Hardin Valley
Hardin Valley

ABOUT US

We are a Christ-centered

Body of Believers

Hardin Valley Church is a Christ-centered body of believers seeking to become more like Jesus. We have an expressed desire to be a church that faithfully embodies all that our Savior wants in his church, a family of Christians:

  • Loving, caring for, edifying, and encouraging one another;
  • Glorifying God through good works in the community;
  • Proclaiming the Good News;
  • Teaching and making disciples through local and foreign missions; and
  • Focusing on the spiritual development of our youth.
Our Mission Statement

Through prayer, faith and action, we demonstrate Christ to one another, our community and the world, bringing souls to salvation and maturity in Christ to the glory of God.

 

 Our Vision

FOLLOWING JESUS as one LOVING FAMILY we are GROWING EVERYONE

The Hardin Valley Church of Christ desires to be a church that brings glory and honor to Jesus by faithfully following Him in all that we do.  We are a loving family of Christians who cares for and encourages one another. We glorify God by working in our community, loving our neighbors and making disciples by proclaiming the good news of Jesus.

We seek God by being a Christcentered, Spiritfilled, and gracemotivated family helping one another grow to be spiritually mature in Christ. We increase our faith in Jesus by service to our community, a focus on prayer, worship and Bible study.

The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ form the core of our belief, our mission and our message. We use the Bible as our only guide of faith and practice, desiring to be one with all Christians.

Wonder & Power

We value the wonder and power of life-changing prayer and the importance of congregational worship that encourages, instructs, and blesses the worshipers while praising and honoring God.

Differences

We value the differences among us and are committed to patiently cooperating with one another in love and understanding, recognizing each other’s freedom in Christ.

Spiritual Gifts

We value the separate and distinct spiritual gifts that we use for the benefit of Christ’s church and mutual edification of its members.

Families & Individuals

We value Christ-centered families and individuals, as well as the dynamic contributions of our youth and the wisdom of age. We also recognize our responsibilities to care for and assist those in need.

Church History

Established May 2006

The Hardin Valley Church of Christ was established in May of 2006 and was known as the Parkway Church of Christ during its first year. Its first services were blessed by an attendance of approximately 160 people who gathered together to begin a new congregation serving the needs of West Knoxville. Attendance has steadily grown until there are now two services. The church now owns 15 acres with a facility containing a 600-seat auditorium in the heart of the Hardin Valley community.

We have an expressed desire to be a church that faithfully embodies all that our Savior wants in his church: a family of Christians, loving, caring for, edifying, and encouraging one another; glorifying God through good works in the community; proclaiming the Good News; teaching and making disciples through local and foreign missions; and focusing on the spiritual development of our youth.

Long-Term

Goals

  • Glorify God through Jesus Christ by teaching the gospel, strengthening and equipping each other for worship and ministry, prayerfully serving and teaching the truth in love throughout our community and the world.
  • Develop a culture of deep and abiding faith in God’s wisdom and power by constantly promoting prayer and the study of God’s word throughout our member’s lives, our services and our activities.
  • Provide a spiritual environment that encourages bringing individuals and families to salvation and causes them to remain in Christ.
  • Promote harmony and unity in Christ in everything we do without regard for disputable differences.
  • Actively involve every member by developing and maintaining a functional structure that utilizes their individual spiritual gifts and talents.
  • Maintain an intentional focus on the spiritual development of our youth such that they will remain strong in faith when they leave us and serve as leaders in the church with an impact that lasts for generations to come.
  • Maintain a strong focus on local and foreign mission opportunities through both financial support and member involvement.
  • Identify and develop outreach opportunities within the Hardin Valley community utilizing our members’ talents, our financial resources and our facilities.
What We

Believe

WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST
We are who we are because of who Jesus is and what He accomplished. Jesus left heaven according to the will of God the Father, took on our flesh, being born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and was crucified as an innocent man according to God’s eternal plan. He was raised from the grave and lives forever at the right hand of God the Father in heaven. His death on the cross paid the penalty for our sins and His resurrection points to His power to raise us from the grave.

Therefore, all that we are and all that we seek to be are centered in Christ. We seek to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. Thankfully, through the study of the Bible, God’s inspired Word, we can know Christ and His will for our life. We seek God and place no trust in our ability to save ourselves through a righteousness of our own. Thankfully, when we place our trust in Jesus, we are made righteous by God and our sins are forgiven because of His sacrifice on the cross. We are delivered from sin and made alive again by God’s grace.

We want to be just Christians, following Christ alone. We intentionally resist the dangerous pitfalls of religious systems created by man, Christian or otherwise. We seek to be held captive in the love of Christ and His Word rather than remain captive to sin or even by religious traditions or the rules of men that would set aside the Word of God.

YOU ARE INVITED

For those who would like to dig into what the Bible teaches about Jesus and how we can have and grow in a relationship with him, we offer one-on-one Bible studies that explore fundamental topics using an organized approach to scripture verses. The basic series explores scripture verses on the topics of Jesus’ Authority, Qualities of a Disciple, The Problem of Sin, and God’s Remedy. An additional series explores twelve Bible teachings about Who We Are in Jesus Christ. Other topics of interest to you can also be explored. If someone has not already personally invited you to participate in a study, we invite you to ask any one of us and a study will be arranged.

If you are in the Knoxville area, we invite you to join us in our Bible studies and worship to God. We would love to get to know you. Otherwise, we encourage you to find a body of believers in your area that you may be a part of for your spiritual edification. You will find that worship, study, and fellowship with other Christians will enable you to grow in your understanding of His Word.

Biblical

Truths

The Godhead

The Godhead (sometimes referred to as the Trinity) is made up of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit who are one in spirit  1 John 5: 6-12

God - The Father

There is only one true and living God.

Jesus Christ - The Son
The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is personal and eternal  Acts 5:3-4 ;  Ephesians 5:30 ;  Hebrews 9:14 . We are commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit  Ephesians 5:18  which we receive when we repent and are baptized in Him  Acts 2:38 . Evidence of His presence in our lives will be the fruit of the Spirit  Galatians 5:22 . The Holy Spirit:

The Bible

The Bible is “God-breathed” and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. The Bible is the only authority for all matters of faith and practice  Psalm 19:1-14  Hebrews 4:12  Isaiah 30:8  I Corinthians 2:6-16  Matthew 5:18  Matthew 24:34-35  John 10:35  John 16:12-13  John 17:17  II Timothy 3:15-17  II Peter 1:20-21  Luke 24:27  Luke 24:44  John 5:39  Romans 15:4  I Corinthians 10:11 .

Mankind

The Bible teaches us that man is created in the spiritual likeness or image of God. God gave us free will, thus we have the ability to choose to love as God loves, do right in the likeness of God’s righteousness, and value what God values. The first man, Adam, chose to sin, and now every person lives in a marred creation with a marred spiritual nature. As a result, every person will eventually choose to sin and subsequently be separated from God  Genesis 1:27 ;  Genesis 3:1-24 ;  Psalms 8:3-6 ;  John 4:24 ;  Ephesians 1:4-6  and  Romans 3:23 . As a result of sin, every man requires the salvation offered through Christ’s blood in order to gain eternal life in heaven.

The Bible teaches that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable value in all its dimensions and stages, including children in utero, the aged, and persons with physical or intellectual disabilities or challenges, and persons in every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value human life.  Psalms 139:13-15 

The Bible teaches that God wonderfully and immutable creates each person as male or female, and that those two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. The Bible also teaches that God created marriage to be exclusively the union of one man and one woman and that intimate sexual activity is to occur exclusively within the marriage union. Because God ordained marriage or defined it as the covenant relationship between a man, a woman, and God Himself, this congregation will only recognize marriages between a biological man and a biological woman.  1 Corinthians 7 

The Bible teaches that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, change of gender by dress or by medical intervention, bestiality, incest, and the use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God.  Matthew 15:18-20 ;  1 Corinthians 6:9-10 

Salvation

The Bible teaches that we are saved by grace through faith  Ephesians 2:8-9 . Salvation is not the result of something we have done but rather because of what God has done for us through Jesus. It is a free gift that cannot be earned or deserved  Romans 6:23 ;  Ephesians 2:8 . We receive that “gift” by faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. While we are not saved by works of righteousness, we are justified by them  James 2:24  as the outward manifestation and confirmation of our saving faith is good works which God planned in advance for us to do in Christ Jesus.  Ephesians 2:9-10 ;  Titus 3:5 ;  Romans 4:2-6 ;  Romans 11:6 ;  James 2:14-26 . We are saved by the almighty power and love of God demonstrated in His gift of Jesus who died for our sins and was raised to life that those who believe in Him may have eternal life.

The Bible teaches us that we are to believe in Christ as God’s Son and Savior of the world, trusting in Him and Him alone for our salvation; repent of personal sin and turn to God for forgiveness; confess Christ as Lord; and be baptized in His name.  John 3:16 ;  John 1:12-13 ;  Acts 10:43 ;  Romans 10:9-13 ;  Acts 3:19 ;  Acts 2:38 ;  Acts 10:48 ;  Romans 6:3-5 .

Water Baptism

The Bible teaches that baptism is the immersion in water of a penitent believer in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the New Testament church, every believer was commanded to be baptized  Acts 2:38 . Additionally, the church was commanded to baptize all new disciples as part of the Great Commission  Matthew 28:19 . As a God ordained, faith response to God’s grace through Jesus Christ, baptism points to and declares the following:

  • The Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Christ  Romans 6:3-5 , which is beautifully and accurately portrayed through immersion with Him through water baptism
  • The New Birth and washing by the Holy Spirit  John 3:5 ;  Titus 3:5
  • Cleansing and forgiveness of sins  Acts 2:38 ;  Acts 22:16
  • Circumcision of the Heart  Colossians 2:11-12
  • Salvation  I Peter 3:21
  • Baptism is not an option for the true believer. It demonstrates and confesses our true and obedient faith in Jesus Christ as both Savior and Lord.  Matthew 28:18-20 ;  John 14:15 
The Lord's Supper

Christ, on the night He was betrayed, instituted the Lord’s Supper for Christians to observe in His memory, as a proclamation of His death, and as an occasion of special communion with God and with other Christians.  I Corinthians 11:23-26  1 Corinthians 10: 16-17  In following the example and tradition of the early church, we commune together as a church family each Sunday  Acts 20:7  through the eating of the unleavened bread representing Christ’s body and the drinking of the fruit of the vine representing Christ’s blood that was shed on the cross.

The Church

The Bible teaches that all who, by faith, receive Christ are baptized by the Holy Spirit into one, united spiritual body  I Corinthians 12:13 . The head of this body is Jesus  Ephesians 5:23b ;  Colossians 1:18 . The task of this “body” of believers is to make disciples throughout the world, winning the lost to Christ and equipping them for ministry.  Matthew 28:18-20 ;  Ephesians 4:11-16 ;  Colossians 1:28-29  The local church consists of a group of baptized believers who join together in a particular place in fulfilling the church’s mission to make disciples and to do God’s work. Each member should identify their spiritual gift for use within the congregation in order to fulfill its mission  Romans 12:4-7 .

Church Leadership

The Head of each local congregation is Jesus Christ. He is also the Great Shepherd  Ephesians 1:22-23  Hebrews 13:20 . Serving under Him as spiritual shepherds of each congregation are elders, chosen by the church from among its male members who meet all scriptural qualifications  I Timothy 3:1-7  Titus 1:6-9 . Other scriptural functions of the church’s elders are overseeing and providing living examples for the church  1 Peter 5:2-3 . Deacons and other members of the church, serving under the oversight of the elders, will likewise, exercise Christian leadership in the church’s activities

Church

Policies

Statement of prohibition of sexual harassment

Hardin Valley Church of Christ (HVCOC) implemented a Policy and Guidelines on Sexual Harassment applicable to its employees. The policy, among other things, prohibits any form of sexual harassment. The Elders of HVCOC would like to extend to all members the protection of its prohibition of sexual harassment. If anyone considers they are a victim of sexual harassment, by any person or means, at any church activity, then the victim should immediately report the offending actions to the Elders. In order for the Elders to fully address any complaint, such complaint must be submitted to the Elders in writing, and the Elders will investigate the complaint promptly, thoroughly and impartially. Appropriate remedial action will be taken with the complainant being informed of the result. Confidentiality, to the extent feasible, will be maintained. If the complaint of sexual harassment involves an Elder, the complaint should be presented to any remaining Elder. The remaining Elders will follow the process described herein to address any complaint of sexual harassment. Any questions regarding this policy or its interpretation should be referred to the Elders.