Spring Bible Studies

Veritas Church Bible Studies provide a structured opportunity to dig deep into a book of the Bible with fellow men or women. Our Bible Study leaders spend weeks studying and preparing before the launch of the study in order to provide our people with quality teaching! This spring, we are studying the book of Ezra together. Men are meeting in the auditorium, and women are meeting in a large classroom at Freedom Christian Academy. Read below for a personal note from one of our Bible Study Leaders, Jake Barnoski.

I hope that I get to see you there!
-Sam Metheny, Director of Operations

Ezra captures a beautiful time in God's redemptive story. It is a time of God faithfully bringing His people out of exile, as He promised, while also continuing to draw them near and prepare them for the coming Messiah. It puts God's faithfulness to the people of Israel on display and points forward to the hope we all have of the time when God brings us out of exile in this broken Earth into His holy and perfect kingdom. Our true home!

Come to the Bible study. It is the best hour you will have all week. End of blog.
-Jake Barnoski

Meet David

We have had the privilege of ordaining 3 new elders recently! Praise God! We know that it can be hard to get to know leadership sometimes, so we thought that it would be fun to do a blog series introducing each new pastor and a few fun facts about them. This week we want to introduce you to Pastor David Geyer.

What first brought you to Veritas?
We got orders to come to Pope Army Airfield in summer of 2019. We did a thorough online church search prior to moving, and after some church searching in person, decided to make Veritas our home during our time in Fayetteville. We were really captivated by the depth of community that we have found here.

Tell us about your role at Veritas.
My wife and I have served on a variety of different service teams in our time at Veritas. And we also currently co-lead a community group on Tuesday nights. We are excited to see what opportunities the Lord has in the new role of elder for this time in the life of Veritas church.

What are some of your hobbies?
Where to begin—my wife says I have too many hobbies! I enjoy woodworking and reading. I also could play yard games every day of the year!

What’s your favorite beverage?
Black coffee. That is all.

What is the last fiction book that you read?
Terminal list (military action thriller—a great read if you don’t like sleep). I also love to reread the Lord of the Rings.

Meet Tim

We have had the privilege of ordaining 3 new elders recently! Praise God! We know that it can be hard to get to know leadership sometimes, so we thought that it would be fun to do a blog series introducing each new pastor and a few fun facts about them. This week we want to introduce you to Pastor Tim Solt.

What first brought you to Veritas?
We had moved to Fayetteville from NJ and were looking for expository preaching and a community of people that love Jesus. After searching for a church to call home, we landed at Veritas and love doing life with the people there.

Tell us about your role at Veritas.
I have the privilege of serving in a few ways at Veritas. One is by leading a community group with my wife, Ellen. Another is by helping lead the band on Sunday morning during the gathering. And most recently, I now serve as an elder that helps shepherd, pray for, and support the people of Veritas church.

What are some of your hobbies?
Some of my favorite hobbies include soccer, volleyball, golf and outdoor games like cornhole, spikeball, and sticks and blocks (aka Kubb). I also really enjoy working on things with engines, like dirtbikes and atvs.

What’s your favorite beverage?
Favorite beverage would be a cup of coffee....followed closely by gold coke (diet caffeine free coke)

What is the last fiction book that you read?
Ready Player One

Global Partner Update - February 2023

The lives of International church planters and missionaries can seem so far off and set apart that we can forget these are normal families doing regular things to serve the Lord. I pray that, in this upcoming season, we will honor and support these church plants for the good and godly work they’re doing to advance the gospel. I pray we are also able to get a clearer picture of these church planters as people. Veritas currently supports three church-plants around the world. Please choose one of these church planting families and their congregation to pray for!

See below for some updates and prayer requests directly from these church planters!

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - Matthew 28:16-20

Jon and Linnea Ranson, Pillar Okinawa - Okinawa, Japan

  • Our first church plant, Gospel Life Church, was launched on Christmas Day of 2022. Gospel Life is focused on reaching Okinawan people with the gospel of Jesus. Please pray with us!

  • Our church planting initiative, Gospel to Okinawa, will kick off its annual cohort in March. Please pray as we engage with Okinawan pastors and ministry leaders, working together to spark church planting movements in Okinawa.

  • The Ransom family will transition away from Pillar Church, and from Okinawa, in June. Please pray for Pillar Church and for the Ransom family in this season of transition.

Daniel and Kelsi Crane, Agape Baptist Church - George, South Africa

  • Things continue at Agape with the primary focus of appointing Elders in the church within the next 14 months. I also hope to be evaluated by Agape to see if they would call me to be one of their elders. Right now I am serving as a church planter, but the church has never formally appointed its own elders.

  • Please pray: for the Spirit's leading as 13 men have committed to an "elder cohort" over the coming year. I'm thankful for the evaluation process I experienced at Veritas ... and I hope to translate that experience into this context.

  • An interesting development in South Africa: the country is struggling to keep the power on. For years we have been experiencing "load-shedding" where the power is turned off to entire communities for 4-6 hours every day. Recently we were without power for 6-12 hours a day. We often do Bible-study by flashlight, and we’ve got a car battery powering the fridge. But for now, Kelsi has become very adept at making dinner without power, and I'm learning to prepare sermons without access to online resources. Just another one of life's curve-balls.

John and Caroline Norris, Redeemer Al Ain - Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

  • Pray for more unreached people to hear the gospel and to be saved here in Al Ain. It’s an amazing place with so many unreached, but God must call them; and He answers prayer.

  • Pray for our membership to grow in speaking the truth in love to one another, and in boldly and sacrificially caring for the lost.

  • Pray for Caroline as she starts a new year of homeschooling with our children. She’s made several adjustments to the curriculum that have required a lot of work and energy this summer. Pray for strength for her, and for our kids to grow in the true knowledge of God and His world.

  • Praise the Lord for allowing us to move back to the Al Ain Convention Centre on Saturday mornings. We have prayed for this for a long time, and so our measure of gratitude is high! Pray that moving back would be an encouragement to our members and a benefit to the lost in our part of the city.

Local Partner Update

Part of Veritas’s Vision is to be For the City, and the main way we carry that out is through our Local Partners. These are organizations throughout Fayetteville and surrounding areas that have shown to love and care for people in need, and often in crisis. They also do this work while unapologetically giving the credit and glory to Christ. I’ve been blessed to learn and work with these organizations throughout the years, and I’d love to share more some of the amazing things happening through them, as well as ways you can get involved!

For more information about any of these organizations, join these Local Partner groups!

Operation Inasmuch (OIAM)

What began in 1995 as bi-annual neighborhood revitalization days has transformed into a daily homeless ministry in the heart of downtown Fayetteville. Operation Inasmuch exists to be the hands and feet of Jesus among the broken, hurting, and homeless by offering relief, recovery, and restoration of hope.

Their relief ministries include breakfast, showers, medical care, haircuts, (and a lot more.) Breakfast, which is served Monday-Friday, is their cornerstone ministry, and Veritas serves the second Tuesday of every other month.

OIAM also offers transitional housing and a support program to men who have life barriers keeping them from stability and self-sufficiency. The Lodge, created in 2017, is in an exciting season of revising its criteria and programming to better serve men in need.

How you can help:

  • Come serve breakfast with us on Tuesday, February 14 (talk about an opportunity to spread love on Valentine’s Day!) RSVP HERE.

  • Support their Bread N Bowls 2023 Fundraiser. This fundraiser supports the bulk of their yearly operational costs; Buy a raffle ticket for the opportunity to win a new car! Get a bread bowl meal of chili or potato soup! You can also purchase a hand-painted bowl!

Fayetteville Area Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions.

Veritas partners with Habitat by participating in construction and up-keep events for their various neighborhoods throughout Fayetteville. Last year, Oak Ridge Estates, 47 affordable, permanent homes at Bunce Rd. and Old Bunce Rd. They’ll be building 55 more homes across from Oakridge Estates, as well as on Maloney St.

How you can help:

Hand of Hope

Hand of Hope Pregnancy Center exists to give the preborn a chance to live, offer women life-affirming choices for their babies, and offer post-abortive women and men a chance for healing and restoration. Hand of Hope respects the dignity of all women, and works to build trust through caring for people and not shaming or condemning them for their life circumstances and choices. Hand of Hope offers free ultrasounds, baby supplies (like clothing, formula, car seats, etc.), as well as life-coaching and case management services. Along with Fayetteville, Hand of Hope has centers in Raleigh and Fuquay-Varina.

How you can help:

Best and blessings,

Emily Ruth Perry
Director of Community Life | Veritas Church
emilyruth@veritasfayetteville.com