A Historic Sanctuary in the Heart of Ashburn
Ashburn Presbyterian Church has stood at 20962 Ashburn Road since 1878, and the congregation predates the building by two years. The church was founded in 1876 as Farmwell Presbyterian Church, named for the village that would be renamed Ashburn in 1896. The original sanctuary is a Carpenter Gothic structure, set on "ten acres, two rods, three and six tenths perch" of land just south of the community, and ten of its original twelve windows still illuminate the interior. The pews retain slanted backs with decorative wooden scrollwork at each end, and the first heating came from two potbellied stoves whose anchor points are still visible in the floor structure. In 1999 the sanctuary was designated by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources as a registered Virginia Landmark, recognizing 150 years of steady presence in Loudoun County.
Generations of families have worshipped, married, baptized, and buried loved ones in the sanctuary. Over time the congregation added Pickell Hall and a larger, newer sanctuary to accommodate growth that took the church from a small rural body in the 1990s to a multigenerational congregation today. Men's and women's groups meet under the same roof as Sunday school classes and the children's ministry, and the historic and new sanctuaries sit side by side on the original ten-acre parcel.
Sunday Mornings at APC
The Sunday rhythm at APC follows a steady pattern. Adult Sunday School begins at 9:30 AM, and the corporate worship service begins at 10:30 AM with announcements and a brief time to greet each other. The service mixes praise choruses with familiar hymns, includes a scripture reading and a children's message, and typically concludes around 11:30 to 11:45 AM. Coffee and fellowship fill the narthex from about 11:30 AM each Sunday, and the bulletin leads straight into an unhurried gathering after the service. Communion is observed on the first Sunday of each month, with worshippers choosing an individual cup of juice and a piece of bread together (Matthew 26:26-28).
Visitors are welcome at every point. APC notes that they will see "a wide variety of people, dressed in a variety of ways" on any given Sunday, and the encouragement is simply to "come as you are" - from shorts and jeans to suits and dresses. There is no requirement to be a Christian or a church member to attend or participate. Bibles are available in the pews, and all Scripture references are also displayed on the front screen, so visitors do not need to bring anything.
What about the children?
Children begin the service in the sanctuary with their parents. A few minutes in, the pastor calls them forward for the Children's Message, usually about five minutes long. Children aged three through grade five are then dismissed to Children's Church, held in the classrooms upstairs, where they are led by a Sunday school teacher and picked up after the service. The nursery is staffed every Sunday by both an adult and a teen volunteer, and it offers toys, rocking chairs, and a changing table for the youngest children (up to age three).
Children's Ministry and Vacation Bible School
Brenda Shapbell, who became the Children's Ministry Director in 2011, oversees both the Sunday children's programs and Celebration Preschool during the week. A Liberty University graduate with a Master of Education in Early Childhood, Brenda focuses on teaching children "how much Jesus loves them and how uniquely and wonderfully they are made." The church hosts Vacation Bible School each summer, a half-day program running 9:00 AM to noon for children entering kindergarten (or age five) through grade five. Crews of children with assigned adults rotate through stations called Rooted Bible Adventures, Rainforest Crafts, Treetop Treats, Wild Games, and Sticky Scriptures, framed by a lively opening Sing and Play Time Lagoon in the sanctuary and a Canopy Closing send-off each morning.
Beyond VBS, the children's ministry organizes family events throughout the year: a Trunk or Treat gathering in the parking lot, a Pumpkin Carving and Decorating afternoon in Pickell Hall, and the church's largest annual outreach event, One Starry Night in Bethlehem.
Youth Group on Sunday Evenings
The youth program serves grades 6 through 12 and meets on Sunday evenings from 6:30 to 7:45 PM during the school year. Each gathering includes dinner, Bible study, games, and fellowship. Outside of Sunday nights, the youth also meet for monthly social outings - swimming, obstacle courses, laser tag, bowling at 810 Entertainment in Dulles Town Center, roller skating, ultimate frisbee, ice skating, lock-ins, and movie nights. The annual calendar also includes a fall corn maze trip, a December gingerbread house decorating evening, and a White Elephant Christmas party.
Community Groups Across the Region
Community groups at APC gather throughout the month for fellowship, prayer, and Bible discussion. Most groups study Pastor Robert's sermon together; some work through a book of the Bible or another Christian book. The church describes a typical community group as five to fifteen people meeting for about an hour and a half, often beginning with a light meal or dessert before the discussion, then committing to pray for one another and to take on a focused mission outreach as a group.
The Current Group Rotation
APC's community groups meet across the Ashburn and Leesburg area, generally every other week. Adult Group A studies Philippians on alternating Sundays from 12:00 to 1:00 PM. Women's Group A meets every Monday from 6:00 to 7:30 PM, walking through a study book together. Women's Group B gathers the second and fourth Wednesday of each month from 10:00 to 11:00 AM. Additional adult groups appear seasonally, such as a fall Christianity Explored series running Wednesday evenings from October through November.
Men's Ministry and Man Year
APC's men gather for a monthly breakfast meeting, but the centerpiece of the men's ministry is a program called Man Year. Man Year is a one-year, challenge-based discipleship program organized around four twelve-week sprints that focus on the spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional domains of life. Men move through the program alongside a small group of brothers from the church, with each sprint oriented around loving God with soul, strength, mind, and heart. The men's ministry connects with the wider Ashburn community through additional service projects and fellowship times during the year.
Women's Ministry and the Prayer Shawl
The women's ministry at APC gathers regularly to grow as disciples of Christ - through prayer, Bible study, and unhurried time together. Activities include Wednesday morning Bible studies, a monthly lunch at Blue Ridge Grill in Ashburn, a Ladies Thankful Banquet each November, and participation in a prayer shawl and baby blanket ministry that knits and crochets gifts for those in need of comfort. Knitters and crocheters of every level are welcome to join the prayer shawl circle.
Outreach Beyond the Building
APC's outreach ministry follows the charge of Proverbs 3:27: "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act." The congregation supports local and international work through prayer, financial giving, and hands-on service, with three flagship efforts that shape its calendar year after year.
The Backpack Coalition
The Backpack Coalition sends bags of food home with local students each week so that children who might otherwise go hungry over weekends and school breaks have meals, milk, and snacks. Generous donations from church members, Backpack Buddy grant funds, and Walmart underwrite the ministry, which currently supports twenty to thirty students weekly.
Operation Christmas Child
Operation Christmas Child, in partnership with Samaritan's Purse, is one of APC's longest-running ministries. Each fall the church serves as an area drop-off location during National Collection Week, gathering filled shoeboxes from the community and shipping them to children around the world along with the gospel. Internally, the season builds to a festive Packing Party in Pickell Hall - pizza, candy, and music on a Sunday afternoon - followed by a Sunday morning church dedication when completed boxes are brought forward for prayer. APC also fundraises to build twenty online shoeboxes each year.
Helping Returning Neighbors (OAR)
Through a partnership with OAR (Opportunities, Alternatives, and Resources) at the Loudoun Adult Detention Center, APC collects comfort items and necessities for men and women reentering the community after incarceration. OAR case managers distribute the donated items to clients as they begin a new chapter.
One Starry Night in Bethlehem
For more than eight years, APC's Christmas season has been anchored by One Starry Night in Bethlehem, a free, family-friendly walk-through Christmas experience. From the moment guests arrive on the church grounds they are immersed in the sights, sounds, and smells of first-century Bethlehem - a marketplace with traditional trades and crafts, fresh-baked bread, a wood shop, and a barnyard with live animals. Visitors work their way through the town, encountering shepherds and ultimately visiting Mary, Joseph, and a living nativity. The walk-through is wheelchair accessible, with handicap parking near the entrance and a ground-level route that includes a continuous, unticketed flow: visitors may arrive anytime between 6:00 and 8:00 PM on the two evenings. Outside visitors have described the experience as immersive and unlike anything else in the area.
The church also extends its mission focus through occasional fundraisers that support missionary families, including the House family with Farthest Corners in Myanmar (Burma).
Celebration Preschool
On weekdays, the church hosts Celebration Preschool, also directed by Brenda Shapbell. Family events such as the annual Fall Festival - with carnival games, face painting, a bake sale, a Scholastic book fair, food, and more - bring the preschool community and the church together. The preschool occupies dedicated classrooms on the APC campus.
What APC Believes
APC describes itself as gospel-centered, fellowship-driven, and mission-focused. The church's mission is to glorify God in all that its members do, to make and equip disciples of Christ, and to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to love and serve others through word and deed. APC is affiliated with The Fellowship Community (TFC), a network of churches and leaders called together to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ by growing in Christ's likeness, living by God's Word, and joining in God's mission in the world. The church also references the Fellowship of Presbyterians as a wider connection.
The congregation affirms several core values: that all of Scripture points to the good news of Jesus Christ and so shapes everything they do; that the church gathers regularly in small and large groups to grow as disciples through worship, prayer, and service; and that disciples of Christ communicate the gospel through words, love, and good deeds, with generosity toward neighbors near and far. Elders provide spiritual leadership based on the patterns described in 1 Peter 5:1-4 and 1 Timothy 3:1-7, and deacons serve the caring needs of the congregation in the spirit of Acts 6:1-6.
Pastor Robert Zemke
Reverend Robert Zemke became Pastor of Ashburn Presbyterian Church in December 2020. He had spent the previous ten years as a pastor on Long Island. A University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate, Robert served as a campus staff member with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Milwaukee before earning his Master of Divinity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He then taught Bible and History at the Geneva School of Manhattan for four years while serving as a full-time youth worker, and he completed his Doctor of Ministry at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He and his wife Flavia live in Ashburn with their three children: Luisa, Benjamin, and Mariana. Robert also writes a regular blog for the church and preaches through extended book studies, including a series through Galatians titled "Freedom in Christ" and a Gospel of John series titled "Life in His Name."
Voices from the Pews
Members describe APC as a place that holds the balance between formal and casual. "It's such a warm, welcoming community. It's a great balance for a church - not too formal and stuffy but not too much of a show," one longtime attender has shared. Another puts it simply: "Hands down it's the people. This congregation, the people that go here, are the most nurturing, encouraging, and loving group of people around." A first-time visitor has written that on the first visit they were "greeted warmly by many of the worshipers" and "knew that we would return," describing the pastor's sermon, the children's message, and the music as all speaking to their family's needs at a difficult time.
Practical Information
APC is located at 20962 Ashburn Road, Ashburn, Virginia 20147. Sunday morning Adult Sunday School begins at 9:30 AM, the worship service begins at 10:30 AM, and youth group on Sunday evenings runs from 6:30 to 7:45 PM during the school year. Visitors can park on site, and One Starry Night welcomes guests with plenty of accessible parking. The office can be reached at 703-729-2012 or office@ashburnpres.org. Giving is available in the pew envelope, by mail to the church address, or online through the church's giving partner.
Sermon audio from recent series is available online, and Pastor Robert's blog keeps the wider congregation thinking through the week. A bi-weekly eBlast goes out every other Thursday with links to the pastor's blog and a calendar of upcoming events, and the church office fields questions about anything from children's ministry to missions to community groups.