Potomac Conference

At Shenandoah Valley Academy, students build positive relationships with Christian mentors who truly care about them—a rare and valuable experience.

Story by Debra Anderson

The Fredericksburg (Va.) church is located just a few miles from Marine Corps Base Quantico. The base’s proximity to the church makes it convenient for active-duty personnel to worship there on Sabbaths.

Lola Moore-Johnston was recently installed as the senior pastor of the Restoration Praise Center in Bowie, Md., making this the first time in the Potomac Conference that a female has been selected the lead pastor of a congregation.

This text reminds me that even though this life’s journey is riddled with challenges, I can move forward with confidence in Christ. To dwell on yesterday’s failures is not part of God’s plan. Instead, I learn from the past and move forward toward the heavenly prize—home with the Lord. By pressing on, I thrive.

Most of the doors to our churches have had to close during the pandemic, but in closing our doors, the pandemic has caused a shift in our focus from being content to remain “behind the walls” in a service to going “beyond the walls” in giving service.

Keynote speaker Charles A. Tapp, president of the Potomac Conference and chairman of the Shenandoah Valley Academy (SVA) Board of Trustees, shares a message (excerpted) at the Zirkle Gymnasium Renovation Groundbreaking Ceremony, May 14, 2021: