His success at that rural outpost set the young, Yale-educated preacher on a path to become one of the 19th century's most effective evangelists, credited with sparking the religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening.
That little known fact of history is not lost on Rocky Veach, a seasoned but youthful-looking pastor who leads a new congregation that first gathered Sunday, September 20, in the shadow of the meeting house that launched the career of New England's "Forgotten Evangelist."
Connections Church, an independent, team-centered Christian ministry focusing on evangelism and spiritual renewal, meets at 6 p.m. Sunday in rented space in the parish hall of South Britain Congregational Church.
About 25 people attend Connections Church, some of whom are area residents who previously attended another church of the same name in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., pastored since 2006 by Rocky Veach and his wife, Bobbi, along with Associate Pastor Pablo Ruiz.
"We're not Asahel Nettleton by a long shot," Pastor Rocky told Voices. "But we love revival. We love what happens when a congregation comes into the presence of God in a fresh way, and we like to think that God has called us to bring that season of renewal to others.
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"The reason we've come here - the reason we go anywhere - is to bring a fresh wind of the spirit, to preach the fresh hope of God's word." A Missouri native, Rocky Veach is a graduate of Rhema Bible Training Center in Oklahoma. Bobbi Veach attended Oral Roberts University. In the late 1980s, the couple lived in Danbury while Rocky served as youth pastor at a church in Bethel that has since grown to become Faith Church in New Milford. Following their time in Connecticut, the Veaches spent 15 years in the Denver area, where they were associated with Christian Outreach Centre, an Australia-based denomination with a network of 2,500 churches worldwide. For six years, Rocky Veach was president of COC America, overseeing churches in North and South America. Pablo Ruiz worked with him in Chile and Argentina. "I'm no longer affiliated with the COC," Rocky explained, "but I am still affiliated with the president. As he stepped down, we followed him." Asked if the new church is nondenominational, the pastor said he prefers the term "interdenominational." "We're not disconnected," he explained. "We're trying to be more connected. We're accountable to the whole body of Christ, and we're trying to work with believers everywhere." Like its sister church in New York, Connections Church is team-oriented, with a motto of "Believing God Together." Evangelism, "helping people come to the Lord," is its goal, from a Thursday outreach in Manhattan to occasional bilingual services to a church presence at WestConn. "We're led by the Spirit and we stress the gifts of the spirit in our services," the pastor said. "Teaching the Word of God is really important to us, as opposed to denominational doctrine." Worship services at Connections differ somewhat from those taking place in the white-steepled churches that dot the greens in Voices area towns. "We try to keep our worship dynamic through contemporary music," the pastor told Voices. "We don't have hymnals. We may sing 'Amazing Grace,' but in a very contemporary way." Woodbury resident Nathan Wilda is worship leader - choir director and lead singer - at the new church. Music tends toward the style of "Hillsongs," a popular praise and worship band that grew out of a Pentecostal megachurch in Australia. "We have a band, too," said Pastor Pablo. "It's very contemporary, but also very worshipful." Banners reading "Relevant Preaching," "Dynamic Worship" and "Fellowship" flash to the hard-driving beat of Christian rock music on the home page of the ministry's website, where services from the New York church are streamed live over the Internet. The church includes a number of young people, said Pastor Rocky, who is himself the father of five daughters. "We have a good children's ministry in New York, and a good young adult ministry. We'll be building that here." Outreach has been a major focus of the New York church and will be stressed in Southbury also. Working with International Medical Relief, Pastor Pablo has coordinated three medical mission trips to Mendoza, Argentina, where more than 3,500 individuals received medical attention and a Gospel message. In time, the pastor said, he expects the new church will meet in its own space on Sunday mornings and have a full complement of services and activities. Meanwhile, he is looking forward to building relationships in Southbury. "We'd like to be a blessing to the community," he said, "particularly in the times we're living in. There's a sense that in times like these, people need God more than ever." Pastor Rocky expressed thanks to South Britain Congregational for renting space to the church, and expressed the hope that area residents will feel free to stop in on a Sunday evening. "We have great coffee and doughnuts," he said. This is no idle boast; one of Connections' members is related to Dottie of Dottie's Diner in Woodbury, purveyor of what are arguably the best doughnuts in the nation. "We're pretty casual, pretty low key," the pastor said. "We like to have a lot of fun in our church. We're not asking people to dress a certain way, be a certain way. We want it to be a place where people are free to be themselves." |
| ©Voices 2009 |
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