A Church on Kinwest Parkway
Tucked along Kinwest Parkway in the Hackberry Creek area of Irving, Texas, Hackberry Creek Church is a Presbyterian congregation whose members describe it as a community centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ and eager to share his love with the wider neighborhood. The congregation grew out of a migration from First Presbyterian Church of Irving in 1998, and today it gathers each Sunday in a building that includes a sanctuary, classrooms, Patterson Hall, a children's wing, and a nursery.
The church's mission is summed up in three words that appear throughout its life together: Behold, Abide, and Go Forth. To behold is to encounter God through intelligent and passionate worship. To abide is to grow deeper in relation to Christ and one another through Sunday school and small groups. To go forth is to be sent by God into the world to share the good news of Jesus Christ with people near and far. Senior Pastor Rev. Jonathan Tony, who came back to HCC in 2019 after first attending the church with his wife Emily in 2009, frames it this way: "We are a community centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ, excited to share the good news of his love for his world."
Sunday Mornings at HCC
Worship is the weekly center of life at Hackberry Creek. Each Sunday at 9:30 am, Pastor Jonathan leads the gathered congregation through a service that Pastor Jonathan and the staff describe as intelligent and passionate, with a creative contemporary sound that is balanced by the regular singing of hymns from the church's Presbyterian heritage. The service follows a set order of worship with a downloadable bulletin posted each week, including a large-print worship lyrics file. Worship Activity Bags sit on a cart in the narthex, filled with a children's order of worship and quiet puzzles and games that follow along with the sermon.
Halfway through the service, after a brief "Message for Young Disciples" aimed at the children present, kids ages four through first grade are invited forward for Children's Worship in Room 133, where they sing, pray, and hear the Word before being returned to their parents in the sanctuary for the final portion of the service. Nursery care for infants through age three is offered in Room 136 from 9:30 to 11:45 am.
At 11:00 am, the building fills again. Sunday school meets for everyone from pre-K through adult, with separate rooms for HCC Kids (4-1st grade in Room 149, 2nd-5th grade in Room 148), a youth class in the Youth Room for 6th through 12th graders, and adult classes in Patterson Hall and Room 241. Classes typically run for a six-week session before rotating.
Visitors can park in the HCC parking lot off Kinwest Parkway and enter through the main doors into the narthex. Assisted listening devices are available from the audio tech at the AV desk at the back of the sanctuary; visitors using them are asked to bring their own 3.5 mm headphones or earbuds. Telecoil neck loops are also on hand for those whose hearing aids support that connection.
HCC Kids: From Nursery Through Fifth Grade
HCC's children's ministry exists to teach and inspire children to love and reflect Jesus, and to equip parents to be the primary disciple-makers of their children. The nursery, in Room 136, welcomes infants through age three during the entire Sunday morning from 9:30 to 11:45 am. Children ages four through first grade begin the service with their families, are dismissed mid-service to Children's Worship in Room 133, and return to the sanctuary at the close of worship. The 11:00 am Sunday school hour offers two graded classes, Room 149 for ages 4 through first grade and Room 148 for second through fifth grade, where the curriculum walks through the chronological big story of the Bible - God's plan to rescue his people through his son, Jesus Christ.
Beyond Sunday morning, the ministry runs WAM (Worship | Art | Music), an online resource packed with weekly lessons, downloadable activity packs, and a video lesson aimed at children age four through fifth grade. Parents can join the WAM mailing list to receive each week's download, and a volunteer rotation schedule is posted for those who want to help in the classroom. All HCC Kids and student ministry volunteers and staff are trained and background-checked through MinistrySafe, with required refreshers every two years.
Music at HCC Kids has its own dedicated director, Jaycie Skidmore, who oversees Children's Music and the broader music ministry of the church. Children's choirs and seasonal events round out a program designed to make each child's first encounter with worship joyful and rooted in the gospel.
The Bridge: Middle and High School Youth
The Bridge is the name HCC gives its youth ministry for students in sixth through twelfth grade, and the staff's stated DNA for the program comes from 1 Thessalonians 2:8: "Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well." Director of Youth and Young Adults Christian Brandon, who joined the staff after graduating from Truett Seminary in 2024, leads the ministry with a focus on forming students who will stay connected to the church after high school.
On Sundays, students gather in the Youth Room at 11:00 am for donuts, social time, prayer, and a study built around questions they themselves have raised about who God is, what the Bible says, and the right response of believers. On the third Sunday of each month, middle schoolers in 6th through 8th grade are invited to Gospel Games, a 12:00 to 1:00 pm session of competitive activities designed to make them more comfortable using their Bibles in daily life.
The Bridge also gathers students for seasonal events - a fall festival with games and candy, a youth worship night hosted by the youth worship team, and Sunday-afternoon field days on the back lawn with 9-square, soccer, basketball, and a provided lunch. Every summer the group has a roster of mission and fellowship opportunities, including Costa Rica mission trips that are reported back to the whole church in combined youth-and-adult Sunday school gatherings.
College and Young Adults
The College and Young Adults ministry serves ages 18 through 30 with the conviction that this season of life calls for an intentional community of Jesus followers. Christian Brandon oversees the ministry alongside his youth work, meeting students for Coffee with Christian on Wednesdays between 1:00 and 6:00 pm at rotating local coffee shops - a free coffee, tea, or pastry is on offer. The weekly Young Adult Small Group meets on Mondays at 7:30 pm, gathering for Bible study, spiritual disciplines, shared meals, and community service. Snacks, and often dinner, are provided. Location details and RSVPs come directly from Christian.
One young adult member describes the group this way: "Small Group is more than Bible Study - it's about community. It's a breath of fresh air from the hustle and bustle of life. We eat together, pray together, laugh together, and fellowship together. Small Group is something I look forward to every week."
Women's Ministry
HCC's women's ministry centers on two Bible studies and a moms' community called MomComm. The Women's Morning Bible Study meets every other Tuesday at 9:30 am, working through a book study that begins each fall. The companion evening study, Broken to Beautiful, gathers every other Tuesday from 6:00 to 8:00 pm for a shared meal, fellowship, and a deep walk through 1st Corinthians. The annual Women's Ministry Fall Gathering brings everyone together for a light dinner and a teaching - recent years have featured author and minister Rev. Dr. Ginger Hertenstein Conley speaking on prayer.
MomComm, Irving's iteration of the MomComm model, meets on the first and third Friday of each month from 9:30 to 11:30 am in Patterson Hall, running from late August through early May. Moms with children of all ages gather over coffee, share stories, and discuss a podcast episode (the series Don't Mom Alone has been a recent anchor). Free nursery childcare is provided with advance registration; moms with young babies may keep them with them as long as they wish. Emily Tony coordinates the group.
Men's Ministry
The men's ministry at HCC meets men across the week in three rhythms. On Friday mornings at 6:30 am, the Men's Prayer Breakfast gathers on Zoom for an hour of mutual prayer and Bible or book study, with Pastor Jonathan hosting. On the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, the Men's Brown Bag Bible Study meets from 12:00 to 1:00 pm in the fourth-floor art room at Washington Pointe Assisted Living on Kinwest Parkway for a bring-your-own-lunch study of the Book of Acts. And each fall the men look forward to the annual HCC Men's Golf Extravaganza - a putting tournament held at Ellington National in Coppell - which in recent years has raised a barbecue dinner and college football on outdoor screens.
Adult Sunday School and Small Groups
Adult Sunday School at HCC aims to be "the place everyone wants to be for an hour each Sunday morning." Each six-week session features studies that appeal to both new and longtime participants. Recent classes have included a six-week study of Nehemiah led by Rev. Dr. Ginger Hertenstein Conley and Karen Carson, titled "The Blessing and Cost of Living by Faith," and "Conversations on Grace," led by Sandra Dodge and Amy Teter in Room 241. Combined youth-and-adult gatherings in Patterson Hall are used to hear mission-trip reports and other whole-church stories.
Small groups meet throughout the week in homes across the area. Current hosts include Brad and Karen Carson, Greg and Sandra Lindstrom, Pliny and Mary Etta Gale, Alan and Paula Messimer, Randy and Tamie Reed, and Pastor Jonathan and Emily Tony. The church library carries a growing collection of small group resources that any member can borrow. Walter Teter, Director of Discipleship, oversees the small group ministry.
Divorce Care and Family Grace Group
Two specialized care ministries round out the church's pastoral reach. Divorce Care runs seasonally on Wednesday evenings from 6:15 to 8:15 pm in Patterson Hall. The 13-week series is open to anyone hurting from separation or divorce, with a $20 workbook fee (scholarships available) and childcare offered with at least one week's notice. Family Grace Group, meeting every other Monday at 6:30 pm in Room 241, is described as a discipleship growth experience in a small group setting - a place to grow in well-being and to learn how to walk alongside a loved one's mental health journey.
A Praying Church
Prayer is woven into the fabric of HCC's life. The Monthly Prayer Meeting gathers on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm to pray for church ministries, individual needs, neighbors, and whatever else is on the hearts of God's people. The men's Friday Zoom prayer gathering, the weekly small group prayers, the regular staff prayer, and the open invitation in every worship service to bring requests forward all reinforce the conviction that "prayer matters. Prayer makes a difference."
Reaching Out: Serve Your Neighbor
HCC's mission board distributes 19 percent of the church's budget to ministries doing work that aligns with its calling, and in 2022 the church sent more than $180,600 to over twenty-six organizations and individuals. Grants are split roughly fifty-fifty between Presbyterian and non-Presbyterian ministries, and balanced across caring and compassion, evangelism and discipleship, and direct missionary support, with a global footprint that reaches every continent except Antarctica. A Ministry Liaison from HCC accompanies each supported ministry and reports back through the "Life and Works of the Church" segment in each week's worship service.
Locally, HCC's 4th Sunday Shop and Share invites members to add a few extra groceries or essential items to their shopping cart and bring them on the fourth Sunday of the month. The collected goods are distributed to three community partners: Irving Cares, BSW Community Clinic, and The Table-Irving. Compassionate Crafters meets the first and third Thursday of each month from 1:00 to 3:00 pm to sew, knit, and crochet items for outreach - sensory blankets for dementia patients, baby hats, knitted breast prosthetics, quilts, and prayer squares among them. On the first Thursday of each month, youth and adults from HCC volunteer with Many Helping Hands at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Irving to serve the Thursday Night Meal to the homeless community. HCC also supports Angel Tree, Family Promise, Forefront Living Foundation, the Mid Cities Women's Clinic, Presbyterian Children's Home and Services, Presbyterian Disaster Relief, The Stewpot, and a long list of international mission partners including Agape Belgium, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Interserve, NOROC, and Refuge City.
HCC Indian Fellowship
The HCC Indian Fellowship is an integral part of Hackberry Creek Church, established to reach and preach the gospel to fellow Indian brothers and sisters in the Irving area. The fellowship gathers around a shared conviction that those who have received the word of God, experienced his love, and been saved by the blood of Christ want to share that same love with others. Its own online presence at hccindianfellowship.org and its own YouTube channel provide additional ways for the fellowship to extend its reach.
What HCC Believes
Hackberry Creek Church holds to historic Christian orthodoxy in the Reformed and Presbyterian tradition. The church confesses the authority of Scripture - both the Old and New Testaments as the uniquely revealed and written Word of God, and Jesus Christ as the living Word - over all areas of faith and life. It affirms one God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who is one essence and three persons, sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things. Jesus Christ is confessed as truly God and truly human, born of the virgin Mary, whose death on the cross was the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world, who was raised on the third day, ascended to the Father in his resurrected body, and who will return to judge the living and the dead. The Holy Spirit is confessed as the one who makes Christ known and applies his saving work to the hearts of believers. Salvation is received by grace through faith, with Christ's righteousness and atonement as the sole basis and faith as the only instrument. The church itself is understood as a covenant community composed of all who, through faith in Christ and the sanctifying work of the Spirit, are united in the body of Christ, gathered around the preaching of the Word, the administration of the Sacraments, the faithful and mutual practice of discipline, and loving fellowship.
Hackberry Creek Church is a member of The Fellowship Community, a presbyterian order that emphatically asserts the centrality and authority of Scripture in the life of the church. The Fellowship Community is a network of churches and leaders called together to proclaim the gospel by growing in Christ's likeness, living by God's Word, and joining in God's mission in the world.
The Pastoral Team
Senior Pastor Rev. Jonathan Tony came to HCC as its pastor in 2019, having first worshipped at the church with his wife Emily from 2009 before God called them to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, where he served as Associate Pastor of Family Ministry at First Presbyterian Church. He holds a BA in History from Calvin College and an MDiv from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, was ordained in 2006, and is the father of three children.
Jaycie Skidmore serves as Music Director and oversees Children's Music. A Baylor graduate in Music Education who grew up in Coppell, she has been part of HCC since finishing her student teaching in the DFW area, became Children's Music Director in 2015, and took over the broader Director of Music Ministry role in April 2021. Walter Teter, Director of Discipleship, came to HCC after twenty-three years in various ministries at Highland Park Presbyterian Church, including elementary ministry. He and his wife Amy have two children and lead the small group ministry and the Divorce Care program. Christian Brandon, Director of Youth and Young Adults, joined HCC after graduating from Truett Seminary in 2024, having previously served as Youth Minister at First Baptist Church of Lexington, Texas, and at Heights Baptist Church in Temple.
Worship Online, Accessibility, and Getting Connected
Sunday services are livestreamed on YouTube and Vimeo for those who prefer to worship from home or who are traveling. The church's sermon library keeps past messages available online, and the latest worship bulletin and children's bulletin can be downloaded each week. Worship services are also accessible through assisted listening devices available at the AV desk in the sanctuary and through large-print bulletins available on request. A weekly e-newsletter, a printed calendar in the narthex, and a full church calendar that can be added to personal Outlook, Google, or iPhone calendars keep everyone informed of upcoming events.
Those who want to give can do so online through the church's giving page or through PayPal, or by mailing a check to the church's P.O. Box in Irving. Visitors and newcomers are encouraged to fill out the online Connect Card so that a staff member can follow up. Job openings, including the current search for a Director of Children's Ministries, are posted online for anyone interested in joining the staff. From a Sunday morning packed with every generation, to the Bible studies that fill Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, to the small groups that meet in homes across the area, the steady rhythm of life at Hackberry Creek Church points back to its simple call: behold, abide, and go forth.