BGAV pastors and ministry leaders have spent 2026 exploring the needs people are facing in communities served by Virginia Baptist churches, and two needs rose to the forefront — housing instability and food insecurity.
They found that 42% of Virginia households experienced food insecurity during the past year. Among households with children, the figure rose to 51%. Approximately one million Virginia households were burdened by housing costs, with only 35 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households.
More than numbers
These are more than statistics, said BGAV executive director Wayne Faison in his report to the 2026 Annual Meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia.
“These are not simply numbers. These are our neighbors,” Faison told attendees. “These are our families who may be working but they’re still struggling to make ends meet. These are our children whose futures are shaped by whether they have enough food at home. These are our older adults and working families who may be forced to choose between keeping a roof over their head or meeting other basic needs.”
Virginia Baptists have heard the “clarion call,” Faison said and now must act. He introduced a new statewide initiative — “A Place at the Table, A Place to Call Home” — to help churches collaborate in helping those in their communities who are struggling.
Referencing Mattew 25:35, Faison said the initiative would not only meet physical needs but will also provide Virginia Baptists an opportunity to share Christ, “who we know is the Bread of Life … our Living Water … [and] our refuge during troubling times.”
“A table and a home are both foundational needs that affect a family’s ability to flourish,” Faison said. “Virginia Baptists are also provided with an opportunity to help our neighbors find a home in life and a home in Christ as we declare and demonstrate what it means to be followers of Christ in very tangible ways.”
Faison explained that the effort would consider what Virginia Baptist churches are already doing to meet these needs and then work to “connect the dots” for collaboration.
“Virginia Baptists, let’s serve our neighbors together, proclaim the gospel together, make disciples together, renew our communities together in the power of the resurrected Christ as we make a commitment to human dignity, to justice, to compassion, and to the well-being of our neighbors.”
Closing his report, Faison prayed, “Father, just tell us to go. And our only response to You would be, ‘Here are we. Send us.’”
Ministry team reports
Prior to Faison’s report, he gave each of BGAV’s nine ministry team leaders an opportunity to introduce themselves and share “one major thing” their team is currently offering to churches and leaders that will help them engage their own “not yet.”
The following reports and resources were noted:
— Chris Backert, BGAV associate executive director, introduced The Advent Journey, a joint project of Ascent and Impact Missions. Churches can invite members to sign up electronically for daily Advent devotionals or request printable copies for congregational use. The journey also shares global impact stories and offers churches an opportunity to participate in a seasonal offering.
— Michael Pumphrey, BGAV director of coaching, described coaching and cohorts designed to help churches navigate major changes.
— Susan McBride, BGAV congregational field staff coordinator, highlighted resources for pastor transitions.
— Impact Missions: microgrants that help ministries take root
— Dean Miller, BGAV mission development staff coordinator, described microgrants that can help churches begin ministry in response to a community need. He connected this work to the BGAV’s hunger grants, which have supported at least 120 congregations or other organizations annually in their efforts to provide food to their communities.
— Welford Orrock, Kairos collegiate/young adult coordinator, reminded messengers of Kairos’ mission to connect young adults and college students.
— Lisa Rodriguez Watson, director of Missio Alliance, previewed a planned three-day Borderlands Pilgrimage in the U.S.–Mexico borderlands. The experience is intended to help leaders notice how God is at work through people and communities often treated as distant, and to return home with “fresh eyes” for neighbors who might find a place in the church.
— Shannon Kiser, director of Fresh Expressions, described how her team helps congregations turn an idea into a small, practical experiment in community presence, such as dinner church, connecting with families of people with special needs, engaging seniors through the arts, and gathering people outdoors.
— Paul McConachie, director of Uptick, introduced new cohorts to help churches engage their communities.
— J.R. Woodward, director of V3 church planting movement, connected a church’s beginnings to people “not yet in the room” — neighbors who may be curious about Jesus but unable to imagine entering a church building. He introduced Reimagining Church, an upcoming online training intended to help churches dream about the potentials for ministry in their churches and communities.
