Take a walk through any community in America, and there’s a good chance you will see its moral epicenter located right in the middle: the local church.

This is especially the case in ethnic neighborhoods, and in Dumfries there is one that has stood out for its service to those in need. Winners Church for All Nations has been in the town for 11 years and strives to follow the mantra of the Great Commission by going out into the world. Recently, the PW Perspective met with Pastor Henry Godwin, who graciously took the time to talk about the recent events happening at Winners Church as well as plans for the future.

One of the biggest events was when the elected officials of Prince William County visited the church to host Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger and Senator Mark Warner: “It was such an honor to open our doors for these great leaders in our community to come and find a place where they can express their goals for the community,” said Godwin.

“Also, it was to create a platform where they can speak to the Africans in the diaspora and to answer questions. As a church, it gave us an opportunity to let people know that politics is not a bad thing. God established it and the church, as well as the politicians, must come together to make Prince William County a safer place. That is the goal, and I was so glad to see Prince William County’s leaders come out and honor them.”

In what has become commonplace for Winners Church, being recognized for their work in the community has been frequent. We asked what it meant to be honored back at the Mayor’s Ball in Dumfries last year. “God is the ultimate rewarder,” he said. “We’ve been here for 11-plus years, and from the day we started we’ve been involved in the community by making sure we initiate health care programs, back to school drives and food giveaways. We’ve also worked with the town of Dumfries and the Quantico Creek clean-up program. I’m glad we have a great mayor who recognizes these deeds, and we were invited to the House of Delegates in Richmond, where the church was celebrated. It means a lot, but we’re not done, and we’re going to continue to do what God has called us to do.”

He talked about raising a strong youth church, particularly in a time when they have competing priorities. He is reminded of when he grew up in the church. “Personally, I became saved at a very young age, and served as a youth pastor for 11 years. Starting a church, I understood the significance of starting your relationship with God early, and that is what we wanted for our youth here at Winners Church. We have a mission here to allow our youth to serve in a variety of ministries. We have young ushers, choirs and teachers, so they are involved immediately. We have a program called Elevate, so when they are in college, they stay connected to the church.”

As building the youth is imperative, it also helps to create strong families. So, how were they able to navigate through the global pandemic? “For the pandemic, we had different groups that would counsel to families, similar to the tribes of Israel. They would have assigned days when they would call in on the families to see how they were doing in those times. We didn’t lose members, and we stay connected, even if it wasn’t in person. We made sure that people had their needs met, even providing laptops and internet service so kids could continue to go to school, even before the state started doing that.”

Pastor Godwin also understood what it meant to reach out to those who are new to the American culture, and how the church connects them to the African diaspora.

“Being an immigrant, living here for twenty years, I felt it was our responsibility to point others in the right direction upon coming to this country. Whether it’s preparing them for school, job help, or financially, we wanted to give them the tools that they needed. We are blessed to have so many countries represented here, and to bring them together in this environment it has so much meaning. It’s easy to get so focused on having to do your own thing when you come to this country, so we wanted to be a place where they can experience community. We have a strong marriage counseling team on helping families grow, and emphasizing the Kingdom approach, because how marriages are done in Africa differs from they are in America.”

Despite the successes, there are still many challenges that the community faces. He talked about the recent tragedies of mass shootings across the country. “The first thing we must all know is that we live in a fallen world, and many of these things are as a result of it. Yes, God did not promise us a perfect world, but He has given us one important key: the second commandment in the New Testament,love your neighbor as yourself. Where there is love, we can conquer evil. It’s not about politics, and our leaders need to come together and think about people as human beings. Also, I’m glad that we are addressing mental health, because for so long it has been ignored in our communities. Sometimes we use spirituality to cover certain issues. Yes, we do know that God has the power to heal, and we pray over any situations as such. However, we also need to be willing to listen to people when they’re saying, “I’m going through something.”

“I use a lot of exemplary preaching in my sermons, because people need to see that while we are pastors, we are also human beings. Things happen, but we must be willing to use wisdom to direct. Also, we must teach our children to love God as themselves, because many of them have difficult challenges, and by doing so, we can impact the system and prevent as many of these tragedies from happening. Our team has reached out to the teenagers in our church to ask what they’re going through and understand from their perspective.”

What would he like to see done for Winners Church in the future? “We have the Goshen City project, and it’s a big vision, but we know it’s a vision from God. It would be an events center, a place that could have housing units to help immigrants as well as those who are experiencing issues with housing. Also, we are looking to establish Winners Academy, an affordable educational center. Finally, establish more leaders to continue work in countries such as Haiti, Dominican Republic, San Cristobal, and other places. It’s why we’re empowering the younger generation to be ready to take on the challenges of tomorrow.”

To find out more information about Winners Church, visit their Facebook page.