How it all started...
Rick Ouimet, a pastor with a heart for at-risk youth, moved to Lynchburg, Virginia, from Las Vegas. Together with his wife, they started a parachurch ministry called Straight Street to provide a safe place for young people to congregate, play, and socialize while getting to know Christ and the Gospel. After a couple of stints as a youth pastor in local churches, they founded Mosaic Church, holding the first service on March 31, 2007.
Mosaic initially met on Saturday nights, and the decor was more like a coffeehouse or someone’s living room than a church. The congregation engaged in group discussions resembling a home Bible study rather than a typical sermon from the pulpit. These decisions were intentional; Rick wanted to reach young adults and those who were hurting, even if their brokenness happened within a church setting, to offer a safe place to navigate life's uncertainties and heal without judgment. His background as a pastoral counselor, heart for broken people, and emphasis on the mental and emotional wellness of his congregants made Mosaic stand out.
Mosaic initially met on Saturday nights, and the decor was more like a coffeehouse or someone’s living room than a church. The congregation engaged in group discussions resembling a home Bible study rather than a typical sermon from the pulpit. These decisions were intentional; Rick wanted to reach young adults and those who were hurting, even if their brokenness happened within a church setting, to offer a safe place to navigate life's uncertainties and heal without judgment. His background as a pastoral counselor, heart for broken people, and emphasis on the mental and emotional wellness of his congregants made Mosaic stand out.
Pastor Rick Ouimet, founding pastor of Mosaic Church (2010)
"We want to provide a place where the older could teach the younger... A lot of people are turned off by church... They see a lot of hypocrites. We really want to reach those who are... far from God. Those who have been disillusioned."
Expanding the vision...
Over time, the church moved to Sunday services and a typical sermon. However, the coffee house informality, including a 10-minute break in the middle of the service for people to mingle and get coffee, hot chocolate, or whatever their favorite morning beverage might be, remains to this day. It's what strikes first-time visitors the most when they enter the doors.
The congregation is multi-generational, the music contemporary, and the messages infused with Christ’s grace for all people, especially the "weary and heavy laden." Rick taught that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was the total and irrevocable payment for all our sins for all time, a novelty in a city of churches that taught a laundry list of dos and don'ts, suggesting a lifetime of striving to win God’s favor. He emphasized that once we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, our identity was (to use one of what we called "Rickisms") "saints who occasionally sinned," and our only challenge was to allow what was already inside of us to grow and manifest itself in our outward behavior.
The congregation is multi-generational, the music contemporary, and the messages infused with Christ’s grace for all people, especially the "weary and heavy laden." Rick taught that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was the total and irrevocable payment for all our sins for all time, a novelty in a city of churches that taught a laundry list of dos and don'ts, suggesting a lifetime of striving to win God’s favor. He emphasized that once we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, our identity was (to use one of what we called "Rickisms") "saints who occasionally sinned," and our only challenge was to allow what was already inside of us to grow and manifest itself in our outward behavior.
Where we are headed...
After 40 years of full-time ministry, Rick decided to retire and gave his last sermon at Mosaic Church on March 31, 2021, exactly 14 years after the first. The elders held town-hall-style "family meetings" with the congregation to affirm what kind of church we hoped to be moving forward. Our mission is the same, but one thing that has changed is the style of leadership.
Mosaic is now an elder-led church. What does that mean? There is no single senior, lead, or teaching pastor or head elder; the elders all share in the responsibilities of decision-making and teaching, supplemented by a cadre of guest teachers vetted and selected by the elders. The installation of deacons has allowed for further emphasis on congregational care, ensuring those who call Mosaic their church home have someone to walk beside them through both their hardships and their victories.
Our vision remains unchanged:
Mosaic is now an elder-led church. What does that mean? There is no single senior, lead, or teaching pastor or head elder; the elders all share in the responsibilities of decision-making and teaching, supplemented by a cadre of guest teachers vetted and selected by the elders. The installation of deacons has allowed for further emphasis on congregational care, ensuring those who call Mosaic their church home have someone to walk beside them through both their hardships and their victories.
Our vision remains unchanged:
