A Bilingual Church on the Corner of Montana and Lee Trevino
Cielo Vista Church sits at the corner of Montana Avenue and Lee Trevino Drive on El Paso's east side, a few miles from Fort Bliss and the neighborhoods that ring it. From that single campus, the church runs three Sunday services - two in English and one in Spanish - along with a Wednesday Community Night, a children's ministry that spans nursery through fifth grade, a middle and high school student ministry, a college-age community, marriage and divorce care, Celebrate Recovery, biblical counseling, and a missions program that reaches into fourteen countries. The lead pastor is Dr. Larry Lamb.
What sets CVC apart is the bilingual character of the building. The English and Spanish services share the same campus, the same preaching calendar, the same sermon notes, and the same children and student programming - just on different schedules and in different rooms. For a city where Spanish and English overlap in daily life, that bilingual identity is the through line of almost everything the church does.
Sunday Mornings: Two English Services and One in Spanish
On any given Sunday, the Worship Center fills twice. The first English service begins at 9:00 am, and the second at 11:00 am. Both services feature the same preaching and the same worship team, with Children's Ministry available for kids from birth through fifth grade at both hours. The 9:00 am hour also hosts the Student Ministry gathering upstairs in the West End, Spanish translation headsets for adults who want to follow along in Spanish, and a Spanish-language Bible study called Estudio Bíblico in Room 2D.
The Spanish-language service, CVC Español, meets at 11:00 am in the West End Auditorium on the second floor. The service is fully in Spanish, with its own preaching rotation, and the same children's programming available during the hour. Interactive sermon notes are offered in both languages at cielovista.sermons.church, and both the 9:00 am and 11:00 am English services are livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel. The Spanish service is also streamed on a separate channel at Conéctate en Vivo.
Community Nights on the First Wednesday
On the first Wednesday of each month, the building shifts into Community Night. Doors open at 5:45 pm and a light meal is served before the English gathering begins at 6:00 pm in the Worship Center. The Spanish Noche de Comunidad follows at 6:30 pm, also in the Worship Center. Children from age one through fifth grade have their own programming during the evening, with check-in running from 6:10 to 6:45 pm at the Kids Lobby. Middle and high school students meet at 6:30 pm as part of the night.
The format is intentionally intergenerational. Adults worship and study together, kids move through their own classes, and the meal at the start gives everyone a chance to sit down together before the program begins.
CVC Kids: From the Nursery Through Fifth Grade
The Children's Ministry runs from birth through completed fifth grade and operates during both Sunday services and Community Night. First-time families are asked to arrive about 25 minutes before service so the team can register the kids and print security tags. On Sundays, check-in windows run from 8:40 to 9:10 am for the first service and 10:40 to 11:10 am for the second. Every child is checked in at the Kids Lobby.
The classrooms are split into three sections. The Nursery covers birth through age two and is staffed by attendants who pray over each child. The Pre-K through 5th Grade wing uses The Gospel Project, a Christ-centered chronological curriculum that walks kids through Scripture from Genesis to Revelation and points each story to Jesus. On Wednesday nights the same wing uses Deep Roots Apologetics from the Defendable Faith Institute, giving older elementary kids practical tools for explaining their faith.
For children with special needs, the Exceptional Friends ministry runs a sensory-friendly classroom for ages three through eleven during Sunday services. The church also runs a week of Vacation Bible School every June for children ages four through completed sixth grade, with scholarships available so any child can attend regardless of ability to pay.
Students and the College-Age Ministry
CVC Students gathers middle and high schoolers every Sunday at 9:00 am upstairs in the West End for worship and Bible study, with a second meeting on the first Wednesday at 6:30 pm during Community Night. Student mission trips are part of the rhythm. Recent and upcoming trips include a student-and-parent journey to Cambodia that uses soccer as a platform alongside partner missionaries. Five graduating seniors each year receive a scholarship through the Student Ministry as a direct expression of the church's commitment to generational life change.
The College-Age Ministry serves young adults eighteen to twenty-six. During its fall season it meets on Wednesdays in the Morgan Theater with worship at 6:30 pm and small groups at 7:00 pm. The community centers on five values - authenticity, devotion, kindness, peace, and fun - and is led by Maggie Romero as Community Group Coordinator and College Age Advocate, with Jose Saenz heading up College Age and Guest Services.
Shipbuilders: A School-Based Outreach
Shipbuilders is CVC's flagship outreach to its immediate neighborhood. Launched in 2021 through a partnership with the Ysleta Independent School District, the ministry places adult volunteers inside five local schools - REL Washington, Glen Cove, Edgemere, Pebble Hills Elementary, and Hanks Middle - to build relationships with students who are at risk or who lack a stable home environment.
Four programs make up the work. In the Mentorship program, Shipbuilder shepherds spend an hour a month with a matched student, listening and playing games. Friendship Club is an after-school Bible study for upper and lower grade students, run with the school administration's permission. Cavalier Leadership for Christ gathers Hanks Middle students for whole-group gospel teaching followed by small breakout discussions. The Partnership program is on-call: when a school needs help with an event, painting, grilling for teachers, or face-painting at Chalk the Block, Shipbuilders shows up. Caitlyn Tapia-Bindrum coordinates the ministry from the church office.
Spiritual Wellness and Biblical Counseling
The Spiritual Wellness ministry is built around the conviction that God's Word is sufficient for life's hardest questions. Three biblical counselors - James Morris, Khazneh Torres, and Jim Negretti - meet one-on-one with regular attenders of the church. Because demand is high, individual counseling is reserved for people already plugged into CVC, but the church keeps an extensive online library of resources organized by topic - anxiety, marriage, grief, identity, addiction, finances, sexuality, abuse, and many others - so anyone can start working through an issue on their own.
Alongside individual counseling, the ministry runs a rotation of group classes. The Biblical Truth Class meets Sundays at 11:00 am in Room 2D and is open to adults of every age and stage. Premarital Classes meet Tuesdays in the Conference Room and are required preparation for couples planning to marry at CVC. Re|Engage, a marriage enrichment program for healthy, struggling, and broken marriages, meets Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8:00 pm in the West End. Divorce Care is a thirteen-week video-based program that meets Sundays from 10:30 am to noon in the Conference Room for people working through separation or divorce.
Celebrate Recovery
Celebrate Recovery meets at 6:15 pm on Tuesdays and is built around the Beatitudes from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. It is open to anyone dealing with hurts, hang-ups, or harmful habits - not only addiction. Each evening starts with fellowship and worship, moves into a teaching lesson and a testimony from someone whose life has changed, and then breaks into separate men's and women's small groups for honest conversation and prayer. Childcare is provided for children ages three through ten. The program is part of the larger international Celebrate Recovery network, and CVC also hosts a Thursday night version of the gathering as one of its Spiritual Wellness classes for people in the recovery track.
Women's Ministry and Men's Ministry
Linda Newport directs Women's Ministry, which gathers women around Scripture and fellowship. The signature event is the Women's Retreat, a multi-day weekend in the mountains that draws well over a hundred women for teaching, worship, and rest. Past retreats have been held in the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico with guest speakers like Cheryl Kolesar, and a Women's Conference is on the calendar as well. Throughout the year the ministry runs shorter reading challenges - recent plans have walked women through Romans, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians over thirty days.
The Men's Ministry is led by Executive Pastor Charlie Arellano and centers on a regular Men's Breakfast where men from across the church gather for food, fellowship, and a short teaching from Scripture.
Life Groups
Life Groups are the small-group engine of the church and meet weekly, biweekly, or monthly depending on the rhythm of each group. The vision comes from Acts 2:42-46 - the early church devoted to fellowship, prayer, the teaching of God's Word, the breaking of bread, and shared life. Each group works through a three-part framework: Connect (build friendships and support one another), Mature (grow through studying Scripture together), and Multiply (raise up new leaders and start new groups). Groups are open for sign-up through the Church Center app, and groups are intentionally structured to be present in the real moments of life - grief, marriage struggles, parenting, illness - not just scheduled meetings.
The Armed Forces Ministry
CVC's location near Fort Bliss shapes a long-standing commitment to service members and their families. The Armed Forces ministry runs a Military Appreciation Service that has featured speakers like Dave Roever, a Vietnam veteran and burn survivor who shares his testimony of resilience and faith. A Soldier Spotlight highlights men and women stationed at Fort Bliss who are part of the church, and the ministry keeps a dedicated page for sharing faith stories and prayer requests from military families.
Missions at Home and Around the World
CVC supports twenty-two missionary partners across twelve organizations in fourteen countries. The list stretches from the Philippines and Cambodia to Haiti, Costa Rica, Brazil, Kenya, Malawi, Germany, Wales, Mexico, Guam, and Utah, along with U.S.-based ministries in South Florida, Virginia, Texas, and elsewhere. Partners include missionaries with Global Surge, BBFI Missions, the International Mission Board, Samaritan's Purse, Chosen People, and several smaller organizations.
Locally, the church serves alongside the Rescue Mission of El Paso through an annual work day that provides maintenance, painting, cleaning, and light carpentry to keep the rescue mission running. Short-term trips are encouraged as a way for anyone in the church to experience missions firsthand - the Cambodia student trip is one example, and the church urges every member to go on at least one global trip.
Ready Response is the church's disaster relief arm. Through a partnership with Samaritan's Purse and other relief organizations, CVC volunteers are trained and on call to deploy whenever a major disaster strikes locally, nationally, or globally - providing food, shelter, medical aid, and a listening ear to communities in crisis.
What CVC Believes
The church's mission statement is simple: Inviting the lost and broken into our Christ-centered journey from empty religion to generational life change. The values underneath that mission are listed as Biblical Truth Alive in Love, Power of Prayer, Life-Changing Generosity, Unity in Diversity, Before You're Ready, Sharing the Journey, Motivated by Christ's Love, Engaging God's Word and Spirit, and Thankful for Grace.
The Statement of Beliefs, available in English and Spanish, teaches that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God; that God exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; that Jesus Christ was virgin-born, lived a sinless life, died on the cross for sin, rose again, and will return as King; that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer and gives spiritual gifts; that God created the world in six literal days and human beings in His image; that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone, not by works; that salvation is eternally secure for the true believer; and that marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman. The statement also affirms the sanctity of human life from conception, teaches that God created two distinct and complementary genders, reserves the offices of Pastor, Elder, and Deacon for men, and expresses the church's committed support for Israel as part of its biblical worldview.
Baptism is practiced by immersion for anyone who has personally trusted Christ - parents must give permission for younger children - and is taught as an outward symbol of inward faith, not a means of salvation.
Planning a Visit
Cielo Vista Church is at 3585 Lee Trevino Drive in El Paso. Visitors enter the property through a roundabout off Lee Trevino Drive, where parking team volunteers direct traffic. Families with children will find closer parking on the children's ministry side of the building across from the school. The greeting team at the main entrance walks first-time guests to the Worship Center, and parents can stop by the Children's Welcome Center to get kids checked in. Dress ranges from jeans and a t-shirt to business casual; modesty is the only guideline.
Several ways to stay connected before a first visit: the Church Center app (available on both iOS and Android) handles event registration, giving, and ministry sign-ups; sermon notes and previous services live on the church's YouTube channel; giving can be done online, by texting GIVE and an amount to 855-324-3608, at physical giving stations around the building, or through the app. A Donor-Advised Fund page walks donors through giving stocks, appreciated assets, or cash through funds like Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, Vanguard Charitable, and the National Christian Foundation.
The church is led by Lead Pastor Dr. Larry Lamb alongside Executive and Men's Pastor Charlie Arellano, Counseling and Student Pastor Will Perez, Discipleship and Missions Pastor Seth Brooks, Spanish Ministry Pastor Luis Almanza, and a team of additional elders. The staff also includes a Worship Director, a Children's Ministry Director, a Women's Ministry Director, three biblical counselors, and coordinators for shipbuilders, wellness, college-age ministry, and community groups - all working together across the English and Spanish ministries of one church on the corner of Montana and Lee Trevino.