their new careers. One long-standing member of New Life is now employed by the Boys & Girls Club next door, and one of the new phlebotomists who joined the church during the Compassion Revival is training to become the church’s new Outreach Director.

Courage lit the spark. Faith guided the vision. Collaboration built the bridge. Compassion changed lives, and the Holy Spirit is still at work.

By God’s grace, this story of revitalization is unfolding—not just for a church, but for a community and city discovering what is possible when people choose courage, collaboration, and compassion. And in Hampton, that story is only just beginning.

Stay tuned.