St. Andrew's was organized as a parochial mission of St. Christopher's, Springfield in November 1972. During the first two years, our church did not have a permanent clergy. A variety of leaders, including clergy and lay readers from St. Christopher's, a local Army chaplain named Alan Brown, and faculty from the Virginia Theological Seminary, notably the Rev. Reginald Fuller, led the mission services.  

The first worship service was held at Burke Elementary School on December 3, 1972.  At that first mission service, 45 people attended.  The name "St. Andrew's" was selected because this first service was held on the Sunday closest to November 30, the feast day honoring Saint Andrew. Worship continued at Burke Elementary through 1974.  In October of that year, the Rev. Randall Prior became St. Andrew's first full-time vicar. Accompanied by his wife, Scootie, and two young sons, Christopher and Pierce, Randall had previously been assistant to the rector of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Richmond.  Daughter Margaret was born after the Priors came to St. Andrew's.  Under Randall's early watch, the congregation experienced a period of rapid growth, church building and expansion, and an ever-growing outreach to the Burke and Springfield communities.

Services were moved to Orange Hunt Elementary School in December 1974. The creativity and dedication of the early church members can still be seen in the altar of our current chapel.  Created and constructed by one of the early church members, Lee Overson, for use in the services at Orange Hunt School, the altar also served as a storage unit for the nascent church during the week.  St. Andrew's became a church under the supervision of Suffragen Bishop John A. Baden in January of 1975. While it might seem to be an unusual equine connection, two famous racehorses played a role in getting our present church built.  These two racehorses were Secretariat who was the 1973 Triple Crown winner and arguably the greatest racehorse in the history of American thoroughbred racing, and Riva Ridge who missed the Triple Crown by a single race in 1972.  St. James-the-Less Church in Ashland, Virginia lent $100,000 to the Diocesan Mission Society, thanks partly to the track records of the two horses.  The loan was made possible by a bequest to St. James from Christopher Chenery whose stable near Ashland owned both horses.  

In September of that year, the St. Andrew's Episcopal Preschool welcomed its first youngsters into the new classrooms. Today, our preschool serves a diverse group of young children in a Christian environment that emphasizes learning through play. Since its founding, St. Andrew's had been considered a mission church under the supervision of the Bishop of Virginia.  This status changed on January 27, 1990, when the Diocesan Council granted full parish status to our church. This signaled the end of all diocesan subsidies to the parish, as St. Andrew's became a self-supporting independent church.   During the 1990s, stained glass windows were installed, first in our chapel and then in our nave.  These windows were designed and constructed by Elizabeth Mears, a talented local artist who also happened to be a long-time parishioner.  The general theme of the stained glass windows is the salvation history of the church.  Creative efforts were undertaken by other parishioners as well, evidenced by needlepoint kneelers installed along the communion rail and other intricate piecework done on chairs, banners, and tapestries; woodwork that was lovingly constructed and installed; and sundry other artistic efforts around our church.  Even our youngest parishioners participate in this effort by displaying their artwork in various places inside our church.  Outside our church walls, master gardeners, again parishioners, have contributed towards beautifying our property.

As we enter into the 21st century, future expansion continues to be a focus.  In recent years we launched our first capital campaign called "Ministry for Tomorrow" (MFT). Its goal was to raise monies to renovate the nave, narthex and chapel; install a new pipe organ; and establish a fund to expand the church property.  The MFT campaign comprised two active canvassing phases in 2008 and 2009 with the vestry accepting the final report in April 2010.  Close to $1.6 million in commitments were raised, enabling the parish to pay for the renovations and for the organ installation.  Over 90 members of the parish volunteered in various aspects of the campaign.  Overseeing MFT were three talented co-chairs: Doug Connell, Chris Conrad, and Bob Edmonds.  

That St. Andrew's is such an energetic place testifies to the wide-ranging interests and activities of our parishioners who are committed to ministry.  We live out our lives as Christians, giving with generosity and thankfulness to our community, the region, and the world.  Currently, there are over 60 active programs at St. Andrew's, including community outreach involvement with such organizations as ECHO, FACETS, Samaritan Ministries, and Habitat for Humanity.  We also provide global outreach assistance and involvement with our partners in the Holy Land, Africa and more recently in the Central American country of Honduras.  We understand that the essence of Christ's message is best realized by acts of charity, love and sharing.  No matter where we are on our individual faith journeys, we are excited to join together to make St. Andrew's a loving and caring parish.