Glory Story
“The heartbeat of Redeeming Grace Outreach Worship Center (RGOWC) is to reach out and renew lives,” Pastor Jason Boggs said, “and fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus Christ; Your glory Lord is our story.”
Jason didn’t start out operating in an atmosphere promoting a stable lifestyle or an inclination for religion and serving God. As a former drug dealer and a gang member, he began with drugs at age ten, eventually selling them and joining a gang. He had three felonies by the age of 15, was incarcerated in December of 2007, and spent a year in jail. A person like that, some would say, has no path forward. They may be lost to a life of chaos, drugs, and retaliation against authority. But God…
A man by the name of Brother Blake came to the jail preaching and ministering to the inmates about the life of Jesus and His kingdom. His words met the softened ground of Jason’s heart, and he surrendered it to Christ.
Two months later, he began to preach to the other inmates at the jail, and he has never quit. He found himself doing a complete turnaround in his life and wanted to pursue ministry. In 2008, after sharing his testimony at the Brushy Fork Full Gospel Church, he began the process of becoming a pastor. He remained at the church to co-pastor and was ordained around 3 years later.
Next on his journey, Jason began to travel throughout the country. He went from West Virginia to California and across both coasts as an Evangelist. One night in 2018, while returning home at 4:00 a.m., God spoke to him. He was just passing by a former strip club when God said, “That’s the place I want you to build My outreach center.”
“I literally called the people up,” Jason said. “I asked what it would take for me to get this building as a facility to grow the Kingdom of God, to have a worship center for people to worship Christ, and also an outreach center, and have missions here in the United States? They told me, ‘if you fix up the place, we will give you the building rent-free for one year.’ So, we took a strip club and turned it into a church.”
The Redeeming Grace Outreach Worship Center has been open since 2018. Over the past three years, they have been blessed to lead 248 people to Christ. They have people of all ages attending, newborns to some in their nineties. It is a church alive for Christ with a mission to bring the Gospel to as many as they can.
RGOWC is located in the small town of Brandywine, WV, in Pendleton County, between Franklin and Harrisonburg, VA. Although Pendleton County has a modest population of around 200 people, they are busting at the seams. Just over the mountain in Rockingham County, VA, the population in the city of Harrisonburg is well over 54,000, with two universities within its city limits–James Madison University and Eastern Mennonite University and two other colleges close by. From this close proximity to Harrisonburg and Route 220 that leads to Petersburg, WV, and Moorefield, WV, their mission field will remain for some time to come. The urban areas are ripe for their message of hope and redemption, especially with the younger generation and the homeless. RGOWC wants to help people become who God made them to be and not focus on who they are right now.
Jason gave up his office space to accommodate their growing children’s ministry and their five services a week. Their adult classes have also seen an increase, and they had to stop their clothe’s ministry because there was simply no room available. Their focus on the ministry and community service is why they see the need to expand to help more people. But how?
“One night God woke me up,” Jason remembered, “it was 3:00 a.m., and I said to Him, ‘Lord, what do you want me to do?’ And I felt very stern in my spirit the Lord said, ‘Pray and read.’” Jason stayed up praying and reading until 4:15 a.m. then the Lord spoke to him again, “Get your phone and start looking for property.” Jason continued, “As soon as I logged onto the internet, the very first property that came up was the Franklin Elementary School. It is 44,952 square feet, and it fits everything that we need.”
A myriad of miraculous events have occurred by the direction of the Lord, this being just one example. Jason called the realtor at 5:00 a.m., expecting to leave a voice mail, and he picked up.
“No one had even talked about getting the property yet,” Jason relayed. “As soon as I talked to him, I told him to keep the building for us. We definitely want the building. One hundred percent on board with it. A couple hours later, someone called about the property. They wanted to put an offer in, but thankfully, God woke me up. And had I been an hour late, we wouldn’t have had the ability to get the building.”
The additional location would give them the much-needed space to provide housing for the homeless, expand their food pantry, create a youth center, expand their addiction program, and facilitate a larger area for church services. The youth center’s mission is to not only offer recreational programs but to serve a message of hope through Christ-driven ministry to curtail and reduce the rising suicide rates and drug use among the area’s younger generations.
“We are not looking to give handouts, but help people get their hands up.”
Pastor Jason Boggs
“We want to be able to provide a free hot meal so someone will not go hungry,” Jason added. “We are not looking to give handouts, but help people put their hands up. Redeeming Grace Outreach Worship Center is a perfect place for imperfect people. And we want to help build God’s kingdom.”
Currently, Pastor Jason, his Co-Pastor, Joe Embleton, alongside many volunteers, ministry leaders, and supporters are working to raise the additional funds needed to get the school. They already have raised $30,000 with a goal of $449,000. That may seem to be a lofty ambition, but when put into perspective, if 17,500 people gave just twenty dollars, the cost of a meal, they would be fully funded. With a small donation, someone could make a world of difference in the mountains of West Virginia that would have an eternal Kingdom purpose.
To find out more or donate to the Redeeming Grace Outreach Worship Center, visit them online at:
WEB: www.rgowc.com
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/rgowc
GoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/a-new-location-to-accommodate-a-growing-ministry
Zoom. [Screen Captures]. Retrieved 12/1/21, from Zoom.us.
