There is a new Seven Cities Church coming to the 7 Cities soon. It is a church started by Brian Wood and Jay Blizzard sent out from the non-denominational Point Harbor Church in Chesapeake, Virginia located across from Chesapeake Square Mall in Western Branch. See www.pointharbor.com for more information.
Pastor Jay and Rashidah Blizzard
Pastor Jay is a native of the Seven Cities, born in Portsmouth and raised in Suffolk, so it’s fitting that God would call him to minister to the people in our community. He is a devoted husband, loving father, and aspiring author. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a Masters degree in Art. He is also the author of Consensual Christianity: Developing a Relationship with God that is Biblical, Fruitful, and Eternal.
His passion in ministry is to train disciples to be effective ministers of the Gospel and to help married couples live in the fullness of all that God offers through marriage. Pastor Jay and his beautiful wife, Rashidah, live in Suffolk, VA with two of their children, son, Izaiah and daughter, Makylah. They also have three adult children. Pastor Jay is known for being warm and compassionate. He enjoys sports, BBQ, reading and writing, and strength training.
Pastor Brian and Kristen Wood
Pastor Brian grew up in a small town in North Carolina. He grew up in the church but didn’t live a life devoted to Jesus. In fact, it was a party in 2010 that God called him out of a purposeless life, and into a life that Jesus truly desired for him. That same year, Brian heard God’s call into ministry. Since then, he has made it his mission to share the Good News about Jesus. Brian has degrees in Nursing. He also received his Masters of Arts.
Pastor Brian is married to his beautiful wife Kristen. They will celebrate 12 years of marriage at the end of this year. They have 4 children. Graysen, Emma Rae, Blake, and Katie Melei. Katie Melei is still awaiting their arrival to China so she can be adopted into her forever home.
Pastor Brian is one of the most outgoing/energetic people that you will ever meet. His love for Jesus and people are evident. He loves to run, golf and hunt. He is a country boy at heart but still walks around in skinny jeans (not the cowboy kind.) His passion is preaching and evangelizing and loves to put a smile on someone’s face.
Brian and Jay were both trained and ordained over a year ago by the Point Harbor Church where Brian served as a student minister and Jay as a connection minister. Pastors Jay and Brian will serve as co-pastors of a completely online church without a physical campus – at least for the foreseeable future. There service will stream using Facebook Premiere service Sunday mornings at 10 AM EST, so it will be available to watch 24/7. See https://7citieschurchva.com/ for more information.
The completely online church is an experiment borne out of the pandemic and pushed by some of the largest churches in the USA, including LifeChurch. Some churches are streaming live and some are using Facebook’s Premiere service to stream prerecorded videos.
A spokesperson for Point Harbor Church said they have used Live Streaming and pre-recorded video and pre-recorded is definitely easier. They recommend that route for churches, like 7 Cities, that are just getting off the ground. ###
