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Lynchburg, Va., RP Fellowship

Rekindling a Calvinist Culture

  — | Columns, Congregation of the Month | June 01, 2005



Lynchburg RP Fellowship

Location: Lynchburg, Va.

Presbytery: Great Lakes-Gulf

Organization Date: March 2003

Membership: 15

Pastor: Greg Cumbee

Origins of Work

1. Invitation: The Lynchburg Reformed Presbyterian Fellowship began as an invitation by the Triangle (Durham, N.C.) RPC session for the Cumbee family to consider planting a daughter work. Services began in March 2003 at the Patrick Henry Institute. The church currently has 15 members and 10 adherents. The oldest member is 63, and the youngest member (her grandson) is 4 months old.

2. Southern Church Extension: The RPCNA and Southern U.S. culture share a common origin—the immigration of Scots-Irish Presbyterians into Pennsylvania and the Carolinas. A number of Covenanters were exiled to the Carolinas, where congregations were established. Along with the colonization of French Huguenots, English Puritans, and Scottish Highlanders, the antebellum South developed a distinctly Calvinistic culture.

Geography and Environment

1. Where is “the South”? The cultural or “true South” stretches from central Virginia to the panhandle of Florida and west into eastern Texas. The South has four sub-regions (highlands, foothills, coastal, and deep south). The “New South” social element is more homogenized with mainstream America through government education and the media, whereas the “Old South” constituency retains a conservative antebellum worldview.

2. Lynchburg, Virginia: City Population: 64,000; Metro Population: 203,000. The Blue Ridge Mountains and the James River border this beautiful and historic city. Lynchburg is home to respected schools such as Liberty University, Christ College, Lynchburg College, Randolph-Macon Women’s College, and Sweet Briar College.

Recent Developments and Prayer Requests

  1. Pray for evangelistic and discipleship outreach to local colleges and universities.

  2. Give thanks that God is leading RP students and families to the Lynchburg area.

  3. Pray for Greg Cumbee as he joins the Christ College faculty.

  4. Give thanks for the installation of Ian Wise as pastor of Triangle RPC in Durham, N.C.

  5. Pray for the Covenanter Men’s Group currently studying the writings of J.G. Vos.

  6. Give thanks for the loving sup- port and faithful oversight of Triangle RPC.

  7. Pray that God would reestablish a strong RP presence in the South.