About Us

An introduction to Huntington Mennonite Church of Newport News, Virginia
Huntington Mennonite Church stands in the historic third wave of the Protestant Reformation.  Begun as a mission outreach to Newport News in the 1920s., the congregation grew in and out of several locations.  When the downtown landscape became more industrial in the 1960s,  the Huntington Avenue Mennonite Church made plans to move into a residential neighborhood on Harpersville Road.  The congregation retained its former name when it opened its current building in 1972.  The desire to serve and engage with the local community still drives congregational vision – we seek to grow as followers of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit grow as a community of God’s grace, joy and peace, so that God’s healing and hope flow through us to the world.

Church Leadership Council:

Pastor- Howard Miller
Associate Pastor – Anna Janzen
Chair – William (Dub) Havens
Administration Elder – Danni Clark
Outreach Elder – Russell DeYoung
Community Life Elder – Bruce Salsburg
Spiritual Life Elder – Carl Aude

Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ

God is rescuing a world gone wrong. The Bible is a record of this story which reaches the pinnacle in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Ever since, God has been drawing persons to Himself through the work of the Holy Spirit, the gift of His presence in the world today. We are one family of faith that is part of God’s church worldwide who point to the centrality of Jesus, community and reconciliation.

Jesus is the center of our faith

We begin our walk of faith as we decide to give Jesus His rightful place in our hearts and personally trust in what He accomplished on our behalf. Beyond this initial step we decide again and again to follow Jesus in daily life. We seek to interpret the Bible from a Christ-centered point of view. We read God’s written revelation knowing Christ as God’s fullest self-revelation.

Community is the center of our lives

Jesus said, “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” As we follow our Lord Jesus we join a new faith family. This family is concretely expressed as believers gather. We need one another to be the body of Christ today: seeing and practicing forgiveness and accountability; reading and interpreting scripture; worshipping, praying, laughing, crying together.

Reconciliation is God’s loving action to reverse the problem of sin

Sin separates us from God and from each other. God’s reconciliation brings healing to these places of sinfulness. We are reconciled to God through salvation and are then to be the agents of reconciliation to the world. This is a call to cooperate with God’s Spirit as instruments of His peace. We do not need to give in to hatred, despair or darkness. Rather we declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light.

Pastor Howard Miller with his wife Carolyn Miller
Lead Pastor

My Promise:
I am a living commitment to engage a deeply divided world through spiritual friendship. As a follower of Jesus my promise is to live out Gods deep love for all by:

  • Listening and responding carefully to questions or objections of others
  • Respecting each person regardless of culture or religion
  • Taking seriously the unique value of each person
  • Rejecting violence or intimidation in relationships
  • Holding parents, children and family life in high esteem
  • Living my life for the well-being of others

Howard began as lead pastor in October, 2018 after serving in the same role
in Waynesboro, Virginia for 13 years. Prior to that he served as Associate
Pastor for 10 years and as Virginia Mennonite Conference Youth Minister for
11 years. Howard is married to Carolyn who is an educator and a watercolor
artist. They have two adult children, Hannah married to Joey, and Josh.
Howard is an avid reader and great lover of the outdoors, keeping a life list
of birds and fishing from his kayak as often as he is able.

Anna Janzen

 

Samantha LuckSamantha Luck

Samantha Luck holds a degree in Music Therapy from Radford University with a major in piano and a minor in voice. She teaches piano, voice, and guitar at her private studio in Newport News, Luck Studios, to students of all ages and levels of ability, including students with special needs. In addition to the instruments she teaches, Samantha also has training in violin, pipe organ, hand percussion, and harp. She began participating in the music of the church as a child at First Presbyterian Church in Great Falls, Montana through involvement with the children’s choir, bell choir, and eventually, the Chancel choir. Through formal study and experience she has developed her skills in leading vocal choirs, praise teams, and hand bell choirs as well as increasing her knowledge of theology and worship planning.

See Our Organizational Flow Chart

Click Here to Open in PDF

Our Partners

Mennonite Church USA  http://www.mennoniteusa.org/

Virginia Mennonite Conference  http://virginiaconference.org/

Mennonite Central Committee  http://mcc.org/

Mennonite Disaster Service  http://www.mds.mennonite.net/home/

Third Way Café  http://www.thirdway.com/

Peace Signs www.MennoniteUSA.org/peace

Mennonite Creation Care Network  http://mennocreationcare.org/

Peace and Justice Support Network  http://www.pjsn.org/

Virginia Mennonite Missions: vmmissions.org

Newport News Senior Care   https://www.caring.com/