A Pentecostal church on Sharon Drive
The Peninsula Pentecostals sits at 404 Sharon Drive in Newport News, Virginia, just off Warwick Boulevard in the Denbigh area of the Virginia Peninsula. From a single worship campus a few minutes from Fort Eustis and within easy reach of Hampton, Poquoson, and York County, the church presents itself as a place that worships Jesus, believes in celebrating life, and loves people. The church's mission statement sums up its heartbeat in four words: "Compelling all people into a committed life of purpose in Christ Jesus." Everything from Sunday morning teaching to midweek small groups, children's ministry to student ministry, is shaped around that purpose.
Lead Pastor J.R. (Jared R.) Arango describes the church's calling in plain terms: "It's our souls' burning passion to reach this generation - the unchurched, the dissatisfied, the forgotten - and lead them into the joy of Christ, empowering them to fulfill their God-given purpose." The church's vision is to celebrate Jesus, transform lives, and expand to become the largest church, with multiple campuses, on the Peninsula and in surrounding areas. The Peninsula Pentecostals describes itself as Apostolic in message, method, and demonstration, and that adjective shows up in everything from the Sunday preaching to the baptismal schedule.
What "Apostolic" means at TPP
The Peninsula Pentecostals is part of the broader Apostolic Pentecostal tradition, and the church's statements of belief make that heritage clear. The church teaches that the Bible is the infallible Word of God and the authority for salvation and Christian living. It confesses one God who has revealed Himself as Father, in His Son Jesus Christ, and as the Holy Spirit - Jesus Christ being both God and man, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit bearing the same saving name. Salvation comes by grace through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and the gospel that the church obeys has three parts: repentance (a turning from sin), water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, with speaking in other tongues as the initial sign of that baptism.
The church also teaches that Christians are to love God and love others, live a holy life inwardly and outwardly, and worship God joyfully. The supernatural gifts of the Spirit, including healing, are described as gifts for the church today. Looking ahead, the church confesses the return of Jesus Christ to catch away His church, followed by the final resurrection and the final judgment, with the righteous inheriting eternal life and the unrighteous eternal death.
For new converts and seasoned believers alike, the church offers a structured foundation class called Abundant Life, held during the Sunday Christian Training hour in the Main Activity Hall. The course is designed to help new converts develop a strong foundation for their relationship with God, and to refresh seasoned believers in the teachings from the pulpit. A complete Abundant Life Course Kit, with teacher notes, student handouts, PowerPoint presentations, reviews, and tests, is sold through the church's online store for pastors and members who want to teach the material elsewhere.
Sunday in Newport News: training, worship, prayer, and celebration
A Sunday at The Peninsula Pentecostals fills most of the day. The rhythm begins at 10:00 am with the Christian Training hour. Adults gather in the main sanctuary to hear relevant and powerful teaching from Pastor Arango or a special speaker. At the same time, Revolution Student Ministry moves to its upstairs youth classrooms, with separate Middle School and High School rooms. KidSplash Children's Ministry holds Kids Konnection Groups during this hour in their own classrooms.
At 11:15 am, the Morning Worship Service begins. The church describes it as fun and powerful, with a full worship set and preaching. Revolution students join the adults in the sanctuary, while KidSplash hosts an entire worship experience next door in the activity building just for children. The evening begins at 6:00 pm with In Sync Pre-Service Prayer in the Activity building - a 25-minute guided prayer focused on the Evening Celebration Service that follows. At 6:30 pm, the doors open for the Evening Celebration Service, described as a powerful time of exuberant worship and powerful preaching. KidSplash children join the adults for this service.
Worship at TPP is contemporary and charismatic. Singing is energetic, preaching is described by the church as anointed, and the services are regularly called refreshing, restoring, and reviving. The church livestreams its services, and a YouTube channel has past broadcasts.
KidSplash: where children meet God on their level
Children from age 3 through 5th grade have a ministry of their own. KidSplash Children's Ministry runs every Sunday morning, with two programs. At 10:00 am, Kids Konnection Groups offer small-group time. At 11:15 am, KidSplash LIVE is a full worship experience in the activity building next door, designed so children do not have to be plugged into the adult service. During the 6:30 pm Evening Celebration Service, KidSplash children join the adults in the sanctuary.
Kim Miller serves as the Children's Ministry Director of KidSplash. The church describes her as very creative at communicating the Word of God in a way children can easily understand, and a very gifted teacher. The mission of KidSplash is to lead and mentor children of all backgrounds into experiencing the love and power of God through exciting and relevant services and activities, resulting in kids acquiring a solid foundation of truth, eagerly reaching their friends with the gospel, and cultivating a mindset that living for Jesus is the best thing ever. KidSplash also has its own Facebook presence, where families can stay connected.
Revolution Student Ministry
Middle School and High School students at TPP belong to Revolution Student Ministry. The students have their own Christian Training classes in the upstairs youth classrooms during the 10:00 am Sunday hour, separated by grade level. They join the adults for the 11:15 am Morning Worship Service, and at 6:30 pm they sit with the whole church family for the Evening Celebration Service. Students are also invited into RevGroups, which meet on Thursdays at 7:00 pm as part of the church's connection-group network. The church's student ministry is part of its overall strategy to reach the next generation - the unchurched, the dissatisfied, and the forgotten whom Pastor Arango names as the focus of TPP's outreach.
Connection Groups and the 10 Points of Connection
The Peninsula Pentecostals is intentional about getting people connected. The church runs weekly Connection Groups that meet in homes all around the Peninsula. The groups gather for food, fellowship, and relevant discussion about successes and struggles. There are groups for Ladies on Wednesdays at 7:00 pm, groups for Men on Thursdays at 7:00 pm, Leverage Groups for younger adults on Wednesdays at 7:00 pm, and RevGroups for students on Thursdays at 7:00 pm. Additional groups exist for college and career young adults, single men, single women, single parents, married men, married women, and mature adults. The church invites visitors to meet a connection group leader in person or to sign up through the church's online form.
To give the whole congregation a shared pathway for growth, the church has developed the 10 Points of Connection. Members are encouraged to grow steadily in each area:
- 1. Personal Devotion - Private Prayer and the Word. Daily time alone with God and the Bible.
- 2. Prayer - Corporate/Public Prayer. Sunday evening pre-service prayer and a monthly Hour of Power prayer meeting on Fridays from 7:30 to 8:30 pm.
- 3. The Word. Daily Bible reading and regular attendance at the Sunday Christian Training class.
- 4. Fasting. A regular practice for 21st-century apostolics, ranging from fasting a favorite food to full-day fasts.
- 5. Family. Monday is set aside as Family Night across the church calendar, with very few church events scheduled so families can invest in one another.
- 6. Worship. Gathering regularly with the body of believers to worship God together.
- 7. Evangelism. Bearing fruit by reaching the lost, as Jesus came to seek and save the lost.
- 8. Discipleship. The full-life commitment of following Jesus, beyond attendance and membership.
- 9. Personal Involvement. Serving in a TPP ministry - from parking lot assistant to KidSplash teacher, from Connection Groups to the TPP Choir.
- 10. Fellowship. Intentional, ongoing fellowship with other believers, modeled on the early church in Acts.
Prayer, fasting, and family night
Prayer is woven into the life of the church in three recurring rhythms. Sunday pre-service prayer begins at 6:00 pm and runs to 6:25 pm in the Activity building, focused on the Evening Celebration Service. The monthly Hour of Power prayer meeting gathers on a Friday evening from 7:30 to 8:30 pm. The 10 Points of Connection also call members to daily personal prayer.
Fasting is taught as a normal part of the Christian life at TPP. The church points to Jesus' own forty-day fast, to the prophet Joel's call to turn to God with fasting, and to Jesus' words that some things come only through prayer and fasting. Members are encouraged to find a form of fasting that fits their need - skipping a meal, going a full day on one evening meal, or setting aside a particular food for a season.
Monday nights are reserved for family. The church keeps Monday evenings as free as possible on the church calendar so that families can share a meal, talk, and invest in one another. The church frames this commitment around the conviction that strong Christian families strengthen the community, the state, and the nation.
40 Days of Fire: a campaign the whole church shares
The Peninsula Pentecostals is known beyond Newport News for the 40 Days of Fire, a forty-day church growth campaign created by Pastor Arango. The 40 Days of Fire is built on 2 Chronicles 7:14 - "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." The campaign is designed to take a church out of its spiritual wilderness and into a season of revival, prayer, fasting, evangelism, and growth.
The church describes the 40 Days of Fire as a God-inspired endeavor that ministers to the church body and causes the church to grow through personal and corporate evangelism. During one campaign, 240 people were filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost and over 150 were water baptized in the name of Jesus. The church sells the program to other congregations through its online store in three kits: a Resource Kit, a Promotions Kit, and an Extras Kit. Each kit costs $40, and combination kits are also available. Spanish versions of the Resource, Promotions, and Combo Kits are sold alongside the English ones.
Pastor Arango is known throughout the United Pentecostal Church International as a revivalist, a church growth leader, and a leader of leaders. He has taught church growth and leadership both locally and internationally, and he has authored books, manuals, and church growth campaigns. The 40 Days of Fire materials include endorsements from pastors across the country, including Tom Foster of Dallas First Church, Jack Cunningham of Bible World Church, and Pastor Elias Limones of The Pentecostals of the Bay Area.
Fresh Start: a baptism rally for the whole region
Each year, The Peninsula Pentecostals opens its doors to the broader community for Fresh Start, a baptism rally that focuses on what the Bible teaches about salvation and baptism in the name of Jesus. Fresh Start is a four-Sunday series in September, with anointed speakers from around the country joining Pastor Arango. The church invites people from any background, at any stage of life, to come and discover what it means to be born again. A reserved parking spot and a reserved seat are kept for first-time guests, and KidSplash is ready to welcome children into the experience. The capstone of the series is a baptism service at 7:00 pm, where people respond in faith and are baptized in Jesus' name.
Keeping the Dream Alive: a season of sacrificial giving
The church's expansion plans are tied to a campaign called Keeping the Dream Alive. The Peninsula Pentecostals calls it a season of sacrificial giving to see revival on the Peninsula. The campaign funds the church's vision to plant multiple campuses across the region. Giving is collected through an online portal, and the church teaches tithing as a regular part of Christian discipleship.
Reaching the unchurched, the dissatisfied, and the forgotten
Evangelism is central to the church's identity. The 10 Points of Connection frame evangelism as bearing fruit that remains, modeled on Jesus' own mission: "The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Members are encouraged to share their testimony, to invite neighbors, and to live in such a way that others see Christ in them. The 40 Days of Fire provides a focused season for that work, but the church teaches that personal evangelism is a daily practice.
The church also lists many ways to get involved beyond evangelism. Members can serve in Children's Ministry, Christian Education, Connection Groups, Discipleship, Home Bible Studies, Hospitality, Music, Prayer, Senior Citizens ministry, Singles ministry, Sight & Sound Productions, World Missions, and Revolution Student Ministry. The church's philosophy is that every believer has a God-given ability He wants them to share with others, and the staff helps people find their place.
What to expect on a first visit
First-time guests at The Peninsula Pentecostals can expect a friendly welcome and a clear path into the life of the church. The building is just off Warwick Boulevard on Sharon Drive. Driving directions from Richmond and DC take I-64 East to exit 250A for Fort Eustis Boulevard, then US-60 East/Warwick Boulevard, and a left on Sharon Drive. From Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach, drivers take I-64 West to exit 256A for Oyster Point Road West, then US-60 West/Warwick Boulevard, and a right on Sharon Drive.
For those using public transportation, Hampton Roads Transit routes 106 and 107 bring riders to within a hundred feet of the worship campus. Route 106 runs from Newport News through Warwick Boulevard, Denbigh, and Fort Eustis. Route 107 runs from Newport News through Warwick Boulevard and Denbigh. Local taxi service and James River Transportation are also available for those who need a ride.
The church's office is open Monday from 12:00 to 5:00 pm, and Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The office phone number is (757) 875-5454, the fax line is (757) 875-0168, and the email is info@tppnet.org. The church also has leadership information at tppnet.thepeninsulapentecostals.org and offers an app, The Peninsula Pentecostals APP, for members who want to stay connected through their phone.
For families with young children, KidSplash is ready every Sunday at both the 10:00 am and 11:15 am services, and the 6:30 pm evening service is family-friendly. For students, Revolution Student Ministry provides a place of their own. The worship style is contemporary, the preaching is described as anointed, and the dress is whatever feels appropriate for gathering with the church family.
Beyond the four walls: the TPP family on the Peninsula
The Peninsula Pentecostals is more than a Sunday experience. Connection Groups meet in homes throughout the week. The monthly Hour of Power prayer meeting draws the church together on a Friday night. Family Night on Monday keeps the home front strong. KidSplash and Revolution give children and students a place to grow. Joyful Horizons Daycare, the church's on-site early childhood program, is a daily extension of the ministry.
The church's goal is to be a place where people find family, not just a Sunday program. Whether someone is just starting to ask questions about God or has walked with Him for decades, the church's stated purpose is to walk with them. As Pastor Arango puts it, the church is committed to reaching this generation and leading them into the joy of Christ. The Peninsula Pentecostals invites anyone on the Virginia Peninsula to come as they are, find a connection group, and let the family do the rest.