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CENTERWAY CHURCH LEAD TEAM
(Original Lead Team pictured left to right) Adam Stagnitta, Meredith Valdes, Claude Valdes, Daidra Hamlin, Eric Hamlin, Tara Dullen, Dan Dullen & Karen Hart
Our Story
This isn’t a story about Centerway, it’s a story of God’s faithfulness, and it’s a story about you, the people around you, and the people who may be sitting near you next week. These are gospel stories, stories of life change, stories of community… With so many beautiful chapters already written, you’d think we wouldn’t be surprised anymore. But God continues to unfold what we could never have imagined!
Claude and Meredith Valdes had been happily serving at a church in the greater Syracuse area for 17 years before beginning to feel that their time there was done and a new adventure lay ahead of them. As they prayed about their next steps, their love for the local church and for this region rose to the top over and over again. While the vision was birthed in Claude and Meredith’s heart many years ago, this is very much a collaborative effort.
It began with churches and individuals investing in a yet-to-be-named movement, compelled by a vision to reach a statistically unchurched region. A Lift Team of people prayed and cheered us on. In time, we settled on a name. Centerway Church… because Jesus is the center and the gospel is the way.
Eight Lead Team members met, prayed, strategized, and believed God to do what only he could do. And he assembled the most faithful, generous Launch Team we believe a church startup may have ever had. 32 adults and their 28 kids from five churches committed a year of their one and only lives to help establish Centerway. Those incredible individuals gathered for seven weeks of training, beginning the countdown to September 16, 2018… Launch Day!
For 18 months we met in person at FLCC’s Victor Campus, setting up and tearing down every week… hearing the Word, growing together, and offering our time, talent, and treasure to God… gratefully seeing him use our simple “yes” to impact our community and region. Make no mistake, it wasn’t without its plot twists, but the next 18 months starting in March of 2020 were a chapter in the story no one saw coming.
From the time we launched it wasn’t unusual for people to tell us that churches don’t make it here. Add a pandemic into the mix – and being almost exclusively online for a year and a half – and most would have guessed that would be Centerway’s last chapter. But we were very much together! God often does his best work in the desert, and what we see as a setback or unwelcome conflict is usually the very thing that reveals us, plants seeds, and brings exponential growth. Some of the sweetest parts of Centerway’s story were written during a season of uncertainty. And what we found to be very certain is that the Church – our church – is not a building – or a routine – or a box to check. It’s people on mission together.
While most of our Sunday gatherings were online only during those 18 months, we found creative ways to meet and grow together. As you can imagine, allowing a church to meet in a space during that season was a liability for many. But then, thanks to the kindness of Willowbrook Christian Church in Victor, in September of 2021, we were able to regularly meet – in person, on Sundays! While meeting at 3:00pm wasn’t ideal for our church full of young families, we were so grateful to be together once again. Even grateful to find ourselves loading and unloading the truck each week!
There were some wonderful things that came out of that season at Willowbrook, including the freedom on Sunday mornings for Pastor Claude to respond to a call from a local church to fill their pulpit, as they were without a pastor. That church was Mendon Community Church on Cheese Factory Road. Claude began preaching there on Sunday mornings, as well as consulting their “Session” (church board/elders) through next steps. Eventually, Mendon was without a worship leader as well, and asked Centerway for help in that area. They asked if, for the month of August (2022), could we come and use their building to hold our Sunday gathering, and their people would attend. Not only would it help them, but it would give our hard working volunteers a month off from set up and tear down.
One month turned into two months and into six. All the while we were still looking for places to gather and a building of our own, as the arrangement at Mendon was only intended to be one month. To sum up what God was doing in the hearts of the faithful people who kept Mendon Church going, and what God was doing for Centerway, would take more than a few sentences. But it became clear that while our churches were very different theologically and in other ways, somehow we had found a home with each other – literally and figuratively. Mendon Church began the dissolution process, and the remaining folks joyfully became part of Centerway Church. A new sign went up in time for our Five Year Celebration in September of 2023. And in March of 2024, the final paperwork was filed. After five years, Centerway finally had a permanent home! For five years, “home” was found in familiar smiles… a knowing glance while setting up and tearing down… the firm foundation of the Word of God and his presence… the smell of Centerway blend… a Circle doing life together… shared meals, and the list goes on. We had met in seven different locations on Sundays alone, so it feels really great to say that we can add a building to the list of the things that feel like home!
This is not an arrival point, but just the beginning. We celebrated six years as a church in September 2024, and we’re full of anticipation for what’s next and how we’re advancing. There is work to be done and disciples to be made!
Since our Launch Team training days, we’ve said, “We get to do this!” and we are still marveling at how Jesus builds his church and beautifully writes his story in us as individuals and as a church community. Who knows… maybe you’re part of the next chapter that God is writing here! 🙂