Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 23, 1995 TAG: 9507210006
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: EXTRA1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By CODY LOWE / Staff writer
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
RICK VIA never expected to be pastor of a church.
"From the day I got saved," he said, "I had an incredible desire to share the Gospel - a burning, insatiable desire."
But he thought he would do it as an evangelist, spending a few days preaching in one place, then moving on to the next town seeking to bring the "lost" to Christ.
To prepare himself, he took "a lot of electives on evangelism" at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
And after receiving his master of divinity degree in 1981, the Bedford County native came back to the Roanoke Valley and started to work with street evangelist Bob Porter. He labored with Porter for six months, preaching on Roanoke's street corners in the shadow of Porter's big, portable wooden cross.
Then in January 1982, a small Southern Baptist congregation in the suburban Rainbow Forest subdivision of Botetourt County asked Via to be its pastor and he accepted.
"I never dreamed I would be a pastor," he said.
Thirteen and a half years later, Via, 42, believes that was God's plan for him. "I needed the seasoning, the training, the experience, the maturity that has come with that."
Now, he believes, the time has come to move on to the calling he originally felt - that of an evangelist.
"Now I can go into a church [for an evangelistic meeting] knowing something of what the pastor and congregation go through. I know the struggles, the victories, what makes churches tick."
When most people think of an evangelist, they probably think of Billy Graham - the consummate practitioner of that art.
But the vast majority of the men - and they are almost all men - who call themselves evangelists in the United States work on a much smaller scale than Graham.
They usually travel a regional circuit preaching for one to four days in churches of varying sizes. The successful ones are known for the power and persuasiveness of their preaching, which the pastors of the churches they visit hope will bring in new converts and fire up local believers.
Via is following the advice of some of the best-known of today's Southern Baptist evangelists - such as his good friend and former Southern Baptist Convention President Bailey Smith - by incorporating his ministry and seeking tax-exempt status.
He has yet to put together brochures or other materials to get the word out about his career change, but already has numerous revivals and evangelistic meetings scheduled.
Throughout his pastorate, he's been in demand as a speaker and revival leader.
"I am a Southern Baptist evangelist and I assume most of my work will be in Southern Baptist circles," he said. "But I will go where God opens doors. I preach the same Gospel everywhere."
Though Via is a lifelong Baptist, his first opportunity to preach came at a United Methodist lay gathering shortly after a religious conversion experience at Baptist-supported Bluefield College 22 years ago.
"I was baptized at age 11," he said. "I `walked the aisle' and signed the papers," but nobody explained what it meant to be a Christian to me. People seemed to spend more time explaining what it meant to be a member of a church than a member of the family of God."
Eventually, he fell away from the passion, at least, of faith. During his second year of college, "I did some soul searching... and decided 'I can't live this way any longer.'"
He "came under a deep conviction of my sin and my need for Jesus," and only then - almost a decade after his baptism - did he make a "firm commitment to the Lord."
After that first sermon at the Methodist lay meeting, "opportunities just kind of opened up to speak before weekend youth groups, Wednesday night services, youth revivals," even a trip to Germany to share the Gospel.
His gift for preaching was quickly appreciated, eventually leading him to the pulpit at Rainbow Forest Baptist Church.
Though he hadn't been anticipating a pastorate, Via threw himself into it with all the passion of an evangelist.
The little congregation claimed about 250 members at the time, but far fewer than that showed up for services.
The active members, though, were ready and committed to grow and share the "good news," Via said. The pastor must be the visionary in such work, but "there has to be a sense of teamwork," Via said.
The primary mission of the church has been to preach the Gospel so people have a chance to respond to it, Via said. "It is a team effort for the whole church family. They had a burden [sense of obligation] to bring family, friends and co-workers to services.
"A great number of those who came to know the Lord here, ended up staying here," Via said.
The congregation now totals about 2,300 members, not including people known to have moved out of the area but who have not transferred their membership. Almost half of those members are in attendance any given weekend, and they are expected to contribute slightly over $1 million to their church this fiscal year.
The congregation has become one of the denomination's shining success stories. It led the state's Southern Baptist churches in the total number of baptisms for three years running earlier this decade and has averaged more than 100 baptisms annually for the past six years. Among the nation's 39,000 Southern Baptist congregations, it was recognized as being in the top 50 in the number of youth baptisms last year.
Via intends to share the secrets of that success as part of his evangelistic mission.
What he hopes will make his approach distinctive is his ability not only to preach a compelling sermon - or series of sermons - for a revival or crusade, but to be able to consult with local church leaders "about what it takes to be an evangelistic soul-winning church."
"I know a thousand ways not to do evangelism in the local church, but I also know a few that do work."
His mission to share the Gospel and teach others how to build churches is balanced somewhat by his obligation to his wife and five children.
"I am a committed husband and father," he said. "After Jesus, my family is more important than anything in the world."
He hopes to offset the inherent financial instability of an evangelistic ministry - supported in large part by voluntary offerings at the meetings where he preaches - by soliciting continuing support from individuals and churches, as well as producing some literature and taped materials, including sermons, to sell.
He and his family will continue to live in the Blue Ridge area in the home they already own. And Via hopes to alternate trips requiring overnight stays with meetings closer to home.
That commitment to family - including time to participate in the home-schooling of his children - is also the main reason Via has never gotten deeply involved in the leadership of the new coalition of Southern Baptist conservatives in Virginia.
The denomination's "moderate" faction controls the state Southern Baptist association, while its "conservative" bloc controls the national convention.
"I'm a conservative. I used to say I was a fundamentalist, but since that has taken on negative connotations from Ayatollah Khomeini, I don't use that any more. I'm not a radical maniac.
"I do believe in what traditionally have been fundamentals of the faith - the inerrancy of Scripture, the Virgin Birth, Jesus' vicarious death on the cross, his bodily Resurrection, and his physical and literal return."
Via has supported every conservative candidate for the Southern Baptist Convention presidency and believes "the church stands with me" on those positions.
But while his congregation has hosted meetings of the new Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia group, Via has declined to assume any leadership role.
"I didn't want to bring that conflict into the church [and] I just didn't have the time to get involved," he said. "My emphasis has been on building a soul-winning church. I don't have time to get involved in all that stuff."
As a matter of principle, he said, Via has led his church to bypass the state Baptist association in making contributions to Southern Baptist causes "because we don't support some of the things Virginia Baptists support."
"We are a Southern Baptist church, but we're not trying to make disciples of the Southern Baptist Convention. We're trying to make disciples of Jesus Christ."
Now Via will be attempting that in a much larger forum.
"I've always known this would happen, I just didn't know when," he said in a recent interview.
"One of the great confirmations of my decision has been the attitude of the church. There haven't been any negatives...I've gotten the sweetest notes and cards expressing affirmation, support, confirmation. They're excited about what the Lord's going to do. They don't look on it as losing a pastor, but as an extension of their ministry."
This last month of packing and "last" meetings and weddings and sermons is difficult, though, Via conceded.
"It's hard to give up all those sweet relationships you have with people. I know they're going to be calling someone else 'pastor' and they'll transfer some of that affection they have for me to him, so there is a sense of loss.
"I'll miss the special relationship I have with these people," the departing pastor said. "But there is this immense yearning to be an evangelist. That far outweighs the negatives."
Keywords:
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by CNB