World Outreach Worship Center sits on the corner of Denbigh Boulevard and Shields Road in the northern tip of Newport News, Virginia, a stretch of the city best known for its military neighbors and the steady rhythm of families passing through. Inside the church, that same crossroads feel translates into something else: a Pentecostal congregation that has opened its arms to more than fifty nationalities and built its identity around being what its own history calls a "house of prayer for all nations." It is a place where English, Spanish, and Korean worship happen under one roof, where the worship team pushes past the noise of the week into something its members describe as the presence of God, and where benevolence, missions, and discipleship are not slogans but weekly schedules.
A Heritage Built on Prayer and the Great Commission
The congregation's own story is brief and biblical. The church grew out of a desire to be a center of training - somewhere worshipers and leaders could be "inspired and equipped in outreach, prayer and worship." In the year 2000 the church adopted the vision statement that still drives it: "To reach all people, to restore the hurting, and to disciple every believer into active ministry." The Great Commission frames everything that follows; the Great Commandment, to love God with everything and to love neighbors as oneself, shapes the heart of it. A core-values list on the wall sums up the posture in five short sentences: the presence of God is valued, the Word of God is honored and lived out, prayer is trusted as the engine of the impossible, people of every background are loved, and disciples are made and sent.
Today the church's reach is wider than a single building. A second campus at 525 Industrial Park Drive houses the GAP Young Adult Ministry's central meeting space, and across the parking lot sits Denbigh Christian Academy, a kindergarten through grade eight school that has been an outreach of the church since the late 1980s. Together the two campuses, the school, and a growing list of ministries make WOW Church less a single Sunday destination than a network of small communities woven into the life of the peninsula.
Sunday and Wednesday at the Heart of the Week
The week begins to gather on Sunday morning. Sunday School classes for every age - from nursery through a sixth-eighth grade class, plus adult electives on biblical foundations, marriage, and DVD-based studies on faith and finances - meet from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. on the main campus. At 10:10 a.m. the main sanctuary fills for Morning Worship, led by Worship Pastor Larry Queen and a choir that the music ministry describes as "one big family" drawn from a mixture of ethnic and economic backgrounds. The service is livestreamed online, so the same message can be heard from a living room or a hospital room across the country.
On the first, third, and fifth Sundays, two more gatherings leave the campus. At 2:30 p.m. a team leads a service for residents at St. Francis Nursing Center, and at 2:00 p.m. the bilingual Hispanic congregation, Herederos con Cristo, meets for worship in Spanish. Wednesday night is the other anchor of the week. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for pre-service prayer; Bible study begins at 7:15 p.m. in the main sanctuary and a second adult room, while middle and high school students fill the Fellowship Hall and children gather in the Kids Church Sanctuary for Bible Blast. The service is also livestreamed, a pattern the church uses for special events as well.
One Church in Three Languages
Within the walls of the main campus, three language communities worship side by side. The English-speaking congregation fills the sanctuary on Sunday morning; the Korean congregation gathers on Sundays at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. for bilingual services, with a separate Thursday evening outreach service at 7:00 p.m.; and the Hispanic congregation, called Herederos con Cristo, holds its own bilingual worship on Sundays at 2:00 p.m. with a Wednesday Bible study at 7:00 p.m. in Room 205. Each community has its own pastor.
Elba Vazquez leads the Hispanic ministry. A lawyer by training in Puerto Rico and a full-time pastor at WOW Church since 1998, she preaches alongside her husband Luis and their family, and describes the work in plain terms: "We are here to help every Spanish-speaking person draw near to God in their language." The Korean pastor and the Hispanic pastor lead services in their own tongues, with their own choirs, while sharing the same building, the same calendar, and the same vision statement. The result is a congregation that looks more like a small city than a single flock.
Kids, Students, and Young Adults
Children's ministry runs the full age span under Pastor Greg Davidson and his wife Esther. On Sundays at 10:10 a.m., Kids Church gathers students in kindergarten through sixth grade for praise, worship, a monthly series with a "Big Word," a "Power Verse," and a "Bottom Line," plus interactive games, activities, and prizes. Preschoolers meet in Jr. Kids Church, and babies through thirty-six months are cared for in the nursery. Sunday School at 9:00 a.m. reinforces the same series in smaller groups. On Wednesday nights at 7:00 p.m., Bible Blast sends the children home with a foundational knowledge of the Bible and a points system that ends, when the congregation collectively hits one hundred thousand, in a bounce-house party.
WOW Youth, the student ministry for middle and high schoolers led by Youth Pastor Josue Vazquez, also meets on Wednesday nights. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the service begins at 7:00 p.m., with a rotating rhythm of nights: an Upper 90 night of extended worship and Bible teaching on the first Wednesday, Squad Nights of small-group Bible study on the second and fourth Wednesdays, a Q and A night on the third Wednesday where students submit questions on theology, relationships, and biblical worldview, and friendly small-group competition on any fifth Wednesday of the month. The motto is "Keep It 90," an invitation to love God first and love others second from Mark 12:29-31.
For young adults, the GAP Young Adult Ministry 18 and Up is led by Pastor JR Gurley and meets at 525 Industrial Park Drive. Sunday School for the group begins at 9:00 a.m. in the DCA gym; the main Bible study is on Wednesday nights at 7:30 p.m. at GAP Central. Prayer gatherings fill Monday and Tuesday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., a monthly Special Worship, Intercessory Prayer, and Communion Night gathers on the first Wednesday in the Upper Room, and two signature Friday events rotate through the calendar: a Night Watch prayer gathering from 11:59 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. on the first Friday, and an Encountering God worship service on the third Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Men, Women, and Seasoned Adults
Men's Ministry at WOW Church treats discipleship as a long-haul project. A weekly Saturday morning Neighborhood Prayer Walk from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. sends men into surrounding streets to pray. Teaching series run the spectrum: Authentic Manhood, built on the "33 The Series" video curriculum, traces a gospel-centered vision of manhood; the Conquer Series and the newer Warpath Series address sexual integrity and freedom from pornography; M.O.S.T. (Men Opposing Sex Trafficking) mobilizes men against demand. Family Movie Days, a fishing trip open to friends and family, and an annual Men's Gathering round out the rhythm.
Women's Ministry, anchored by the women of the church and led in part by Lavorise Love, gathers for a yearly retreat and quarterly socials - luncheons, shopping trips, movie nights, breakfast gatherings - and for Faithbuilders, a Tuesday-morning Bible study that meets from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. The SALT ministry, an acronym for Seasoned Adults Living Triumphantly, serves adults 55 and older with outings every other month for shopping, sightseeing, dinners, and travel. Anyone who wants to come along is welcome.
A House of Prayer That Runs Around the Clock
Prayer is the church's signature offering. "My house shall be called a house of prayer," the Intercessory Prayer Ministry declares from Matthew 21:13, and the schedule reflects the claim. Morning Prayer gathers on Tuesdays at 6:00 a.m. and Fridays at 5:00 a.m.; a Tuesday 8:30 a.m. prayer meeting happens over Zoom for those who cannot attend in person. Noonday Prayer runs Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Intercessory Prayer meets Monday and Tuesday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Industrial Park campus. Pre-service prayer covers the Sunday 10:10 a.m. service at 7:00 a.m. and the Wednesday Bible study at 6:00 p.m. Missionary Prayer meets Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. in the DCA library, and Saturday Soaking Prayer fills Saturday evenings at 7:00 p.m.
Behind those standing times sits a 24/7 Prayer initiative that grew out of a prophetic word the church received in 2021. Members sign up for one-hour slots, week after week, until the clock of a normal day is filled with uninterrupted prayer. A weekly Zoom gathering continues to pray toward ending abortion in Virginia. Once a month on the first Friday, the Night Watch carries the congregation from just before midnight to dawn in the main sanctuary.
Reaching the Hurting in the Neighborhood
The Benevolence Ministry, led by Pastor Terrie Council, addresses spiritual, physical, emotional, and financial needs inside the congregation and the surrounding community. An emergency pantry is open by appointment on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The Community Outreach food distribution, led by Keenan and Linda Johnson, is the most visible weekly effort: shoppers can pick from bread, desserts, produce, meat, dairy, and dry goods on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. at the Shields Road campus, with one shopping trip permitted per week.
Several other ministries extend the church's reach. The Nursing Home Ministry, coordinated by Vincent Johnson, sends volunteer teams into five area nursing homes each week to lead worship, share Scripture, and provide conversation. The Chaplaincy Ministry, begun in 2007, trains lay chaplains for home visits, hospital visits, nursing-home visits, workplace ministry, errand-running, transportation, and grief care; certified chaplains attend four quarterly training sessions a year. Military Connect, directed by Chaplain Sheila Marble, hosts a monthly Coffee with Vets event that brings in community professionals to help veterans navigate civilian life, marks Veterans Day and Memorial Day with services, and gathers the military community for an annual women's tea. And Support Groups, coordinated by Esther Baker, runs GriefShare and DivorceCare twice a year in two thirteen-week sessions - February and September - plus a shorter summer series, on Thursday nights from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
From Pregnancy Decisions to Firm Foundations
Two ministries hold the church's front and back doors. Making Life Disciples offers compassion, practical help, and spiritual support to women and men facing unplanned pregnancies, and partners with Care Net Peninsula for clinical services and material aid; twice a year the ministry runs donation drives for baby wash, towels, sleepers, and diaper bags. Firm Foundations, taught by Bill and Sandy Adams, walks new believers - or anyone wanting a stronger footing - through four topics: what Christians believe and why, how to understand the Bible, how to build a strong prayer life, and the blessings of tithing. The class uses a workbook and is built for anyone who wants to make new friends, find a ministry that fits, and discover their spiritual gifts.
Denbigh Christian Academy
Across the parking lot from the main entrance sits Denbigh Christian Academy, a kindergarten through eighth grade school that has been part of the church's outreach since January 1988, when Pastor Norman Rush Jr. became its principal. He has served as its administrator ever since, and has been WOW Church's administrative pastor since 2012. The school is integrated into the rhythm of the church - Sunday School classes for grades K through 6 meet in WOW Kids rooms, the GAP Young Adult Ministry holds its 9:00 a.m. Sunday School in the DCA gym, and Men's Ministry events sometimes use the same space.
What the Church Believes
WOW Church teaches from a Pentecostal statement of faith. The Bible is held to be verbally inspired. God is one, eternally existing in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son, conceived of the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary, crucified, buried, raised, ascended to the Father's right hand as Intercessor, and coming again in a pre-millennial return to resurrect the righteous and reign on earth a thousand years. All people have sinned and need repentance; justification and the new birth come by faith in the blood of Christ; sanctification follows through the Word and the Holy Ghost; holiness is God's standard for His people. The baptism with the Holy Ghost is a subsequent experience, with speaking in other tongues as its initial evidence. Water baptism is by immersion, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Divine healing is provided in the atonement. The Lord's Supper and the washing of the saints' feet are observed. The righteous receive eternal life; the wicked, eternal punishment.
A Staff That Reflects the Congregation
Russell and Sylvia Evenson serve as lead pastors and shape the church's prayer emphasis; their teaching seminars cover strategic intercession, prophetic intercession, worship and prayer strategies, and local-church prayer consultation. Norman Rush Jr. carries the administrative side of the church and the academy. Larry Queen has led worship here since 2002. JR Gurley has been on staff since 2001 and has served as the young adult pastor since 2004. Greg Davidson leads children's ministry with his wife Esther. Josue Vazquez leads WOW Youth. Elba Vazquez leads the Hispanic ministry. Terrie Council leads benevolence, Vincent Johnson the nursing-home outreach, Mark Ciraci the chaplaincy, Sheila Marble Military Connect, Keenan and Linda Johnson community outreach, and Jeffrey and Becki South produce the church's "Reaching the Harvest" radio and television program. Esther Baker coordinates the support groups, Bill and Sandy Adams teach Firm Foundations, and Amanda Rocheleau leads Making Life Disciples.
Stepping In
A typical first Sunday looks like this. Arrive by 9:00 a.m. for Sunday School if you want a smaller setting; the 10:10 a.m. Morning Worship is the main gathering. Dress is "come as you are." Children from nursery through sixth grade have their own rooms, and the livestream of the morning service means no one has to choose between attending and being home. Benevolence and food-pantry help is available during the week by appointment or during the four weekly distributions. Prayer is the easiest way in: the Zoom and in-person prayer times are open to anyone who wants to listen, agree, and watch the clock fill up one hour at a time. "Come join us," the Hispanic ministry writes, "find the purpose and the destiny that God has for you."