In two short months, this church has taken off to a wonderful start.
Restoration Church was established Nov. 13 in the home of Pastor Alan W. Darsey.
“We anticipated continuing to meet there for a season, but evidently God had different intentions, and we ran out of room the first couple of weeks,” Darsey said.
The church currently meets at the YMCA in Hinesville at 10:30 a.m. for morning service.
“It’s exciting to see new faces each week come and hang out at RC,” Darsey said. “I’ve never been much regarding numbers other than making sure we have enough elements set out for communion, but my oldest daughter, McKaylin, tells me we are running anywhere from 50-70 people each Sunday. The question I lean more toward is, are we impacting lives? When people come to RC, are they experiencing the life changing power of Jesus Christ? And humbly, I can say, ‘Yes.’”
Despite its short time in existence, the church already is becoming a viable part of the community.
“Jesus did what he did because of people,” Darsey said. “He saw people for what they could be, and he offered them hope. We want to offer them hope. Our vision is to connect people to Jesus through loving our neighbors and serving the community. Our goals for 2012 are to connect and partner with organizations that are passionate about people and serve our community to help meet their basic human needs.”
Prior to establishing Restoration Church, Darsey served as the youth pastor at First United Methodist Church in Hinesville for six years, and as the co-pastor at New Life Family Church in Midway for six years.
Born in Savannah, Darsey has lived in Hinesville since he was 4 years old.
“I love this community and the people. This is my home — my Jerusalem,” he said. “I attended Hineshaw Elementary School and graduated from Bradwell Institute. We are not here just for the short term. We’re here to make a difference, not just plant a seed, but to continually work the ground and see it come to harvest.”
Some of the ministries at RC include: RC Babies, RC Kids, Epic Student ministries led by Sarah Carrier, Powerful Contemporary music ministry led by Jennifer Darsey and CORE groups that meet Saturdays.
“These ministries are headed up by an all-volunteer group. They’re people who believe in the vision and are willing to sacrifice to be that change agent for the kingdom,” Darsey said.
 Darsey also has participated in mission ministry with an orphanage in TaPachula, Mexico, and with a mission in Jamaica.
“I heard a story where the church was described as a bucket and life was described as a flowing river. We, as pastors, were standing on the river bank holding our buckets and as people passed by in the river, we tried to convince them they needed to get out of the river and get into our buckets,” Darsey said. “Think about it — where you would rather be, contained in a bucket, or enjoyizng the freedom and excitement this wide open river offers. When I look through scripture I see that’s how Jesus lived. He didn’t hold out a bucket at the temple. He and his disciples went from village to village living and walking out life with people no matter who they were. My advice to pastors is to let’s throw down our buckets and get into the river.”
Darsey and his wife, Jennifer Bell Darsey, have two children, McKaylin and Lily, who serve