“God does not have a mission for His Church; He has a Church for His mission.”
Village is a church for Greenville - a community of faith from many backgrounds, united under God’s love, within his unfolding story, and for his loving purposes in the world. We are following Jesus in the Anglican Way, connected to an ancient faith through long-held expressions that ignite the mind and the senses to worship. The Lord has intentionally called us to live our faith in the imperfection of community, which challenges and changes us. We’d love to be a part of your story and you a part of ours!
Our Cultural Values
Culture is language. So we’ve intentionally articulated our cultural values in shared language that guides our self-understanding and mission as a local church. These are in no way a substitute for the Creeds or the theology and practice found in the Anglican formularies.
Courageous Witness
We believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the one true story of the world and of humanity’s reconciliation to God. It is our story to tell boldly.
Historical Connection
We trust in the authority of holy, inspired Scripture, in the apostolic witness of the Church, the gifts of catholicity, the stability of liturgy, and the presence of Christ in both Word and Sacrament. (Catholic means universal, the church in all times and places).
Compassionate Presence
We embody the call to seek the common good of our city, especially where there is need or suffering.
Patient Discipleship
We practice grace in the often difficult path of learning, healing and maturation.
Mutuality Despite Difference
We pursue unity while welcoming a diversity of perspectives on matters that need not divide us.
Local Reality & Responsibility
We embrace the gifts of being local and finite, training our focus and our energy on where we can be most faithful and fruitful.
Creative Expectation
We seek and sow wonder and beauty as a normal part of being the Church.
A Brief History
Village Church was officially approved and established as a mission by the Anglican Diocese of the Carolinas in January of 2014. After several informational meetings, nine newly gathered souls were joined by a former church plant still meeting for prayer in the home of The Rev. John and Kathy Hall. This “seed group” began meeting in the Woodside home of The Rev. Seth and Ashley Cain, ultimately deciding to retain the name and build on ministry relationships established by the former plant, “(The) Village Church.” Our name speaks to our ministry context, where old mill villages make up the majority of our surrounding neighborhoods. The neighborhood bicycle ministry, Village Wrench, was the fruit of the earliest efforts of our first members.
We began public worship in November of 2014 in the cafeteria of Legacy Charter Elementary on West Washington St. and, after two years, our congregation of roughly 60 moved to Bethel United Methodist Church in Sans Souci, a mill village that served two nearby mills, American Spinning and Poe Mill.
A Rooted Faith
Fewer than 40% of Greenville residents have a church family and that number is falling as Greenville grows. So there is great opportunity for the Gospel and for a worshipping community like ours to foster deep faith and hospitality. Anglican worship is an expression that taps into two millennia of belief and tradition practiced worldwide by virtually every race and language. Historic Anglicanism is an orthodox faith, holding fast to the teachings of Jesus, the authority of Christ in the canonical Scriptures, and the stabilizing tradition of the millions of faithful believers who have ensured that a vital, Biblical faith be available to every generation after them. And there is great opportunity on the west side to love our neighbors in tangible and transforming ways - to meet the needs of the poor, the broken-hearted and the marginalized who suffer not only from the systemic power of sin but also from unjust structures in society. These realities matter to us greatly and they are vital to being faithful not only to our tradition, but to the Gospel.
If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning.
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Faith Once Delivered
In the last half of the 20th century, Anglicanism in America began losing its connection to Christian history and its trust in Holy Scripture, moving unilaterally against the unifying principles of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Anglican Church in North America is part of continuing, orthodox Anglicanism, rejecting a move to syncretize with the cultural “spirit of the age” (Eph 2) and renewing our commitment to a Gospel of holistic transformation.
Despite these challenges, which are not unique to us and our era, our posture and tone is that of expectation, joy and hope, motivated by what we are for, not what we are against. We long for reconciliation and repentance, which is the Lord’s work in all of us. We’re about the Good News and are unwavering in our commitment to its power to transform us and advance the mission of the Church in every age.
The Five Marks of Mission
The Five Marks of Mission are a statement that expresses the Anglican Communion’s shared commitment to and understanding of God’s holistic/integral mission.
To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom;
To teach, baptize and nurture new believers;
To respond to human need by loving service;
To transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation;
To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth.