Our July mini-series–Mind Games–has come to an end! In Part 1 of the series, guest speaker Pastor Patrick Norris delivered an empowering message filled with strategies for managing stress, panic, depression, and anger. We discovered the importance of understanding the triad of mental health and human flourishing and also learned protocols for taking the best possible care of each of the 3 primary areas of our lives: soul + spirit, mind + body, and social + interpersonal. Be sure to watch the replay and read the blog post for all the wisdom and truth he shared on that subject! 

Following Part 1, members of our church sent in questions surrounding mental health and wellness for Pastor Patrick to answer and in Conversations on Mental Health, he did just that! We’re diving into more of the wisdom and knowledge he deposited into our church this month and you’ll also find an in-depth compilation of resources available to further help us along our journey...

We’re kicking off a brand new summer mini-series here at VFC! Pastor Patrick Norris is bringing us 2 weeks of  Mind Games. Throughout this series, we’re coming around the topic of God’s plan for our mental health as we discover the connections between each of these areas of our lives: spirit + soul, brain + body, and interpersonal + social.

In Part 1 of the series, Pastor Patrick shared an empowering, thought-provoking word that provided us with functional, effective strategies for managing anxiety, panic, depression, and anger in alignment with God’s Word and intentions for our lives. In the beginning of his message, Pastor Patrick shares a testimony of the goodness of God as it pertains to both his mental and physical health that not only sets the stage for what’s to come, but also relates to many of us on a personal level.

We’re encouraged to truly, honestly reflect on this question: How are you? We all have emotional and mental highs and...

We’re wrapping up Summer at the Movies with a powerful message from our Founding Senior Pastors, Jeff and Beth Jones. Part 3 of our series is filled with blessings of wisdom and truth as we compare the hit film, The Bucket List, with The Parable of the Rich Fool.

Throughout The Bucket List, we’re discovering how to live for the eternal while enjoying the temporal. Pastors Jeff and Beth encourage us to make the most of our days here on earth with our own bucket list to help us look at what we’re going to do with the little time we have left before joining Jesus in heaven!

In the film, we see two characters: Carter Chambers, an auto mechanic and a married man of faith whose marriage is struggling, and Edward Cole, a divorced billionaire who's been too busy making money to do anything meaningful with his life. The movie covers the journey of these two strangers who end up in the same hospital room as they’re both battling cancer and neither has much time left to...

We’re chugging right along in our July series, Summer at the Movies! Throughout the 3-part series, we’re partnering the parables from the Gospels with modern-day movies to help us learn more about Jesus. All throughout Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Jesus used parables–short stories–to reveal the kingdom of God to us. This month, we’re diving into 3 of Jesus’ 39 parables. 

In Part 1 of the series, Zack Spangler related The Parable of the Sower to the film Willy Wonka + the Chocolate Factory. If you haven’t yet had a chance to watch his message, be sure to check it out! We’re covering Part 2 of Summer at the Movies and taking a look at the similarities between the timeless film, The Sandlot, and one of Jesus’ most well known parables, The Good Samaritan. 

In How to Neighbor, Pastor Eric Jones reminds us that, just like in the movies, Jesus’ parables are more about the point than the plot. In the parable of The Good...

We’re kicking off a brand new series: Summer at the Movies! Throughout the series, we’re studying Jesus’ parables through the lens of modern-day movies and to kick things off, Zack Spangler brings us Willy Wonka + The Chocolate Factory and highlights Jesus’ Parable of the Sower in comparison with the timeless 1970’s film. 

In the words of Mr. Wonka himself, Come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination… Let’s dive in! If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll remember that Willy Wonka is an eccentric millionaire with the most famous chocolate factory in all the world. After keeping the doors to the factory closed for decades to preserve his candy making secrets, he unexpectedly decides to hide 5 golden tickets in 5 Wonka Bars that will be distributed across the globe. 

As you know from the story, 5 unique children find the 5 rare tickets and have an opportunity to tour Wonka’s incredible factory and 1...

We’re wrapping up our June series at VFC: Made to Worship! Alexa Jones shared part 1 of the series with her message Spirit + Truth and Pastor Eric Jones brought the word in part 2 with At All Times. Pastor Beth Jones delivers the final message in our series as we close out the month with a better understanding and appreciation for who we worship, why we worship, and how we worship. 

Pastor Beth’s message, Scratch the Itch, may seem a bit funny at first, but how relatable this concept is to all of us! You know how it is, when you get a tickle in your nose or a spontaneous itch in between your shoulder blades…you just gotta scratch that itch! We all experience physical itches from time to time, but we also all experience a spiritual itch within our souls. Unlike the tickly itch on our backs, the way to scratch a spiritual itch is worship. 

We’re diving into the 103rd chapter of Psalms for our foundational passage and discovering now only what a...

On Father’s Day we came together to honor all the dads in the house and we were blessed by messages from both Pastor Jeff and Pastor Eric! In their joint-effort Father’s Day message, both pastors highlight the unconditional, overwhelming, abundant love of our Heavenly Father and the magnitude of His grace and mercy toward us as His children. God is the perfect Father whose example is one for all of us to follow as we raise up families in accordance with His will. Amen!

8 Life Mandates

Pastor Jeff shared a word of encouragement in My Life Mandate that portrayed a simple roadmap on how to live life in the way that follows the path God intended for us. He highlighted how dads should carry themselves and lead their families on the path of righteousness and in the pursuit of Jesus. 

In his message, Pastor Jeff encourages us to develop our own mandates after asking ourselves, “How do I want to manage my household, my marriage, my life, and all the other elements of...

We’re moving right along through our June series: Made to Worship! In part 1 of the series, Alexa Jones highlighted the importance of worshiping in spirit and in truth. If you missed her message, click here to watch the replay! She reminded us of what it really means to be made to worship. 

In part 2 of the series, Pastor Eric Jones teaches us how, as followers of Jesus, we can (and should!) worship God At All Times. He kicks off his message with two personal stories that illuminate the fascination and awe we have the joy of experiencing when we witness and behold wonders of the world we haven’t yet seen before.

Isn’t it funny how beautiful, miraculous, awe-inspiring sights and experiences become commonplace to us after time? A child flying in a plane for the first time sees the world in ways we forget to appreciate. A friend awestruck at the sight of Lake Michigan really puts into perspective for us how much we lose appreciation for wonders we have the...

We’re jumping into a new series here at VFC for the entire month of June: Made to Worship. Throughout this summer series, we’re covering why we worship, how we worship, and who we worship as we discover fundamental truths about this aspect of our life-long commitment to and relationship with God. We were made to worship, friends!

This week, Alexa Jones shared an insightful word that highlights what it really means to worship God as we were designed to do. In her message Spirit + Truth, we learn how God wants to be worshiped as He reveals His desires to us through His Word.

Worship is when we gather together in church and we sing to worship God on Sunday mornings. But worship is also so much more than that!! And that’s exactly what we’re covering today in Spirit + Truth. 

Discovering God’s Desires

Alexa kicks off her message by highlighting the details of Gary Chapman’s 5 Love Languages and shares a must-hear personal story from...

We’re wrapping up the Heart of a Warrior with the third and final part of our series! We’ve been diving into the life of King David and working through a character study in which we look at David’s life and actually put ourselves into his story. This allows God’s word and the life of David’s character to speak to us and help transform our own lives and relationships with God. 

In part 1 of our series, Calling & Character, we went through David’s early life and his time as a shepherd as God anointed David to become king. In part 2, Successes & Setbacks, we covered the middle chunk of David’s life and his time as king where we evaluated his wins and also uncovered and learned from the areas where David fell short. 

In part 3, Legacy & Lineage, Eric Jones highlights the end of David’s life with the legacy he left behind. We know that David was described in the Bible as “a man after God’s own heart,”...