Two Sunday Gatherings on North Holly Street

Canby Christian Church sits at 444 North Holly Street in Canby, Oregon. The independent, nondenominational congregation meets there every Sunday in two back-to-back services, 8:30 AM and 10:30 AM, each running just over an hour. Both services include a full children's ministry, and the Sunday gatherings blend traditional hymns and modern worship songs with congregational prayer, expository preaching, weekly communion, and occasionally a baptism.

The church's stated mission is "bringing glory to God by loving Jesus, loving others, and making disciples." Lead Pastor Aaron Adame, who has led the church since August 2017, describes the purpose of the gatherings in straightforward terms: to equip believers for the work of ministry and to expose non-believers to their creator and savior Jesus Christ. There is no strict dress code. Some come in ties, others in jeans, and what matters to the congregation is who you are, not what you are wearing. After each service, a fellowship hall is open for coffee and conversation, and a team at the Information Center is ready to answer questions and help newcomers connect. For those unable to attend in person, services are recorded and posted on YouTube and through the church's podcast feeds.

A Blend of Hymns and Modern Worship

Canby Christian's worship services are deliberately blended. The congregation sings traditional hymns and contemporary praise songs side by side. Worship is described in the church's values as more than music, an orientation of life where all things are done to the glory of God. On any given Sunday, the room will likely include both a Phil Wickham chorus and a hymn sung in an older style.

Worship is led by a team that auditions through an application process. Prospective vocalists or instrumentalists record themselves singing or playing a verse and a chorus of two designated songs, upload the video to YouTube as unlisted, and submit a form. Kody Antisdel serves as Pastor of Family and Worship, overseeing both the worship ministry and the family discipleship vision.

CCKids: Partnering with Parents from Birth Through Sixth Grade

Children's ministry at Canby Christian, known as CCKids, runs during both Sunday morning services and is led by Director Ashleigh McCartney and Coordinator Rachel Newell. The mission of CCKids is to partner with families as they disciple their children to bring glory to God through loving Jesus and loving others. Classes are offered for children from birth through sixth grade, with a Child Check-In Kiosk at the entrance so families and volunteers can sign in safely before proceeding to classrooms.

The curriculum takes the Bible and breaks it into stories that can be easily understood by each child. Elementary-age children are encouraged to bring their own Bibles to church and to put scripture to memory. The ministry emphasizes developing a love for the Bible, a love for the church, and creating a safe and fun environment, with volunteers who are both qualified and trained. On the months when the calendar includes a fifth Sunday, the church encourages elementary-aged children to sit with their parents in the main gathering as a step toward full worship participation, though CCKids remains open for those families who prefer it.

Student Ministries: Wednesday Nights for Middle and High Schoolers

Student Ministries at Canby Christian serve students in grades six through twelve with the goal of discipling youth through fun activities, times of worship, biblical teaching, and small group discussion. The ministry is led by Student Pastor Nathan O'Brien, who joined the staff in 2023.

Middle schoolers in grades six through eight meet on Wednesdays from 4:30 to 6:00 PM. The church describes this age group as a time when students need good gospel foundations and great mentors. High schoolers in grades nine through twelve gather on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, with a focus on building biblical foundations to help mature their faith. Both groups are designed to be fun and safe places where students can grow in their relationship with Jesus and be equipped with biblical truths.

Life Groups Around Scripture on Thursday Evenings

Life Groups are Canby Christian's primary small-group ministry. Most groups meet on Thursday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the church for fellowship, food, and small-group discussion. The groups gather around a portion of Scripture, asking questions that help participants understand the text, see how it fits into the larger gospel story, and apply its teaching in their families, neighborhoods, and workplaces. The church provides a downloadable Life Group Discussion Guide with open-ended questions designed to work with any passage.

For families, a children's program mirrors the adult discussion from 6:15 to 7:45 PM, accepting children from infancy through fifth grade. Middle school and high school students who serve as MYT leaders are welcome to serve in the CCKids program under the supervision of the children's director, or to join their parents' adult group. Bible discussions pause over the summer so groups can enjoy fellowship activities together, though many groups continue gathering in homes for barbecues, movie nights, and casual fellowship. For families whose schedules don't fit a Thursday evening, additional groups meet in homes on other nights.

Women's Ministry: Bible Study and Saturday Gatherings

Women's Ministry at Canby Christian, directed by Michelle Adame, is dedicated to connecting women to God and to one another through the teaching and equipping of God's Word. Two regular rhythms shape the ministry throughout the fall, winter, and spring.

On most Thursday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 AM, women gather for an in-depth Bible study that combines teaching, gospel-centered relationships, and prayer. On the first Saturday of each month, women meet from 8:30 to 10:30 AM for the Women's Gathering, a time of Bible study, discussion, and coffee. The gatherings are open to friends as well as church members, and women are encouraged to invite someone along.

Men's Ministry: The Third-Saturday Huddle

Men's Ministry, under Associate Pastor Robert McCartney, exists to equip the men of the church to glorify God by being more like Christ and leading others to follow Jesus in every area of life. The cornerstone event is the Men's Huddle, which takes place on the third Saturday of each month from 8:30 to 10:30 AM during the fall, winter, and spring. Each huddle lasts about an hour and a half and includes a shared meal, singing hymns, a testimony from one of the men of the church, teaching from God's Word, and a closing time of small-group prayer. In addition to the monthly huddle, the ministry hosts a yearly retreat or conference.

What Canby Christian Believes

While the Bible itself is the church's official document of faith, Canby Christian's statement of faith articulates the doctrinal convictions that most fundamentally define who they are. The statement treats Scripture as the full, inerrant record of God's self-disclosure, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, supernaturally moved by the Holy Spirit and fully trustworthy as the final authority for all of life.

God is confessed as one being in three co-equal, fully divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, executing distinct but complementary roles in redemptive history. God the Father created all things through Christ for His own glory and upholds all things by the word of His power. God the Son, Jesus Christ, took on human flesh through the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit, was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, died on the cross as a substitute for sinners, rose bodily on the third day, and now sits at the Father's right hand as Head of His Body, the Church, and the only Mediator between God and man. God the Spirit convicts the world of sin, draws the unredeemed to repentance and faith, imparts new spiritual life at salvation, and sanctifies, seals, fills, guides, instructs, comforts, equips, empowers, permanently indwells, and bestows spiritual gifts to believers.

Mankind is created in God's image, free of sin, to glorify God and enjoy His fellowship; through temptation and a free choice to disobey, sin, death, and condemnation came to all, leaving all humanity in desperate need of the Savior. Salvation is found in none other than Jesus Christ, whose death on the cross was the sole and complete payment for sins; each person who turns from sin in repentance and places faith in Christ alone is made a new creation, declared righteous, and secured as an adopted child of God.

The Church is described as the one universal Body of Christ, expressed locally wherever God's people meet regularly under the watchful care of a plurality of biblically qualified elders. The two ordinances are baptism, a public declaration of the believer's union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, performed by immersion, and the Lord's Supper, a corporate commemoration of Christ's death to be preceded by careful self-examination. Marriage is taught as the foundational institution of the family, established by God at the beginning of time, made up of one man and one woman united in covenant, with husband and wife of equal value before God and complementary in calling. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord.

Missions is described as the duty, privilege, and aim of every believer and local church, with a primary focus on efforts that establish, strengthen, and reproduce biblically based churches that plant churches for future generations. In "Things to Come," the church awaits the glorious, visible, personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the bodily resurrection of both the saved and the lost, eternal wrath for the lost, and eternal joy in the new heaven and new earth for the saved.

Six Pillars: Word, Prayer, Fellowship, Worship, Service, Mission

Six biblical values shape everything the church does. The first is God's Word: the church strives to be people of the Book, with expositional preaching on Sunday mornings that carefully walks through a text of Scripture to hear God's voice. The second is prayer: just as the church hears from God through His Word, it desires to speak His Word back to Him in prayer, treating prayer as the primary work of the church and the church's greatest prerogative to intercede for others.

The third is fellowship. Because Jesus died to reconcile His people both to God and to one another, the church values the relationships of the body of Christ, striving to be hospitable, forgiving, gracious, and intentional. The fourth is worship, passionate and heartfelt worship done in spirit and in truth, with the recognition that worship extends beyond the songs sung on Sunday to an entire orientation of life. The fifth is service: every saint possesses spiritual gifts for the service of the church and the world, with leadership existing to train and equip them. The sixth is mission: the church is God's strategy for reaching the world, and all believers are called to the work of fulfilling the Great Commission as disciples making disciples.

Membership, Baptism, and the Connect Class

Becoming a member at Canby Christian begins with reviewing the church's Statement of Faith and Core Values. Prospective members then complete a membership form, after which a staff member arranges a meeting with the prospective member's family and one of the pastors to review the membership commitment and discuss what involvement in the church will look like.

A quarterly Connect Class offers a more formal introduction to the church. Held on a Sunday from 12:15 to 2:00 PM in the Commons area after the second service, the class covers the church's core values, what membership means, and how newcomers can get involved by serving. Lunch is provided. Anyone interested in membership is encouraged to attend.

Baptism is treated as an important part of the membership process. The church describes baptism as a public declaration of a believer's salvation in Christ, identifying with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, symbolized by immersion in water. The ordinance is compared to a wedding, a public commitment, a naming ceremony, entering a new family, and a funeral, marking the passing of the old self. Baptism is most often celebrated as part of a Sunday worship service.

An Elder-Led Church with a Pastoral Staff

Canby Christian is governed by a plurality of elders, with a pastoral staff carrying out day-to-day ministry. The staff includes Lead Pastor Aaron Adame, who became the church's lead pastor in August 2017 after serving in Southern California; Pastor of Family and Worship Kody Antisdel, who joined in September 2019; Associate Pastor Robert McCartney, who oversees men's ministry and other pastoral duties; Student Pastor Nathan O'Brien, who joined the staff in 2023; Children's Ministry Director Ashleigh McCartney and Coordinator Rachel Newell; Office Manager Melody Roberts; and Women's Ministry Director Michelle Adame.

The current elders include Brandon Chase, who has attended the church since shortly after his birth in 1973 and has led the missions committee for many years; Nate Fanno; Dan Leischner, who also serves as Chief Financial Officer for Africa New Life Ministries International; John Gault; and Kevin Hughes. Elders serve renewable terms, and the church's structure reflects the conviction that local churches should be under the care of a plurality of godly men.

Outreach Near and Far: Ministry Partners

Beyond its in-house ministries, Canby Christian financially and prayerfully supports a number of partner organizations locally and around the world.

Locally, Together Canby is a faith-based nonprofit that provides poverty-alleviating, dignity-strengthening programs for youth and families in partnership with local churches, service clubs, donors, and the Canby School District. The Pregnancy Care Center of Canby provides accurate, compassionate information at no cost to families, including maternity and infant supplies, parenting education, pregnancy tests, post-abortion support, support for men, and onsite ultrasound where applicable. The church also supports Go Inc Missions, which organizes short-term mission trips for youth and adults.

In the region, Renewed Heart provides referrals to vetted Christian mental health professionals and hosts workshops, conferences, and seminars to strengthen the Christian mental health community. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Canby uses the platform of sport to reach coaches and athletes with the gospel.

Internationally, Africa Renewal Ministries, under Pastor Peter, has grown to seven affiliated ministries impacting more than thirty communities across Uganda, planting more than 650 churches, training over 2,700 leaders, and sponsoring more than 15,000 children in education, medical care, leadership training, and spiritual discipleship. The Connally family, sent through SIM, is involved in long-term missionary work in Peru, focusing on Bible translation and gospel proclamation in native languages, along with providing no-cost dental procedures for those without medical access. The church supports them through continual prayer, direct financial contributions, and short-term missions teams. Simeon Trust International, which trains the next generation of biblical expositors, is also supported.

Each year on Halloween evening, the church hosts a community Trunk or Treat on its campus, with candy, snacks, games, and activities for area families. Volunteers decorate their vehicles and pass out candy, and the church accepts donations of bagged candy in the weeks leading up to the event.

The Podcast and a Wide Reading List

Canby Christian maintains a podcast that feeds sermons and discussions through Apple Podcasts and other platforms. A second series, "On Healthy Church," walks through the nine marks of a healthy church laid out by Mark Dever, covering expository preaching, gospel doctrine, conversion and evangelism, church membership, church discipline, discipleship and growth, church leadership, the practice of prayer, and the practice of missions. Sermons are also archived on the church's YouTube channel.

The church publishes an extensive recommended reading list that reflects its theological convictions. Books are organized into categories including Christian Living (John Piper's "Desiring God," Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "The Cost of Discipleship," J.I. Packer's "Knowing God," Bob Kauflin's "Worship Matters," Tim Keller's "The Prodigal God," and others); Christ and Family Life (Sally Lloyd-Jones's "The Jesus Storybook Bible," Paul Tripp's "Parenting," Donald Whitney's "Family Worship," and Tedd Tripp's "Shepherding a Child's Heart"); Theology (Wayne Grudem's "Systematic Theology," John Calvin's "Institutes," John Stott's "The Cross of Christ," R.C. Sproul's "The Holiness of God," and Mark Dever's "Nine Marks of a Healthy Church"); Christian Apologetics (C.S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity" and Tim Keller's "The Reason for God"); Bible Study Resources; Spiritual Formation; and Relationships and Sexuality. The leadership notes that the views expressed in these resources belong to the authors and may not always perfectly align with the views of the church's leadership or members.

One-to-One Bible Reading

Among the discipleship practices promoted at Canby Christian is one-to-one Bible reading, drawn from David Helm's book of the same name. The approach pairs two people to read through a book of the Bible together, two to four times a month, using printable discussion guides developed by Matthias Media that match the genre of the book being studied. The church makes guides available for Old Testament narrative, wisdom literature and poetry, prophetic literature, the Gospels and Acts, the epistles, and apocalyptic literature. Members who don't already have a Bible-reading partner can submit a short questionnaire, and the church will pair them with someone else looking to invest in that kind of discipleship.

Visiting Canby Christian

The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9 AM to 3 PM, closed Friday and Saturday, and open Sunday from 8 AM to 1 PM. Sunday gatherings take place at 444 North Holly Street in Canby. Children's ministry is available during both Sunday services, and the church offers no strict dress code. After services, the Information Center is staffed to answer questions and help visitors connect. Giving is available online, the church's directory and registration system runs through the Church Center app, and sermons and teaching are accessible online through YouTube and the church podcast.

Canby Christian Church describes itself: "We are a people who seek to bring glory to God by loving Jesus, loving others, and making disciples."