About Us
Garden Valley Church is a thriving and growing church in the Garden City area. It began in 1959 and has had a heart for reaching the community with the Good News of Jesus Christ ever since.
We are a church committed to learning together:
- Relevant Worship - developing a vibrant relationship with God
- Compassionate Caring - developing authentic relationships with one another
- Loving Service - reaching out beyond ourselves to explain and demonstrate the Good News which Jesus Christ offers to all people
Our Beliefs
Central to our faith is belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God sent to offer us forgiveness for sin and a model for living. Jesus called himself "the way, the truth, and the life." We believe that as Christ-followers we should follow his teachings and fulfill the assignment given us...to make disciples among all peoples. A Confession of Faith serves to focus our beliefs. The following are some highlights of that Confession.
There is one God eternally existing, infinite in holiness, power, wisdom, righteousness, goodness, love and mercy, who has revealed himself as Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
The Bible is the inspired and infallible Word of God, the authoritative guide for faith and life. We try to obey the teaching of the Bible as God's directive for right and meaningful living.
New life in Christ is available to all people. Every person is sinful by nature, guilty before God and in need of forgiveness through Christ. God sent Jesus into the world so that all who believe in him would receive forgiveness for all their sins, and the promise of living forever with God. We mature in our relationship to Jesus Christ as we fellowship and worship with other Christians, obey the Word of God, and allow the Holy Spirit to empower us for living "as we should."
Membership in the church is to be meaningful. We see the church as a "community" of believers. As members of the local church we seek therefore to live interdependently...we need each other for encouragement and growth. We desire to be wholeheartedly committed to Christ's purposes for the church. Our commitment to Christ and the church is symbolized by a public testimony of "believer's baptism." We practice immersion baptism.
To make disciples is our task. We believe every member has the responsibility to be a witness for Christ, inviting all persons to experience the forgiveness of sins and new life in him. We believe we are to be concerned for the wholistic needs of humanity and therefore engage in a variety of service ministries.
Living peacefully is our goal. We believe the church is a fellowship of redeemed people who are to practice a love taught and modeled by Christ, and to be agents of reconciliation and peacemakers in all situations. We view violence in all forms as contradictions of the new nature of the Christian.
We believe in Christ's return and final triumph. When Christ returns, believers will be resurrected to be with him forever. Judgment awaits all people. The righteous shall inherit the kingdom of God and the unrighteous shall suffer eternal anguish. Satan will be cast into the lake of fire. Christ will create a new heaven and new earth in which righteousness reigns, and God shall rule supreme.