Who We Are
We are a local church in Ashland, Virginia.
We are passionate about creating spaces where life and faith intersect, enabling God to break down the barriers to His grace in the company of others.
No matter where you are in your life and your faith, you are welcome here.
What Defines Us
Our Seven Core Values
There Is Unity, Not Uniformity.
(Eph. 2:11-22, 4:1-6)
We don't have to share the same politics, socioeconomic class, ethnicity, or musical tastes to worship together. Our differences are important, but we are united by the belief that Jesus Christ is our savior.
Not Every Question Has An Answer.
(Psalm 131:1)
It might be easier if this wasn't true, but discerning God's will is really difficult at times. We read the Bible, we pray, we reflect on issues with other believers, but sometimes things will still be unclear on this side of heaven.
Relationships Take Priority Over Preferences.
(1 Cor. 9:19, Phil. 2:3-4)
The way we navigate our differences and face potential conflict is important. Our relationships with each other mattter more than making some compelling point. In community, we're better when we are listening, bending and stretching together.
Ministry & Service Are Not Reserved For The "Paid Professionals."
(Eph. 4:11-13)
Everyone has a unique set of strengths. The health and success of our church depend on our willingness to contribute as active participants rather than passive consumers of programming. Everyone has something to contribute.
We Are Brought To Places Of Discomfort For The Comfort Of Others.
(1 Cor. 9:19, Phil. 2:3-4)
Jesus called us to serve others, to love sacrificially. We seek to humbly look beyond our own ambition and put the needs of others before our own.
Jesus Meets Us Where We Are But He Doesn’t Leave Us There.
(John 4:4-8, 8:9-11)
This means we can come to The Branch as we are, right now. We don't have to "get our act together" first.
It Can Get Messy, So We Need Grace.
(Eph. 4:7)
As hard as we might try, we can't do this on our own. God loves, forgives and saves us not because of who we are or what we do, but because of the work of Christ. It really is that simple.
How do we live out these values every day?
We believe God has created each and every one of us with specific gifts, talents, and abilities and that he calls us to serve him with these things. At The Branch, we use two different assessment tools to help people identify their giftings and strengths to help find the most natural places for each of us to serve: the CliftonStrengths® assessment and the APEST Personal Vocation Assessment.
We aim to orient our lives and our time around the Four Spaces of Belonging: Public Space, Social Space, Personal Space, and Intimate Space. These are merely identifiers for the places and situations we all naturally form connections in. It is by using the language of these spaces in our lives and encouraging others to do so, that we see the most abundant creation of meaningful and lasting connections in community, with each other, and with God.
Check out the links below to learn more.
Where We Come From
God brought the Gibsons to the Richmond area in 2007. After helping to start Restoration Church in Mechanicsville in 2013, God began to stir Jon’s heart towards racial reconciliation, justice, and multicultural ministry. He began to meet with other Richmond area pastors to dialogue about these topics while also reading as much as he could.
During his time with Restoration, Jon took part in outreach efforts to the Ashland community. After a few years, it became apparent that the best way to reach and bless the Ashland community would be to be part of an incarnational and missional community that was located and involved in the community. Presence and proximity were key to making a difference.
Efforts to move towards starting this community began in the Fall of 2018. In January of 2019, Jon was released from Restoration to focus completely on the building of The Branch. We launched in September of 2019 through the EPC.
About The EPC
The EPC stands for Evangelical Presbyterian Church, which is a movement of churches connected across the globe. The EPC’s motto is, “In Essentials, Unity. In Non-Essentials, Liberty. In all things, Charity: Truth In Love.” This movement is bound together by seven essentials of the faith that can be found below.
