About Welborne
Welborne UMC is an affirming congregation rooted in a legacy of generosity, service, and care. We are committed to the work of reconciliation and diversity as a faithful resistance to a divided world.
Our Story
Welborne United Methodist was planted in the Tuckahoe area of Richmond in 1953 — a small congregation gathering on the western edge of the city, asking how the church might be useful to its neighbors. More than seventy years later, the questions are still the ones that matter: how do we love this place well, how do we think honestly about scripture, how do we make room.
We are a rooted community committed to scholarship, justice, and presence. That looks like serious study and open conversation on Sundays, a food pantry that opens its doors every Monday evening, a preschool that has shaped Richmond children for generations, and worship that holds space for both deep faith and honest doubt.
Whoever walks through the door brings something this community needs — questions, laughter, music, doubt, hospitality, time. Come find your people, and a way to belong that fits the shape of your life.
Mission
To make disciples of Jesus Christ and prepare them to serve our community and around the world.
Vision
To become the loving, inclusive, and service-driven community Jesus calls us to be.
Values
Like our vision statement suggests, at Welborne UMC we are an inclusive community, committed to the holy work of welcome and affirmation for all siblings. We believe God's table is open to everyone, and we actively pursue belonging and advocacy with those who have been marginalized by the church and the world.
We will be faithful to God, the church, our community, and our commitment to life together. We will continue to faithfully show up, in all aspects of our lives, seeking reconciliation and justice.
We are driven to be the hands and feet of Christ. We will be a sending church — a church that finds the sacred opportunities to come alongside God in the healing of our neighborhoods and world. We will go and do as Jesus went and did.
We will do everything possible to move people down natural pathways of spiritual formation. Our church will foster ongoing discipleship and formation for those far along on their journey and make easy on-ramps for folks new to the faith. All individuals, from birth to death, can experience ongoing, transformative growth with us.
Meet the Team
Lead Pastor
A native of Richmond with a background in punk rock and a Master's in Divinity, Stephen is dedicated to fostering innovative faith communities where the sacred meets the accessible.
Operations & Worship
A music professional who moved to Richmond in 2017, Val oversees the operations and liturgical life of Welborne, ensuring our rhythms are both deep and welcoming.
Director of Children & Youth
With 15+ years in church ministry focused on children and youth, Megan helps young people and their families connect to the life and teachings of Jesus. A mom of three, she loves house plants, vegetables, great coffee, tea, and books.
Director of Children & Youth
Leading our Sunday Next Gen ministry — nursery, kids, and youth — with care and creativity.
Food Pantry Director
Coordinating our Monday evening pantry and the volunteers who make it possible.
Preschool Director
Shepherding Welborne Christian Preschool — a half-day weekday program for ages 2–5.
Governance
Institutions tend to look inward. They naturally build complex bureaucracies designed to preserve the past and protect the machine. But we believe that church structure should exist solely to unleash people for ministry, justice, and creative expression.
To keep our focus entirely on making disciples and creating community, Welborne operates under a Simplified Accountable Structure (SAS).
Instead of traditional, multi-layered church committees that require a culture of permission-seeking, we consolidate our legal and fiduciary governance into a single, unified Leadership Board. This frees our actual ministry teams to step out into the world, dream up new initiatives, and act in real-time. We have traded the heavy weight of an institutional machine for a trust-filled environment where teams truly own the work.
The Governance Board
A single, twelve-member body holding the combined fiduciary, legal, and personnel stewardships of Trustees, Finance, and SPPRC.
Class of 2026
Class of 2027
Class of 2029
Ex Officio
Plan Your Visit
The best way to know Welborne is to walk through the door. Sundays at 10:00 AM — coffee at 9, no dress code, every question welcome.