Our Journey

Grace Covenant Church of Roanoke was founded on April 2, 1978. The original name was Church of the Living Way. About thirty-five people attended the first meeting at The Feed Box Restaurant.

1978: Jimmie Hollandsworth establishes church

The founding pastor was Jimmie Hollandsworth. Jimmie and his wife, Dot, served as Presbyterian missionaries in Mexico for many years before founding the church.

1990: John Ault Installed as Senior pastor

John Ault became the pastor in 1990. While serving as pastor, he began to envision having a multi-ethnic church. The church met in a large home, a high school, and then finally on the 23 acres of land where it currently meets.

2002: Jeff Ell Installed as senior pastor

Jeff Ell became Senior pastor in August 2002. Jeff and his wife Deneen continued with the vision for a multi-ethnic church centered around Jesus. Under Jeff, the church outgrew the brick house on the church property where it met. Jeff led the construction of the original building which is still being used today.

2016: Chris Stup installed as senior pastor

In October of 2016, Chris Stup was installed as the lead pastor. Jeff Ell was sent to plant a church in Richmond, VA.

2017: Church Expansion

In late 2016, the church broke ground to double the size of our building. The construction was completed in February of 2017 and opened the building that currently serves Grace Covenant today.

2018: Celebrated 40th Anniversary

In 2018, the church celebrated 40 years of being a Jesus-loving people and serving our community.

2024: Zack Hensley Installed as Senior Pastor

On August 25th, 2024, Zack and his wife, Carrie were installed and charged with carrying Grace Covenant’s story forward.