A Lighthouse at the Oceanfront
Perched at the corner of 19th Street and Pacific Avenue, just south of I-264 and one block from the Virginia Beach boardwalk, Virginia Beach United Methodist Church has built its identity around the image of a lighthouse. The metaphor is a direct nod to the United States Life-Saving Station that has stood on the Virginia Beach coast since 1878, within walking distance of the church. Today VBUMC leans into that heritage with a mission to be "a lighthouse at the oceanfront so that everyone experiences the saving grace of God," and a building framed by "waves on both sides" - the Oceanfront on one side and the Atlantic Wave Park on the other.
Four core values flow from that mission: serving neighbors, vibrant worship, life-giving relationships, and growing spiritually. The life-saving roots are visible in the church's biggest community ministry, Potter's House, which still functions as a kind of rescue operation for the working poor, the non-working poor, and people experiencing homelessness in Virginia Beach.
Three Sunday Services, Three Worship Styles
The simplest way to understand a Sunday at VBUMC is to start with the three worship services held in three different spaces inside the building. Each includes music, prayer, and a sermon, and most services last about an hour. Holy Communion is observed on the first Sunday of each month at every service.
- 8:00 AM, Simple Traditional Worship in the Chapel.
- 9:30 AM, Modern Worship in the Oceanside Pavilion.
- 11:00 AM, Traditional Worship in the Sanctuary.
The 9:30 Modern service uses a full worship band leading contemporary Christian songs. The 11:00 Traditional service features the pipe organ, the Sanctuary Choir, and hymns, with the Sanctuary Orchestra and Notabells handbell choir joining on a monthly basis. Both Modern and Traditional services are livestreamed on YouTube, and the livestreams also appear on Facebook. Dress ranges from shorts to suits; people are simply invited to come as they are.
Between services, members and newcomers gather in the Oceanside Pavilion Welcome Center for a welcome table and a coffee bar on the second floor. A steady stream of greeters and parking attendants in bright vests and flags helps direct first-time visitors to the closest spot.
Parking, Accessibility, and What to Expect
VBUMC operates three parking lots: the main lot in front of the church, which is typically reserved for first-time guests, seniors, and single parents with infants; the 19th Street lot at the corner of 19th and Pacific, the largest of the three; and the 18th Street lot just behind the nearby Domino's Pizza. The main lot uses a one-way traffic flow to keep pedestrians safe. Handicapped parking spaces, ramps at the entryways, and elevator access to the upper floors make the building accessible. Most people arrive about 15 minutes before the service, both to find a spot and, for families, to check children in. A Plan a Visit form is available for newcomers with questions.
VBKIDS and The Current: From Nursery to Fifth Grade
Children from 6 weeks old through 5th grade are served by VBKIDS, the children's ministry led by Leslie Klosterman. Sunday morning programming is offered during both the 9:30 and 11:00 services. Check-in opens at 9:00 AM for the 9:30 service and 10:30 AM for the 11:00 service. Programming for older elementary students, kindergarten through 5th grade, takes place on the third floor, where VBKIDS and The Current preteen ministry gather for large- and small-group activities, age-appropriate lessons, and an emphasis on "we plant, we water, God grows."
Every VBKIDS volunteer is screened with a background check and completes Safe Sanctuaries training, a policy the church adopted in covenant with the Virginia Annual Conference. A parent newsletter is available, and the children's ministry maintains its own social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Vacation Bible School is held each summer, with a recent summer's theme of "Illumination Station: Shining a Light on Who Jesus Really Is" for children 3 years old through 5th grade.
C.R.E.W. Youth: Middle and High School
C.R.E.W. is the youth ministry for middle and high school students, directed by Kai Eckel. The name stands for "Grow. Connect. Make a Difference," and the program is built around three weekly touchpoints:
- Sunday mornings at 11:00 AM in the youth space, where students gather for The Gospel Through Movies Bible study, exploring biblical messages through the lens of popular films.
- Wednesday nights from 6:00 to 8:00 PM in the youth space, called Wednesday Night Crew, with friends, mentors, an engaging message, and small groups designed to deepen faith alongside peers.
- The Break on Sunday nights, a more casual opportunity to unwind and connect.
C.R.E.W. also runs Crew in the Community service events, summer and winter College Crew gatherings modeled on Acts 2 (food, fellowship, prayer, and teaching), and a confirmation pathway for middle and high schoolers coordinated through Senior Pastor Tim Craig. A permission form is required for the school year, and the youth ministry sells branded merchandise through Redbubble, with a portion of sales returning to support the program.
Potter's House: The Church's Signature Outreach
The cornerstone of VBUMC's local mission work is Potter's House, located at 1709 Pacific Avenue, Virginia Beach. Operating since the late 1990s, Potter's House is staffed and run by volunteers, with a budget based entirely on contributions from the church and the wider community. It collaborates with other local churches and non-profits to create a support system for individuals experiencing homelessness, the working poor, and the non-working poor.
Potter's House is open Tuesdays and Thursdays. From 9:30 to 10:30 AM, financial assistance is available for utility bills totaling $500 or less, with each client eligible once a year. From 9:30 to 11:00 AM, the ministry hands out bag lunches, bikes, pantry items, hygiene items, and help obtaining IDs. Food pantry orders are available once a month. Pantry information and a Pocket Pal help guide are available in Spanish.
The Bicycle Transportation Ministry, which operates out of the same building, repairs about 25 bikes a week and gives out 4 to 5 bikes to people who are gainfully employed, with cable locks included to help reduce theft. Donations of bikes in any condition are welcomed and can be dropped off during Potter's House hours or scheduled for pickup. Tim Farabaugh directs Potter's House.
Care by Community and People in Need
Laura Lawver coordinates Care by Community (CBC), an afterschool program run in partnership with W.T. Cooke Elementary School for children designated "homeless" by the city (those living in hotels, shelters, or shared housing), along with others referred by teachers for family and living situations. CBC runs Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5:30 PM, mid-October through the end of May, with snacks, homework help, recreation, and a hot dinner before church buses take students home.
On Thursday evenings, VBUMC partners with People in Need (PiN) Ministry, a Christ-based non-profit that hosts a weekly Bible study for people experiencing homelessness. The church prepares and serves a meal for about 30 to 35 participants, and volunteer groups, families, and Sunday School classes are invited to sign up. The meal is set up at 5:45 PM, with serving beginning at 6:00 PM.
Care and Support: Stephen Ministry, Prayer, and Recovery
Congregational Care is led by Clark Cundiff. Three support ministries sit under his umbrella. The Prayer Ministry invites people to submit prayer requests online; requests can be kept confidential and routed only to the prayer team and ministry staff. Stephen Ministry pairs trained laypeople with individuals going through grief, divorce, job loss, chronic or terminal illness, retirement, pregnancy, or other life crises, with weekly one-to-one meetings and around 50 hours of initial training for new Stephen Ministers.
The church building also hosts two recovery groups that meet at Potter's House. Alcoholics Anonymous meets on Sundays at 8:00 AM and Fridays at 8:00 PM; both are closed meetings for AA members and those with a desire to stop drinking. Emotions Anonymous, a 12-step group for anyone suffering from emotional difficulties, meets Tuesdays at 1:00 PM and is free and open to anyone, with no formal membership required.
Music Ministry
Music is described as "an important and beloved part of worship" at VBUMC, with a place for nearly every kind of musician. The Sanctuary Choir, directed by Bill Boardman, leads the 11:00 Traditional service each week, with rehearsals on Thursdays from 7:30 to 9:00 PM year-round. The Sanctuary Orchestra, directed by Dyanna Hornbaker, joins the 11:00 service once a month, with Wednesday rehearsals from 7:30 to 8:30 PM, September through June. Notabells, the handbell choir also under Hornbaker, performs monthly at the 11:00 service, with Thursday rehearsals from 5:45 to 7:15 PM, September through May.
For the 9:30 Modern service, Jason Arce directs a praise band that is rebuilding its roster of vocalists and instrumentalists. Michael Blanchard leads the AVL (audio, video, and lighting) team that supports both worship styles. High school instrumentalists are welcomed into the orchestra, and there are openings in the handbell choir for ringers of all experience levels.
Adult Life Groups, Seniors, and MomCo
The life of the church for adults centers on Life Groups, small gatherings modeled on the early church in Acts 2 and rooted in Wesleyan discipleship. Groups meet at a variety of times during the week, with options to browse in the church's online community platform, Realm. Resources for group leaders include RightNow Media (free to church members), a curated reading list of small-group and Wesleyan titles, and recommended podcasts.
For older adults, the S.E.A. (Seasoned Energetic Adults) Fellowship meets on the second Friday of each month from September through May, offering fellowship, inspiration, education, faith formation, and service opportunities for those 55 and better.
The MomCo (formerly MOPS International) at the Oceanfront meets two Mondays a month from 9:30 to 11:30 AM, gathering mothers of all stages for friendship, an encouraging message, and time together, with limited childcare available. Mentor Moms and childcare volunteers keep the group running.
Young adults ages 22 to 35 are invited into Anchored Young Adults, a ministry currently partnering with Nimmo United Methodist Church during a time of transition.
Seaside School: A Faith-Based Preschool
VBUMC operates Seaside School, a faith-based early childhood program for infants through Pre-K, located inside the church building. The school day starts at 8:00 AM, with part-time care ending at 3:00 PM and full-time care ending at 6:00 PM. Programs are organized by age group (Infants, Toddlers, Twos, Threes, Pre-K) and follow a curriculum built on the Virginia Standards of Education and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) framework. Weekly themed Bible lessons, drawn from the Grow Curriculum used in VBKIDS, weave music, small group, and creative activities together around a single bottom line.
Tuition for the 2026-2027 school year ranges from $757 to $884 per month for part-time care and from $965 to $1,119 per month for full-time care, with a $225 registration fee and a $100 yearly supply and curriculum fee. Seaside is led by Director Kristi Wilmoth and Assistant Director Kasia Bussey. Church membership is not required for enrollment.
Weddings, Sacraments, and Membership
Weddings at VBUMC are coordinated through Jessica Hegedus. Baptisms are celebrated by immersion, pouring, or sprinkling, always with the three-part blessing "in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." The church baptizes both infants (a parental decision) and older believers (a personal decision), and does not "re-baptize," because baptism is understood as a lifelong promise. Holy Communion, observed the first Sunday of every month, is open to all United Methodists and to Christians from other denominations, including children. Professions of Faith (public testimony in Christ) and Confirmation for middle and high schoolers round out the membership pathway. The church maintains a columbarium.
Getting Connected: Realm, Giving, and the Lead Team
Realm is the church's online community platform, used for profiles and directory access, small-group communication, event registration, volunteer sign-ups, and online giving. The Connect - Our Church Community app is available on iOS and Android. Online giving is also accepted by texting "VBUMC" to 73256, and by gifts of stocks, bonds, and IRAs.
Under the Simplified Accountability Structure (SAS) model, the Church Leadership Council, Finance Committee, Staff Parish Relations Committee, and Board of Trustees steward the church's direction and resources. Day-to-day ministry is led by Senior Pastor Tim Craig, Associate Pastor Eunji Kim, Director of Hospitality Kelly Strejeck, and the rest of the staff team, with the church office open Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, at 212 19th Street, Virginia Beach, VA 23451.