The first thing we want you to know about us is this: We are passionate about simply following Jesus. While, like any church, we have our particular traditions and style, following Jesus is our focus. We take the Bible as our guide for godly living, and we take Jesus himself as our model and Lord. We want to grow spiritually to the point that everything we are and do honors God.
We want to develop the same heart for people that God has. This makes the relationships we build with each other and our community a high priority for us. We want to be a blessing in Jesus' name to both our local community (see Good Works We Support) and our church family. As Hebrews 10:24-25 teaches, we seek to "spur one another on toward love and good deeds... encouraging one another..." And as Jesus said, we want to so shine in God's service that people may see our good deeds and give glory to God (Matthew 5:14-16). For these reasons we seek ways to connect with our neighbors and to serve in the church and the community.
We're just ordinary people living for God the best we can. We're not pretentious. So when you visit, please come as you are. You don't need to be a devout Christian already; just come and see if God is here. Whatever your past, whatever your situation, come and see if God might bring you some blessing through your time with us.
Our Beliefs We are a non-denominational church affiliated with the Churches of Christ (see below). We believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, that Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah of Israel, and that Jesus died to bring us new life in God in anticipation of eternal life.
Our Local History Our church has been part of the Yakima community since 1937. It was established by members of the Churches of Christ who moved to the Pacific Northwest during the dustbowl and Great Depression years of the 1930s and settled in this region. Their church was located at the northeast corner of Lennox Avenue (now Nob Hill Boulevard) and Cornell Avenue; it was called the Lennox Avenue, then the Cornell Avenue, Church of Christ. Needing room to expand, the church bought land in the West Valley district and opened our current facility in 1994.
Our Heritage SVCC is affiliated with Churches of Christ, a body of independent churches across the U.S. and the world that grew out of the American Restoration Movement of the 1800s. Christians involved in this movement longed to restore unity among churches through a return to the Bible's teachings and to simple Christianity, in contrast to the creeds and denominational organizations of many churches. They hoped to reclaim the heart and spirit of the church in its earliest days, in the time of the Bible's New Testament. • For a very brief introduction to the Restoration Movement and Churches of Christ, check out these "Top Ten Questions about the Church of Christ". • For a brief and inexpensive introduction to Churches of Christ, read Douglas A. Foster's The Story of Churches of Christ.
Having grown within this heritage, our congregation places a high value on Bible-based teaching and preaching. We aim to build our foundational beliefs and doctrines on the clear teachings of Scripture.
We feature a simple, participatory style of worship. Like many churches worldwide, we sing a cappella, as the earliest churches did. Again, like the earliest churches, we share Communion each week in memory of the body and blood of Jesus that became a purifying sacrifice for us.
Also modeling ourselves after the earliest churches, we are led by a team of elders who shepherd our congregation independent of any national or international governing body. Their work is supported by a team of deacons appointed by the elders and the church, who offer service and leadership in various areas of church life and ministry.