Pillar’s Government & Structure
We believe that Christ is the head of the Church (Colossians 1:18). He is the source of all that the Church is and does. His Word, the Bible, is our standard for every decision. Pillar Church’s existence is for His pleasure and purpose alone.
Pillar Church believes that all Christians are ministers and priests of God (1 Peter 2:5 10), that all Christians have received spiritual gifts from God (Romans 12:3 6), and that all Christians have a special place of service in the church body (1 Corinthians 12). Pillar Church recognizes that God’s plan for church leadership is not specified in the pages of the Bible. Therefore, Pillar Church’s structure follows the example modeled by the early Christian church as recorded in the New Testament. Where Scripture is silent we seek through prayer and biblical principals to mold the structure to a form most useful for His work.
You can read more specifically how we are governed in our church constitution by clicking the link below. Pillar Church Constitution
History of Pillar Church
In the early spring of 2002 Clint Clifton was a seminary student who had recently joined the pastoral staff of Stafford Baptist to direct music ministries. Before moving to Stafford the Clifton family visited Dumfries for the first time. During their visit God began speak to them about planting a new church in Virginia’s oldest town. “When I turned off of route 1 into Southbridge I noticed, to my left, a sea of rooftops that seemed to extend for miles. I drove through the community and saw thousands of homes and no churches! After several years of research and prayer my family began to believe that God was inviting us to plant a church in this community.”
• In January of 2004 Pastor Bill Jessup and the leadership of Stafford Baptist agreed to send Pastor Clint to Dumfries to plant a new church.
• The following month Pastor Clint presented the idea to the congregation at Stafford Baptist. He asked congregants to pray about making a commitment to join the core team.
• In May of 2004 nineteen people gathered for the first meeting. Following this meeting the group was formed into a Sunday school class.
• In July of 2004 Naethan Hendrix moved to Stafford from Geneva Alabama to assist Clint in planting the new church.
• The core team recognized two primary purposes for the church from the teaching of the Bible: worship, knowing Jesus, and evangelism, making him known. The team determined that these two purposes would be the “pillars” of this baby church. Because the church had no name core team members began referring to the group as “Pillar Church”.
• In October of 2004 Pillar Church held it’s first public worship service at Locust Shade Park. Weekly meetings continued at the park for a few weeks until cold weather forced the group to move to the Holiday Inn just north of Dumfries on Hwy 234.
• In January of 2005 Pillar Church moved to it’s current location at Swans Creek Elementary School in Southbridge.
• In February of 2005 The SBCV contributed more than $40,000 dollars to Pillar Church for the purchase of church equipment from Portable Church Industries.
• On Easter Sunday, March 27th 2005, Pillar Church held its first Official Worship service at Swans Creek Elementary School. 109 people were in attendance that morning including many of the leaders at Stafford Baptist. In the following months weekly attendance averaged around 35.
• In August of 2005 Pillar Church participated in it’s first international mission project by sending a team of three to Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• In Late 2005 Pastors Clint & Naethan began “The Church at Quantico” on Sunday Evenings in the Quantico Community Center.
• In the summer of 2006 Pastor Clint announced his intentions to join with Stafford Baptist and the Church at Quantico to plant a new church in Iceland. The project required that Pastor Clint and his family move to Iceland for 4 months beginning in September of 2006. After prayerful consideration the church decided to move forward with the Iceland Project. During Pastor Clint’s stay in Iceland Colby Garman led the ministry at Pillar Church.
• Upon Pastor Clint’s return from Iceland Pillar Church began the process of implementing church government. The Biblical Eldership model was chosen and in October of 2007 church leaders were elected.
• In November of 2007 church leadership announced plans to plant a new church in the Locust Grove area near the intersection of Hwy 3 and Hwy 20. Jonathan Davis, one of Pillar Church’s original elders, would lead the new church. Jonathan accepted God’s call to plant church in the community where he lives. Upon investigating the spiritual condition of the community Jonathan identified several core families and began meetings in late 2007.
• On March 30th, 2008, Pillar Church’s 3rd anniversary, we constituted as a church. The constitution was signed by church elders: Clint Clifton, Jonathan Davis, Ammin Spencer, and Tim Long.
Our Beliefs
Section A. God. God is the creator and ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equals and one God.
The Father: God the Father reigns with providential care over His universe. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise.
The Son: Jesus Christ is the only Son of God. He is fully God and fully man. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless human life, and offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death, and ascended into heaven where he sits at the right hand of God.
The Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is present in the world to make people aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He lives in all Christians from the moment of salvation, providing them with power for living and guidance in doing what is right.
John 16:7-13; Galatians 5:22-25; John 4:24; 1 Corinthians 15: 3-4; Philippians 2:5-11; Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4.
Section B. Scripture. The Bible is God’s word to us. Human authors wrote the Bible under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because of its divine inspiration, the Bible is the supreme source of truth for all people. We believe that every word of the Bible is inspired and that, in its original form, the Bible has no error. We also believe that the Bible plays an indispensable role for the follower of Christ. It builds up, transforms, encourages, corrects, and protects the Christian as he or she studies and applies it.
Psalms 119:11; Acts 20:32; Ephesians 5:26; 6:17; Exodus 24:4; Psalms 40:8; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 4:12; Psalm 119:105; 1 Corinthians 2:7-15; John 16:12-15
Section C. Man. Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Man’s decision to sin caused a division between Creator and creation leaving man in need of a Savior.
Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5;7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18,23; 5:6,12,19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22; Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11.
Section D. Salvation. Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
1. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior.
2. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal, upon principles of His righteousness, of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.
3. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life.
4. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.
Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:9-10,13; 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18,30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-22:5.
Section E. Evangelism and Church Planting. It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ, and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ, to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. We believe that disciples are most effectively made in the context of the local church. Therefore, church planting and missions are of utmost importance. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every Christian to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ.
Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:5-6; Isaiah 6:1-8; Matthew 9:37-38; 10:5-15; 13:18-30, 37-43; 16:19; 22:9-10; 24:14; 28:18-20; Luke 10:1-18; 24:46-53; John 14:11-12; 15:7-8,16; 17:15; 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2; 8:26-40; 10:42-48; 13:2-3; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 3:1-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:8; 2 Timothy 4:5; Hebrews 2:1-3; 11:39-12:2; 1 Peter 2:4-10; Revelation 22:17.
Section F. Ordinances. There are two ordinances for the New Testament church. The first, baptism, is the immersion of a believer in water. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. Second, the Lord’s Supper, is a symbolic act of obedience whereby followers memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26; Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; 20:7; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 10:16,21; 11:23-29; Colossians 2:12.
