An Ewald Avenue Congregation Since 1970
The South Salem Church of Christ has been gathering at 310 Ewald Avenue SE in Salem, Oregon since August 1970. More than five decades in, the building still anchors a steady rhythm of Bible study, a cappella singing, weekly communion and straightforward teaching from God's Word. The congregation describes its purpose plainly: "We live to glorify Christ in our lives." Its tagline, "Making Christ Known in the Salem Area," captures the evangelistic bent of a church that opens every service with an invitation to study the Scriptures and arranges personal Bible studies for anyone who asks.
Visitors who step through the doors on a Sunday morning find a family of Christians striving to follow the New Testament pattern rather than a programmed religious experience. The congregation is part of the broader Churches of Christ fellowship, a non-creedal, non-denominational branch of the Restoration Movement that organizes itself around the Bible alone, with elders shepherding local flocks and baptism marking the entrance into membership.
Sundays on Ewald Avenue
Sunday is the heart of the week. The schedule follows a familiar Churches of Christ cadence, with Bible study opening the day, a morning worship service following, and a second gathering in the evening.
9:30 AM - Bible Study. Classes for every age begin at 9:30 in person and on the church's YouTube livestream. Adult classes follow a quarter-by-quarter curriculum, while classes for children and teens run alongside them in their own rooms.
10:30 AM - Worship. The morning service gathers the whole congregation for congregational singing, prayer, the Lord's Supper and a sermon rooted in Scripture. The Lord's Supper is observed every Sunday as a remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice. A collection is taken up as an act of worship, though it is for members only; visitors are under no obligation to give and are not singled out in the pew.
5:30 PM - Evening Worship. A second worship assembly meets at 5:30, again in person and on YouTube. The format mirrors the morning: a sermon, prayer and singing. On the second Sunday evening of each month the building is closed and the church gathers instead at members' homes for an evening of fellowship.
Sermon topics give a good sense of the pulpit's range. Recent Sunday morning messages have walked through names of God ("God Is Eternal," "God Is Spirit," "God Is One"), studies from the Old Testament characters ("Elkanah," "The Redemption of Gomer"), doctrine ("The 5 Trinities for Life," "The Work of the Eldership"), and expositions of New Testament letters. Topical series on marriage and family ("God's Plan for the Family," "Love at Work," "Love I Never Knew Of"), Christian character ("Godliness," "Glory," "Toiling On"), and integrity ("Who Decides Integrity?") round out the rotation.
Wednesday Nights Around the Bible
On Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM the building fills again for an adult Bible study alongside classes for children and teens. Recent Wednesday studies have walked verse by verse through Exodus and have run class series on Colossians. Questions and respectful discussion are welcomed and even encouraged; the church's stated goal is to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18), and the midweek hour is one of the chief places that growth happens.
Classes for Children, Teens and Young Adults
Bible classes meet during the Sunday school hour (9:30 AM) and again on Wednesday evenings (7:00 PM) for every age group the church serves.
- Children. Classes run from approximately 18 months through elementary school, using a curriculum divided into quarters with a new theme each quarter.
- Teens. Middle school and high school students meet for their own classes on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings.
- Young adults. Once a month, on a Sunday evening, the teens and young adults gather together for an additional study aimed at building stronger connections to God's Word.
What the Church Believes
The congregation summarizes its teaching in a five-step path that begins with the gospel and ends with perseverance.
- Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9-10).
- Repenting of one's sins (Acts 2:38).
- Confessing Jesus as the Christ (Acts 8:37).
- Being baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 22:16).
- Continuing in obedience to God (Hebrews 10:36).
Baptism by immersion is therefore the door into membership. "Members are those who have been baptized and are under authority of our Elders," the church explains. The eldership - a plurality of biblically qualified men who shepherd the flock - provides spiritual oversight. There is no separate ministerial association, presbytery or diocese above the local church; the South Salem congregation operates as an independent Church of Christ, accountable directly to Christ and His Word.
Worship itself is intentionally simple. The church follows the New Testament pattern of singing (without instrumental accompaniment), praying, preaching and observing the Lord's Supper on the first day of the week. Jesus' words in John 4:23-24 frame the whole approach: "the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
A Teaching Library Going Back Years
Every sermon and class the church records is added to a deep online archive. The current Sermons and Classes page covers recent months, while an Archived Sermons and Classes page indexes everything by month back through 2018 and beyond, with a separate "Prior Lessons" archive for earlier material. Visitors can work through sermons on series like Colossians, classes through the book of Exodus, and topical messages on marriage, family, love and integrity at their own pace.
Livestreamed on YouTube
Each gathering is broadcast on the church's YouTube channel so members who are traveling, sick or housebound can keep up with the services. The Sunday 9:30 Bible study, 10:30 worship, 5:30 evening worship and Wednesday 7:00 study all stream live. Recordings are then published for on-demand listening.
Visiting South Salem Church of Christ
First-time guests are treated with care. The congregation's own words set the tone: "When you visit one of our worship services, you will not be singled out or put on the spot. Instead, you will find a group of Christians who seek to honor God through worship and are striving to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ." Dress is informal to business-casual; what matters most is a teachable spirit.
Children are welcome in the worship service, and dedicated Bible classes for ages 18 months through elementary run at the same time as the adult Bible study on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. Teens have their own classes, and monthly gatherings draw teens and young adults together for deeper study and fellowship.
The church sits in a residential stretch of south Salem, and parking is available on site.
Anyone interested in studying the Bible privately can request a personal lesson from one of the preachers; the church makes those arrangements gladly. The two ministers carry the bulk of the pulpit ministry week to week, supported by a rotation of guest speakers from sister congregations who fill in for sermons and special series.
Gathering and Giving
The weekly offering is collected during the Sunday morning worship service and is reserved for the work of the congregation. Members may also mail contributions to the church's PO Box. Visitors are not asked to give.
The South Salem Church of Christ draws on a single conviction stated in its welcome: it wants to worship God "according to the teachings of the New Testament, allowing Scripture to guide our faith and practice in all things." The doors on Ewald Avenue stay open three times a week for anyone who wants to come and see - Sunday mornings for Bible study and worship, Sunday evenings for a second assembly, and Wednesday nights for deeper study together - and the lights stay on online for everyone else.