ABOUT US

_{VillageChurch is a church where real community takes place. It is our goal that the services be an exciting time you will look forward to every week. Come and enjoy the company of brothers and sisters as you grow together through genuine fellowship, participate in corporate worship, and engage scripture through powerful messages.

How can we achieve that goal?}
_{Evoking a true sense of worship through music and scripture.
Delivering messages that are gospel-centered and teach us how to do life with God as our anchor.
Providing opportunities for people to develop meaningful and lasting relationships in small group settings.}

OUR HISTORY

_{Pastor Erik Estep and his wife Emily felt a calling to begin a new church in Blythewood in 2001. In March 2002. VillageChurch, sponsored by First Baptist Columbia, held its first worship service at Bethel-Hanberry Elementary School in Blythewood. Since that time, VillageChurch has grown to almost 1,000 people gathering for worship each week. Our commitment as a church is to be faithful to God's Word, to love God, and then to love people.}

OUR DREAM

_{Our dream is to spread the message of Jesus to as many people as possible in our community. The church has an opportunity to create a village where people discover lifelong relationships with other people and an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ. We are motivated by the the command Jesus gave His followers in Matthew 22:37-40. He said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the Prophets depend on these two commands." Jesus’ commands are the foundation of VillageChurch’s value in serving our community and taking advantage of every opportunity we have to share the good news of Jesus with others because we believe Christ changes lives for the better.}

OUR BELIEFS

Discovering the Truth

_{“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” — 2 Timothy 3:16}

Sharing the Truth

_{Christ's final instruction to His followers before He ascended into heaven was for them to be busy telling other people about Him. Therefore our number one priority as a church is to share the incredible message of Christ with those in our sphere of influence.}_{“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samara and to the end of the Earth.” — Acts 1:8}

Our Community

_{Life-change happens in the context of relationships and biblical community. God uses a variety of means to transform a life, and this often occurs in small groups where there is an environment of grace and truth. Our desire is to develop a church that is not merely a social group, but rather a transformational community.}_{“And all who believed were together and had all things in common. They were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. ” — Acts 2:44-47}

Our Call to Ministry

_{We will constantly evaluate our methods to ensure cultural relevance and maximum effectiveness for relating Christ to others.}_{“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jews, in order to win Jews. To those under the law, I became under the law(though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law, I became as one outside the law(not being outside the law of God, but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might have some. I do it all for the sake of the Gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. ” — 1 Corinthians 9:19-23}

Our Worship

_{We seek to give glory to God in authentic expressions of surrender and praise. We desire for our worship to be culturally relevant and appealing to both believers and non-believers.}_{“He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. ”
— Psalm 40:3}

Leadership

_{We support God's appointed pastors and leaders and support them in every way in order to honor God.}_{“And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepards, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. ” — Ephesians 4:11-12}