Waymaker Church in Forest, Virginia, Runs Local Outreach and Plans 2024 Mission Trips

Waymaker.Church, a restart church that began in February 1999 in Campbell County, has aimed from the start to build bridges that help people connect with Jesus, according to lead pastor Jon Dupin. Dupin described a restart church as one that branches from an original congregation.

“We started about 10 minutes outside of Lynchburg in an old country church in Rustburg, Virginia,” Dupin said.

Later, the church’s leaders sold the Rustburg building and constructed another closer to Lynchburg. At one point the church had two locations, one on English Tavern Road and one at Jefferson Forest High School. In 2011, leaders decided to close the English Tavern Road location and move the entire congregation to Jefferson Forest High School.

Dupin has been involved since the church’s beginning. He was a graduate student at Liberty University and a member of the original church in 1999 when the lead pastor asked him to serve as interim pastor while the church searched for a new lead pastor. The church now holds two services, at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., and reports regular attendance of about 1,500 people at its current location on Hooper Road in Forest.

The church offers ministry programs including small groups, teaching groups, young adult groups and groups for college students. Volunteer opportunities include helping with children’s ministry, serving with middle schoolers and becoming greeters, among others. According to the church’s website, Waymaker leads several local and international outreach programs. Its local efforts include For Lynchburg, created to serve the Lynchburg community, and Acts 6, an initiative designed to support the needs of others that the church can meet (Hebrews 13:16). Waymaker also partners with CarePortal, Impact Circles and Park View Missions, which the source describes as local ministries dedicated to helping others. Its global outreach programs focus on bringing the gospel to the nations.

Waymaker plans outreach trips in 2024 to Kenya, the Dominican Republic and Sri Lanka. One of its goals and new initiatives for 2024 is “Deep and Wide.” Dupin explained that the initiative aims to plant 25 churches in 25 years and to send out goers.

“(Goers are) people who will go out to unreached people groups and establish missionary roots,” Dupin said.

Dupin has served with Waymaker for 25 years alongside his wife. He said that one lesson has stood out to him over those years: the importance of staying faithful and connected to God’s church, God’s people, God’s word and the Holy Spirit.

“Those are the tools that he’s given us to accomplish the assignment that we have,” Dupin said. “To finish the race, as Paul says.”

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