BRIDGE Church has existed in Indian Head for less than three years.
Yet in that brief amount of time — even through the challenges of a global pandemic — the church has put down deep roots and become an instrumental part of the community.
Jenn Legacy, the lead pastor, and her husband, Rick, the assistant pastor, have built a team and a congregation that is thriving and growing. BRIDGE Church has become an active and dedicated member of our community.
They’ve supported Oasis Fresh Foods Market in every way possible — through prayer, through volunteer work and through financial contributions — and we are immensely grateful for all that they’ve done and all that we can yet achieve together.
“God invited us to be part of what he was doing to bring the community of Indian Head back to life,” Jenn said. “God called us to plant a church here. One of the key components is meeting our community where they’re at.”
Putting His Plan Into Action
Things happen for a reason.
God has a plan.
That’s what Jenn figured when the military shifted her family’s primary care clinic assignment from Joint Base Andrews to Naval Support Facility Indian Head back in 2019.
Though she and her husband, Rick — both veterans — had lived in Charles County since 2003, Indian Head was one place they never had much reason to visit. Now they were spending more time here on a regular basis.
They found the town charming, but they could see Indian Head still needed so much. Jenn had left the military after 13 years to pursue a career in the ministry. Rick retired after 22 years in the Air Force and also began taking on more prominent roles within the church.
So they weren’t caught entirely off-guard when in early 2020 they felt God calling them to plant a church in Indian Head. BRIDGE Church held its first service that September, even as the unpredictable spikes of the virus made it difficult to consistently meet in person.
They persevered, expanding their network and growing their congregation.
Jenn and Rick had gotten to know Mark and Marilyn Steele through Clarity Coffee House, where Jenn spent many hours completing work toward her Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Ministry (Organizational Leadership).
Church services are held each Sunday at the Black Box Theatre, just steps from the door of the coffee shop.
When Mark and Marilyn began discussing the idea of a grocery store initiative, the BRIDGE Church team was on board from the beginning.
“We’ve partnered with them on many different initiatives, whether it’s support for the base or the elementary school,” Jenn said. “We’ve tried to network within the community. We heard about the grocery store. Obviously, Indian Head is a food desert. We knew that. We wanted to help.”
A Community Coming Together
With its deep commitment to the town of Indian Head, BRIDGE Church has allocated its local missions funds to support Indian Head Elementary School and Oasis Fresh Foods Market. To date, the church has made two substantial donations to help bring this food desert its first grocery store in more than two decades.
Yet that is just the beginning of the support they’ve given us. Rick is a vital member of our Board of Advisors. Members of the congregation of have volunteered in efforts to help clean up the property and prepare it for renovation and transformation. They’ve held prayer walks around the property and inside the future store location.
“We can’t begin to express how grateful we are for Jenn and Rick and their entire congregation,” said Marilyn Steele, co-owner of Oasis. “BRIDGE Church has become such a vital part of our town. They’ve done so much good in such a brief period of time.”
Moving forward, the church has plans to collaborate with Oasis, as well as Indian Head Elementary’s Community School program.
BRIDGE Church has recently expanded its office space, which they’ve offered for future use to hold classes for the community on nutrition or planning healthy meals on a budget.
It’s a shining example of a community coming together for the greater good.
“Our folks are committed to seeing this project through,” Jenn said. “However we can partner to help with that, we’ll do it. We believe this town not only needs but deserves to have fresh, healthy food available to them.”