Last month, the PW Perspective featured One Word Community Church in Woodbridge as one of the local churches for the ‘Faith In Action’ series. On Friday, OWCC held their 8th annual Pastors and Partners Dinner, hosting more than 20 different ministries from across the country as they enjoyed fellowship, honored those servants who went beyond the call of ministerial duty, and the attendees were given an encouraging word.

It was an evening of spectacular decor and elegance upon entering the facility. The theme of the evening was focused on empowerment, which is a term that Pastor Johnny Clements and First Lady Carolyn Clements strongly believes in as a pillar of the church. They awarded the Empowerment Award to Deacon Hood for exceptional service in empowerment.

Among the scheduled events was a Bishop’s forum which allowed the panelists to answer questions on pressing issues facing the church of today, from managing the congregation through the rough waters of the global pandemic to the age-old challenge of involving the youth.

One question in particular was about embracing the age of technology as a ministry tool to bring the congregation together. “We have to be honest with this,” said Prophet Michael Dalton, who spoke at OWCC during their Sunday service, “We have to assess the manner correctly. Assembly is coming together in unity, not location. There’s people in jail that are watching your broadcast and enjoying the fellowship; now how are they assembling with you?” Dalton discussed how their church continued to reach out to the community in the pandemic, feeding 150 families a week in the parking lot, and when their doors re-opened they had a lot of people return.

“When you want youth involved,” said Dalton, referring to how to engage the youth, “you have to give them permission to fail. So, when they fail, they fail forward through mentorship and guidance.”

After the praise and worship was complete the word was given by Searcy, who talked about the principals of church health. He implored the congregants to have certainty about what their goals are. “I don’t want to spend my life building a ladder to find out it was leaning on the wrong building,” said Searcy.

Once the event concluded the Clements talked about the importance of the evening’s events. “For me it was amazing to see the support of the pastors coming in for the dinner, and now they are connected with other pastors and leaders. It’s not just regional and nationwide,” said Pastor Clements.

“This was a powerful night,” said First Lady Clements, “and I believe this is just the beginning of what God is doing for pastors, because if you can relate to someone, you know who to go to get for resources, and that’s been awesome for us.”

One Word Community Church is located at 14627 Jefferson Davis Highway in Woodbridge.