By Kristy Bay

Typically, when one envisions a church, certain images and norms come to mind: ideas about buildings, about congregations, about worship styles and theology. The 21^st century has brought some ugly truths about institutional churches to light: declining attendance, clergy exodus in the wake of a pandemic, empty buildings, the politicization of faith, divided congregations and growing maintenance costs (not to mention the reexamination of decades-long systems of widespread abuse, misogyny, racism and homophobia).  

Considering all these negatives, churches are facing the ever-popular question, “Why aren’t more young people coming to church?” Around the world, churches are struggling to reimagine what a modern church could look like, how to respond to the challenges and above all, how to be faithful to the way of Christ.  

Westover Baptist Church, in Richmond, Va. offer examples of how to think outside the box. Perhaps, by utilizing a different box altogether—a beekeeping box!  

When Drew Nagy first joined the Westover Baptist staff as youth minister in 2016, the church was renting a large part of their facility out to a school. By the time Nagy accepted the call to be Westover’s new senior pastor in 2019, the school had moved out, so Westover had to decide—what to do with all that space?  

“Peacebuilding and community building have been a focus of Westover for a while,” Nagy said. “We wanted to live into Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s inspired vision of the ‘beloved community.’” Westover wanted to be better stewards of God’s creation while recapturing some ways churches used to be the heart of the community. These conversations, fueled by the Holy Spirit, offered opportunities for people with various interests and backgrounds to come together and share their passion. 

In 2019, Living Water Community Center opened to offer sacred space for interfaith spiritual practices, such as yoga or meditation and community gatherings. The space once used by the school was renovated to house six residents to live in an intentional monastic community. In 2023, the first six residents moved in, including Nagy. 

But the reimagination of church and community didn’t stop there. Westover Baptist Church and the Living Water Community Center are located on a 3-acre campus that needed attention. “Serving the local ecosystem and being good stewards of God’s creation are key pieces to what we’re up to,” Nagy said. “Christians often quote the Bible verse about ‘that which you did for the least of these, you did unto me,’” Nagy continues. “What could be more ‘least of these’ than bees?”  

Partnering with the Department of Forestry, Westover and Living Water have planted over 400 trees and shrubs on their property to date—creating a beautiful, nurturing, safe haven for pollinators. The roof of the building now houses an apiary for honeybees. A community of beekeepers, including Nagy who oversees the apiary, volunteer to care for and maintain the now 45-50 hives they have in the apiary and throughout Richmond. The honey is harvested, hand-bottled and sold as a fundraiser. “Bees play a crucial role in our ecosystem,” Nagy stated, “and they have no voice. They truly are the least of these.” 

Westover Baptist and Living Water Community Center are boldly reimagining what church can look like in the 21^st century. When asked what advice he would give to other congregations looking to engage in similar creative conversations, he said, “Find what gets you excited. Figure out where your collective interests and passions overlap with the world’s needs.” Nagy continues, saying, “And then, just start. Be willing to take a risk. Accept that you won’t have a perfect plan, and that you will make some mistakes. But in those mistakes, you will learn, you will make improvements, you will grow…and you will find grace.”  And what, pray tell, could be sweeter than that?