| |
In 1994 God
placed a dream in the minds and hearts of a small group of God’s
faithful people. They envisioned a new church with a positive,
vibrant, uplifting environment that would appeal both to lifetime
followers of Christ as well as those with little or no church
experience. Their goal of a church that presents God’s word in a
clear and relevant way resulted in the founding of Upper Valley
Community Church on July 14, 1994.
The first
Sunday morning service was held in the basement of the HoJo Inn.
After a few weeks, the church moved upstairs to what is now El
Sombrero Restaurant. Each Sunday for the next two and a half years
members of the congregation faithfully rearranged the furniture, set
up sound equipment, and prepared the nursery area for each worship
service.
In January,
1997, the church moved to a vacant store in the Miami Valley Centre
Mall. During that time the nursery was held in the mall conference
room, children’s church was held at the conference room of the
Comfort Inn, teens met at the Salvation Army, and Mothers of
Preschoolers met at a loaned church building in town. It was very
apparent that UVCC needed a building of its own.
A few months
later the congregation was on the move again, this time to a vacant
store building at the edge of the mall parking lot. And then on
October 5, 1997, the church made one final move – to its new
property on Seidel Parkway. Through the sacrificial giving of God’s
people, the present building was completed with only a modest debt.
The very next year, the congregation was moving forward again,
adding the north wing to the building.
By early 2000 the vision to reach the world “one child at a time”
came more clearly into focus. To support that vision, the dream of a
adding a cutting-edge children’s facility was shared with the
congregation. The vision caught on and, after the congregation gave
sacrificially, construction began. The new addition was opened in
February, 2001. The new space, including an indoor children’s
playground, worship center, classrooms, a new foyer and more office
space allowed the children’s program to explode and great numbers of
new families began attending UVCC.
New pastoral
staff was added over the next few years and weekly attendance in
worship services and other events continued to climb as more and
more people came to know Christ. In early 2009, it became clear
that additional space was needed to continue to reaching the 83% of
people in our area who didn’t know Christ. Plans were developed to
build a new multi-purpose worship center to double UVCC’s capacity
for people here at UVCC. The building project began in April 2010
and was finished by the fall.
Our church has
always understood the importance of ministering to persons of all
age groups and especially to those with young children. We believe
that the best way to change the world is one child at a time. Our
building has been used constantly throughout the week by groups such
as Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS), the Jr. High ROK and other
activities for teens, Children’s Events, DivorceCare, ladies’
fellowship and Bible study groups, Men’s groups and various
community events.
This brief
history of UVCC has been rewarding but what is truly exciting is
that God has many great things planned for us yet to come. We
encourage you to come and be a part of that excitement at Upper
Valley Community Church. |
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
= |
Mission
Statement
Staff |
|
