About Us | Sandy Creek Community Church

A Christ Centered Church in the Cisco Community since 1884.

For more than a century, this church has served the community as a place where the Bible is open and the doors are, too.

Although our generational gathering has outlasted three buildings (the one pictured here was destroyed in the fire of 1893), many of our principles are the same:

As individuals, we are disciples (students) of Jesus, so we should learn as much as we can about and from him. He's a pretty good authority on himself, and the ones who walked with him seem reliable, too.

As a church, we strive to learn from the earliest church, hence the Acts 2:42 on our sign.

We start with what unifies us, Jesus, not complex dogmas, creeds, or traditions. The simplest one is challenging enough: Love God with all you've got & love others as yourself.

Here's some more information about our gathering that you may find helpful, in no particular order.

[ 01 ]

Church as a Bus

Church is like a vehicle. Some people keep it in a garage or park it on the street to show the neighbors. But it's meant to create movement, get you from point A to point B. Our point A is right where we are. Point B is nearer to God. Jesus has promised to be a great driver. Churches are more like a bus than a sports car. There's room for plenty, and the people create the atmosphere - we can make this an enjoyable trip. All people are welcome on the bus, not all behaviors. Let's welcome people in the seat next to us and be brave enough to start singing as we go.

[ 02 ]

Church as a Practice Grounds

We'll be imperfect. But at least we'll be around people who agree that what the Bible teaches we should do. So when we mess up, it's supposed to be a good place to practice confessions and apologies. When someone else messes up or hurts our feelings, we can practice forgiveness and "bearing with one another in love." Being in a church community can be hard with all the preferences, opinions, feelings, hurts, and backgrounds. But we're not called to shy away from trying to be a glimpse of the kingdom of God, we're called to lean in. Because we're supposed to reflect Jesus in the larger community with others who aren't instructed to be kind, generous, forgiving, or truthful. We practice love on each other so we can be better representatives of Jesus' perfect love in the world that needs it so much.

[ 03 ]

Lines for Supper over Lines in the Sand

In a culture of division and people drawing lines in the sand over dogmas, traditions, or interpretations, we focus on what we have in common. And the two simplest things we have in common are our need for Jesus and our need to eat. We eat a lot. Breaking bread doesn't just have to be a tiny cracker. When we eat together, we talk, learn about each other, and share the time necessary to actually love each other. That's something that is hard to do in a pew sitting still and quiet. If we can love each other first, we can hash out the rest in and from that love.

God is not in a hurry.

[ 04 ]

What we're after isn't something you can get in one Sunday service. Just like a garden, it doesn't grow in a day. Rather than asking yourself, "Did that service WOW me?" try the question, "Is this a place I can be planted and watered?"

Our goal, after all, is not a crowd. Our aim is to bear fruit, however many or few are here. And that takes patience, dedication, weeding, pruning, and submitting to the one who does the growing (God, not the preacher).

God is not in a hurry, and the devil loves instant gratification. Let's slow down and trust the one who has promised to reward patience.

[ 05 ]

You have a calling.

No matter who you are or what you think of yourself, we understand the Bible as saying you are made on purpose and with a purpose. Whether it's being a better parent, ministering in a nursing home, serving in the church, or making a difference in the community. It might be a small calling for today, an end of life testimony, or a whole life impact that you won't see until heaven (or all three!). Whatever it is, we acknowledge you have purpose and you have talents that God put in you. We want to be a people that help you discover it, and encourage you in it.

[ 06 ]

Invitation not Obligation

With Jesus, everything is an invitation not an obligation. The highest form of love is freedom. We can't make you love God, and He doesn't want to either. But we can make the invitation available. We won't pressure you to come to church or extra Bible studies, but you're missed when you're not there. We'll invite you to service projects or to volunteer for events and activities - but if you're not showing up willingly or with a glad heart, we trust you if you decide to stay at home. Hey, God values rest. Ultimately, we have to trust He is doing His thing in His timing.

[ 07 ]

Membership

There are many types of members: active members, home bound members, historic members, giving members (some come some don't), honorary members, and some that have never stepped foot in our building but claim our church. Our general rule is simple: hang out with us for a year. You'll get what's going on by then, and you'll know if this is where the Spirit is calling you to plug in.

Do you belong here? I don't know. Come and see.

[ 08 ]

Growth

Our ability to grow is directly dependent on our ability to love. Our ability to love is directly dependent on shared experience or work toward a common goal. You don't have to have a relationship with EVERYONE in church, but our hope here is that you build a relationship with at least one other person in this setting. The best way to "Know God and be known by God" is to know what it's like to know someone else and be known by someone else.

Plus, if you're right and someone else is wrong, they're much more likely to listen to you if they're convinced you love them.