Former Delegate Fosters Unity Through Humility, Per Pat Robertson’s Coffeehouse Teaching

At the peak of the Jesus Movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Karen Greenhalgh was a teenager growing up in Portsmouth, Virginia. The countercultural Christian revival attracted young people like her who embraced a new style of worship emerging nationally. In addition to casual clothing and a rock-influenced genre of Christian music, the movement also popularized non-traditional gathering places — like a little-known “coffeehouse” held in Pat Robertson’s garage, which Karen often attended.

Karen’s family had started following Pat Robertson’s ministries after her parents came to faith in Christ — as did 8-year-old Karen shortly after. As new believers, they were often part of the on-set 700 Club audience while early episodes of the show were broadcast from CBN’s first station on Spratley Street, not far from their home. “I got off to a really good start as a kid,” Karen reflects.

Innovative Discipleship in a Garage Coffeehouse

At the time, the coffeehouse concept was an effective ministry outreach tool, as it provided a relaxed space for sharing testimonies, Scripture reading, discussions, prayer, acoustic music, and refreshments. For many, the informal setting was a welcome change from the typical church environment. Pat Robertson, who had founded the Christian Broadcasting Network just a few years earlier, recognized this novel opportunity and went so far as to open the garage of his own Suffolk home as a hub of fellowship and mentorship for local youth.

“It was a safe place where we could go,” Karen remembers. “It wasn’t like a church, where we didn’t always fit in. It was just community.” Because the informal worship style and contemporary music of the Jesus Movement were controversial, it was a bold and impactful move at the time. “Pat understood that our hearts were in the right place,” Karen says. “We were really saved. We just needed guidance, and he offered it. He had a way of knowing what people needed.”

“There was this excitement just to know Jesus. And Pat didn’t want to squelch it. He gave us a place.”

Indeed, while churches were widely rejecting the era’s new “Jesus Music,” it was welcome at Pat’s house. “People were learning to play the guitar just so they could sing Christian music back then,” Karen remembers. “We’d go there and sing and pray. There was this excitement just to know Jesus. And Pat didn’t want to squelch it. He gave us a place. He looked at us, and I don’t think anybody else did.”

A Life-Changing Lesson on Humility

A frequent occurrence at the garage coffeehouse was a simple message given by Pat, his son Gordon, or a local pastor. “When Pat Robertson came to speak, it was just like anybody else,” Karen says. “We actually called him Pat.” One teaching, based on 1 Corinthians 8:9-13, made a significant impression on Karen.  

“I’ll never forget the most striking thing Pat told us,” she says. “He said it was important for us not to be proud. But he didn’t just say, ‘Don’t be arrogant.’ He explained to us what it was to be spiritually arrogant, which is still a problem in church. The attitude then was, ‘We’re more spiritual; you’re old-fashioned. We can wear blue jeans and listen to the new kind of music, and God still loves us.’ He said, ‘You’re right in your liberty, but your liberty can’t come before someone else’s walk with Christ. When it offends someone, that makes it a sin.’ It’s an important lesson. He was teaching us right where we were, following the example of Jesus.”

Karen has carried that lesson with her, not only in her spiritual life, but also in serving others throughout her diverse and resourceful career. As a young woman, she used the carpentry skills she learned from her dad to open a cabinetry business, Heritage Woodworks, which she operated for 20 years. When a house fire shifted her priorities, she sold the business and began volunteering at the Crisis Pregnancy Center of Tidewater, eventually serving in staff and management roles. There, she gained expertise in HIPAA laws and decided to start a healthcare privacy and cybersecurity business with her husband, assisting small to mid-sized healthcare facilities. Meanwhile, her next role — perhaps her most notable — came along, and it was one that she did not predict.

A People’s Representative

When one of Karen’s two adult children, a gun collector, expressed his concern about new potential legislation that threatened Second Amendment rights, Karen thought he must be exaggerating. “I always voted,” Karen says. “I thought I was paying attention and doing a good job.” But after doing some research to prove her son wrong, she was startled to find out that he had been correct. She was even more dismayed when her local state delegate wouldn’t return her calls.

In 2021, despite having no political experience, and even though the previous three elections for state representative in her Virginia Beach district had been won by Democrats, Karen ran as a Republican candidate and defeated an incumbent. She represented the 85th district in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2022 to 2024.

“…everybody’s ideas have value.”

Early in her tenure, Karen secured passage of a governor’s bill, HB873, which improved school safety through new requirements for school resource officers and law enforcement liaisons. The program expanded when she successfully moved a related bill (HB1691) through the legislature the following year. Another bill Karen sponsored, HB103, became a law that provides an educational expense tax deduction for teachers.

Seeing these bills signed into law was quite an accomplishment for a freshman delegate, and many said she couldn’t do it. But Karen attributes the success to the way she was raised to consider and discuss different viewpoints. “My parents taught me to think, which is why I could talk to anybody when I was in office,” Karen says. “I could work with Democrats, Republicans — it didn’t matter, because everybody’s ideas have value. And that’s how you come up with good legislation. You talk to people who need it.”

During Karen’s time in office, she served as Chief Patron of a joint resolution from the Virginia General Assembly that honored Regent University’s 45th anniversary in 2023, shortly before our beloved Founder, Pat Robertson, passed away. Several members of Regent’s leadership attended the reading of the resolution at the Virginia State Capitol. Later, Karen visited campus to present a framed copy, not only on behalf of the Commonwealth, but also as a personal gesture of gratitude for the godly leader who taught her that freedom in Christ prioritizes love for others.  

Breaking Barriers in Politics

When Karen’s term ended and she was not reelected, she wanted to bring people together in a new, nonpartisan way. She and her son, Zachary, who inspired her to run for Delegate and served as her Legislative Aid, started the Commonwealth Institute for Civic Innovations, a charitable organization dedicated to lowering barriers for Virginia residents, enabling them to participate more fully in state government proceedings and processes.

“I’m hoping people will talk to each other and learn from each other, like Pat Robertson taught us.”

By offering voter registration in overlooked places like food banks, as well as informative events, policy development and research, and unclaimed assets restoration, Civic Innovations teaches Virginians how to interact with their government. Their well-received class, entitled “Your Guide to Active Citizenship,” offered through the Virginia Beach City Public Schools Adult Learning Center, teaches participants to understand their government, research legislative issues, and communicate with legislators.

“Through this, I’m hoping people will talk to each other and learn from each other, like Pat Robertson taught us,” Karen says. “We’re not debating the issues. People have a right to think for themselves. I’m just showing them how the process works.”

Yet people are often surprised that someone would offer assistance without any strings attached to a political party, which gives Karen natural opportunities to share the gospel. “When you’re helping people, they know you care about them,” Karen says. “They wonder, ‘Why do you care about me?’ I care about you because God loves you. This is a nonpartisan, nonprofit effort, but I’m still me. And that’s been me since I was 8 years old.”

“When you’re helping people, they know you care about them,” Karen says. “They wonder, ‘Why do you care about me?’ I care about you because God loves you.”

Still Learning — Training for the Next Calling

While searching for courses on nonprofit management, Karen came across Regent’s Undergraduate Certificate in Christian Ministry and was drawn to it, for reasons still unknown to her. “God put this in front of me,” she says. “It was just on my heart, and I couldn’t get it out of my head.” Initially, she hesitated about spending money on classes for herself, but Karen’s family urged her to go for it. “My kids went to college, but I never did,” she says.

At age 69, Karen enrolled in her first-ever college class, and she’ll receive her certificate from Regent University in the spring of 2026. It’s a full-circle moment — the teenager who learned humility in Pat Robertson’s garage now studies at the university he founded, carrying forward the same spirit of servant leadership he modeled decades ago. “I love it,” she says. “It feels good just to be here. I’m learning things that I never knew. I hope I get to use it somewhere along the way.” Something tells us she will.