On Vesper Avenue in Van Nuys and on Coldwater Canyon in Studio City, a single congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) gathers each week in two very different buildings. Church of the Valley and Little Brown Church have shared one name, one staff, and one budget since 1989, and the people who fill them say the same thing about both: the doors are open, the table is open, and the music ranges from folk hymns at sunrise to a full choir and praise band by midmorning.
Rooted in Two Earlier Congregations
The story begins long before the merger. Central Christian Church of Van Nuys was founded more than a century ago by a small, committed group working with a renowned evangelist. By 1924 the congregation had grown large enough to build the sanctuary on Vesper Avenue that still anchors Church of the Valley today. Across the pass in Studio City, the Rev. John Wells had a different vision: a refuge in the midst of the city, with doors that would never close for those seeking spiritual solace. The simple chapel he erected in 1939 became the Little Brown Church, and word of its open hospitality spread quickly.
In 1989 the two congregations came together to form Church of the Valley. Each brought its own traditions of ministry and faith, and the people who joined them shared the same traits the church still names today: adaptability, pragmatism, hopefulness, and commitment. The result is one congregation worshipping in two locations each Sunday.
Three Sunday Services Across the Valley
Sunday begins early at the Little Brown Church in Studio City, where an 8:00 a.m. service sets a quieter, folk-inflected tone. By 10:30 a.m. the focus has shifted to Church of the Valley in Van Nuys, where the main worship of the week unfolds. The 10:30 service features both a choir and a praise band, includes a brief greeting time and shared prayer concerns, and gathers at the communion table every Sunday. Children and teens attend Sunday School during the sermon hour, and a full-time nursery staff cares for the youngest visitors in a dedicated nursery room. The 10:30 service is livestreamed on Facebook for those who cannot attend in person. The day closes back at Little Brown Church with a 5:00 p.m. service that often features guest musicians, communion, and the kind of lingering conversation over coffee and refreshments that members say is a hallmark of the smaller chapel.
Music That Moves Between Folk and Choir
Three services each Sunday give the music ministry room to breathe. The Little Brown Church's morning gathering leans on a folk blend of classic hymns and contemporary favorites. The 10:30 service at Church of the Valley layers a choir under a full praise band, drawing on choir anthems, contemporary worship songs, and traditional congregational hymns. The evening service at Little Brown Church regularly welcomes guest singers and instrumentalists. Choir rehearsal happens on Thursday evenings at Church of the Valley, and musicians at both chapels are warmly invited to join.
Children, Youth, and Loch Leven Summers
Children and youth ministries are led by Rev. Beth Parker, the Associate Pastor and Director of Children and Youth Ministries. Sunday School for children and teens runs during the 10:30 worship hour, and a separate nursery is staffed throughout the morning. During the summer the young disciples head up to Loch Leven in Mentone, California, a Disciples of Christ camp where children as young as three (in a parent-and-child track) and teens through age 18 spend a few days to a full week immersed in nature, music, laughter, and study. Back home, the children and youth department rehearses each fall for a Christmas show performed in mid-December, and throughout the year hosts staycation overnights at the church, complete with movie nights, games, and open conversations about faith led by compassionate adults.
The Fetty Food Pantry
On Tuesday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to noon, the Fetty Food Pantry opens at Church of the Valley and serves the surrounding neighborhood. The pantry has been running for more than twenty years and became a partner pantry of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank in 2008. A small team of volunteers now feeds more than a thousand people in the Van Nuys community each month. The pantry is open to individuals and families living within the area roughly bounded by Sepulveda Boulevard, Hazeltine Avenue, Vanowen Street, and Oxnard Street; a photo ID or a utility bill with a current address is required, and guests may receive food up to twice a month.
A Developmental Preschool on the Campus
Sharing the Van Nuys campus is the COV Developmental Preschool, a weekday program serving children whose families come from across the San Fernando Valley. The school's philosophy centers on the belief that each child is unique and grows at his or her own rate, and the program combines structured and unstructured, child-initiated and material-stimulated activities across music, dramatic play, science, art, math concepts, language, and literature. The school year runs from mid-August through early June, with weekday hours from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and a core morning session from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., along with early care and extended care options. Director Nancy Paczkowski invites interested families to schedule a tour.
A Wedding Chapel with Hollywood-Era History
The Little Brown Church has hosted more than 23,000 weddings since the late 1930s. Among its most famous couples were Ronald and Nancy Reagan. The simple chapel still welcomes weddings today and seats up to 125 guests. Church of the Valley's 1924 sanctuary, surrounded by stained glass windows and a landscaped courtyard, seats up to 400. Both chapels host weddings, baby dedications, and memorial services, and both proudly perform LGBTQ+ weddings. A non-refundable $250 deposit secures a date, and the office can walk couples through the rest of the planning.
An Open Table and an Open Door
The congregation describes itself in language drawn directly from the Disciples of Christ tradition. Members share a genuine respect for the freedom of belief, gathering around one essential conviction: faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Persons are free to follow their consciences guided by the Bible, the Holy Spirit, study, and prayer, and are expected to extend that same freedom to others. The church holds an open Communion table as a sign of God's grace offered to all who believe in Jesus Christ, and it practices a ministry of all believers in which both ordained and lay persons lead in worship, service, and spiritual growth. Membership is not required to come to the table, to join a Bible study, or to walk through the door.
Joining the Life of the Church
Visitors who want to keep up with the congregation can subscribe to the newsletter, follow along on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube, or give online through the church's tithe.ly page. A Wednesday evening Bible study meets on Zoom, and monthly fellowship luncheons follow the 10:30 Sunday worship at Church of the Valley. Elders meet on the second Monday of each month and the executive board on the third, both at 7:00 p.m. at Church of the Valley, and a youth parents' survey is open for families who want to help shape what comes next for the children and youth program. Senior Minister Rev. Dr. Michael Kosik has been part of this congregation for more than thirty years and continues to focus on building an inclusive, outreach-minded community, with Rev. Beth Parker, a full music staff, a preschool director, and an office coordinator working alongside him.