Valley Community Church sits along Del Valle Parkway in Pleasanton, California, on a piece of land the Delucchi family worked for seventy-three years before it became a church campus. For nearly six decades the people here have worshipped, baptized children, run Vacation Bible Schools, served the homeless of the Tri-Valley, and sent missionaries to Cambodia, Spain, Iraq, and South Africa. The church describes its calling in a single sentence: to make, mature, and mobilize apprentices of Jesus. A simple invitation reads: Find Family Here.
Stewards of the Del Valle Property
Valley Community Church was founded in 1968. As the church approaches its sixtieth anniversary in 2028, it is in the middle of a campaign called Building for Family. Phase I of that campaign is already paid off; Phase II is the current drive. The vision behind the campaign is described in unusually concrete terms. The Delucchi family worked this land for seventy-three years before it became the church's. Every offering, every foundation poured, has been an act of trust in God doing something here worth giving lives to. Building for Family, the church says, is who they have always been: people learning to apprentice Jesus and helping others learn to apprentice Him too.
Information meetings for Phase II have been held at the church and at Inklings Common Room, and the campaign includes enhanced gathering areas and other campus improvements. The Del Valle Parkway campus is also home to Shining Light Preschool, an on-site preschool that operates as a ministry of the church.
Sundays at Nine and Eleven
Worship services are held on Sundays at 9 AM and 11 AM. The gatherings follow the same basic shape: a time of singing, prayer, biblical teaching, and communion. The church teaches that Sunday gatherings are a gift given by the Lord for the maturing of believers, the exalting of Jesus, and an open-armed invitation to those who are far from God.
The order of the service follows four movements the church calls The Gathering, The Music, The Word, and The Table. In the gathering, voices are lifted in songs of adoration, confession, hope, thanksgiving, and joy. The music is gospel-saturated and biblically faithful, chosen to form worshippers more and more into the likeness of Jesus. The preaching centers on the Word of God as the God-breathed, humanity-penned, story-shaped library that leads to Jesus from Genesis to Revelation. Then the Table: every week, believers come to the table to share the family meal of bread and wine (or juice), confessing sin and remembering the grace that covers it.
Both services are livestreamed, and on-demand messages are available. Giving is also available online through Pushpay, with no plate passed during services; giving boxes sit by each exit in the Sanctuary.
The Mission and the Seven Practices
The mission of the church is to make, mature, and mobilize apprentices of Jesus. This is the church's way of talking about the universal Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20. The apprenticeship framework is built on seven commitments:
- Scripture Meditation - listening to God's Word above all other voices.
- Unceasing Prayer - talking to God first and most about everything.
- Life Together - living in a confessing community of knowing and being known.
- Unhurried Presence - being present to God's presence in the moment He has given.
- Joyful Generosity - gladly giving to others what God has gladly given.
- Compassionate Gentleness - stewarding power with sacrificial love.
- Faithful Witness - telling the good news of Jesus with words and deeds.
What VCC Believes
Valley Community Church teaches a classical evangelical doctrine in seven core statements, each accompanied by a list of supporting Scripture references. They cover the one true God eternally existing in three equally divine persons; the sixty-six books of Scripture as the inspired, infallible, authoritative, and sufficient Word of God; humanity made in God's image and broken through rebellion; salvation accomplished by the Father sending the Son, who lived, died, rose, and ascended, and now sends the Holy Spirit to apply salvation through faith; the church created by Word and Spirit and indwelt by the Spirit; baptism and communion as the signs and seals of the New Covenant, received by faith as visible declarations of the gospel; and the bodily return of Jesus as King and Judge, the future new heaven and new earth, and the bodily resurrection of all people to eternal glory or eternal condemnation.
Alongside those doctrines, the church lists five distinctives that mark its communal life:
- Love the Enemy - the church is called to be a forgiving, sacrificial, and non-coercive people who use power for the good of others.
- Love the Poor - the church is called to care for the poor and suffering, meeting needs with joyful generosity.
- Love the Body - the church lives by a biblically defined vision of sexuality, marriage, and gender and is called to a holy sexuality.
- Love the Vulnerable - the church is committed to the sanctity of life, honoring image bearers of all ages from conception to death.
- Love the Other - the church is a multi-racial community born of grace that embodies radical hospitality across ethnic and national boundaries.
VCC Kids: From Nursery Through Fifth Grade
Children from birth through fifth grade are welcomed into VCC Kids at both Sunday services and on Wednesday evenings from 6:45 to 8:15 PM during the school year. The ministry partners with parents to teach children who God is through age-appropriate Bible stories, fun activities, worship, and prayer.
First-time families stop at the Welcome Center in the back of the church, in the kids' building, where they fill out a quick family form and check in their children. Each child receives two name tags and a parent pickup code; one tag goes on the child, the other to the teacher, and the parent keeps the code for pickup. Classrooms are organized by age and stage: Nursery (0-17 months), Steady Walkers and 2s (18-35 months), 3-Year-Olds, 4s and Preschool, Kindergarten and 1st Grade, 2nd and 3rd Grade, and 4th and 5th Grade. Anyone age 16 or older may drop off and pick up.
Safety is taken seriously. On Sundays and during midweek programs there are roaming safety officers; every leader working with kids is background-checked, livescanned, and trained as a mandated reporter; check-in is computerized; and parents provide a phone number so they can be reached immediately if needed during services.
Children with special needs are welcomed through the Disability Ministry, described below, with one-on-one buddies in regular classrooms or in the Friendship Class. The Kids ministry also runs summer programming including the annual Kingdom Quest Vacation Bible School, summer events, and a fifth-grade pool party celebrating the move up to middle school.
Refuge and Local: Middle and High School Students
Middle school ministry is called Refuge. The name signals what the church wants the room to be: a place where students can find refuge in Jesus. Refuge operates on three simple statements - You are welcome here, your friends are welcome here, your questions are welcome here - and treats young disciples as fully legitimate disciples of Jesus. Sunday mornings run from 9 to 10:30 AM in The Hall, the building right next to the Sanctuary, during the first service. An optional program called Summit meets Mondays from 3:30 to 5 PM for students who want to grow in Bible-reading skills. Wednesday nights are the main gathering, beginning with an optional dinner at 6 PM and programming from 6:45 to 8:30 PM, with a game, a message, and small groups led by adult leaders.
High school ministry is called Local, built on the idea that followers of Jesus are citizens of heaven and therefore truly belong in God's kingdom. The high schoolers gather on Sundays from 11 AM to 12:30 PM to learn how to articulate what goes into the Christian faith, and on Wednesdays from 6:45 to 8:30 PM for dinner, worship, a message about following Jesus in the real world, and small group discussion. The Student Ministry Pastor, Jake Lemmer, oversees both programs, with Kyle Newman directing Refuge and Katie Duarte and Garrett Davis serving as Student Ministry Associates.
Young Adults, Men, and Women
Young adults ages 18 to 30 meet on Sunday nights from 6 to 8:30 PM over a meal, followed by smaller breakout groups that work through books of the Bible. The Young Adults Director, Brett Johnson, oversees the community.
The men's ministry is built around the conviction that men were never meant to walk alone. The team offers weekly fellowship groups (a current book study works through Brant Hansen's The Men We Need on Thursdays), The Samson Society, a Friday-evening fellowship of men serious about authenticity, humility, and recovery that meets at the church from 5:30 to 6:30 PM, quarterly Light Nights with food, games, teaching, and campfire time, and an annual Men's Retreat at Mount Hermon Camp and Conference Center in the redwoods near Santa Cruz. The retreat runs from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon, includes lodging and meals, and costs $300 per person.
The women's ministry is led by Heather Muncy and centers on Women's Bible Studies offered throughout the year, monthly Moms of Teens Prayer Group meetings on the second Tuesday from 7 to 9 PM, and seasonal gatherings like Coffee and Company and Sisterhood Night. A current eight-week study walks through Daily Grace Co.'s Chosen: A Study on the Book of Ephesians, meeting on Tuesdays through Thursdays in the early fall.
Disability Ministry: A High-Inclusion Church
Valley Community Church has made inclusion of people with disabilities a central part of its identity. The Disability Ministry exists to make apprenticeship to Jesus possible for people and families affected by disabilities through accessible worship, teaching, and community.
Two Friendship Classes meet on Sundays. The Friendship Class in Room C104 serves children from kindergarten through twelfth grade during both the 9 and 11 AM services in a low-sensory, adaptive environment with Bible stories, musical worship, and hands-on activities. An Adult Friendship Class in Room C112 meets during the 11 AM service with Bible lessons, community, and activities for adults with disabilities. Whenever possible, children join their age-appropriate classrooms with the support of a one-on-one buddy; kids bring a buddy bag with fidgets or other helpful tools. For kids in kindergarten through fifth grade, inclusion is available during both services; for middle schoolers, inclusion takes place during the 9 AM service; for high schoolers, during the 11 AM service.
The Disability Ministry also runs Friday Friends, a Friday-evening gathering for adults 18 and older with disabilities that includes dinner, Bible study, games, crafts, and fellowship; Raising Abilities, a support group for parents of children with disabilities; and periodic Respite events that give parents a much-needed break while trained volunteers care for their children in a fun, accessible setting. The Director of VCC Kids and Disability Ministry is Kaelee Haggerty.
Life Groups, Classes, and Care
Life Groups are small, diverse communities apprenticing Jesus together. Most groups meet in homes throughout the week, reflect on the previous Sunday's message and Scripture, and provide the kind of friendships where people can be fully known and fully loved. There are groups for men, women, young adults, couples, and mixed adults, with new groups kicking off in August and September.
Building Life Together (BLT) is a Sunday morning class that meets at 11 AM in The Hall. It is informal, with singing, Bible teaching, discussion, and prayer, rooted in the Seven Practices of Apprenticeship.
Care Groups support people through difficult seasons. DivorceCare walks with people through separation and divorce; GriefShare is a Christ-centered support group for those who have lost a loved one; Caregiver Community meets every other Tuesday for those caring for others; Here4You is a community for those navigating life after the loss of a spouse; and Shiloh is a community of women walking through infertility, secondary infertility, or miscarriage.
Spiritual Direction is offered through trained directors, including Valerie Laws (certified by the Soul Shepherding Institute) and Sid Niemeyer (certified by CenterQuest, retired from VCC in 2019 after twenty years of pastoring). Spiritual direction provides a non-judgmental space to pay attention to God's presence and activity in life. Pastoral counseling is also available as short-term care (one to four sessions) focused on clarity, encouragement, and biblical wisdom, with referrals for clinical therapy when needed. Premarital counseling is offered using the SYMBIS assessment. Recommended Christian counseling centers include Sycamore Grove Counseling, Love Your Story Christian Counseling Services, and Tri-Valley Counseling Center.
The Prayer Team prays for the VCC community. Anyone can submit a public prayer request (sent to a dedicated prayer chain) or a private prayer request (sent only to pastors, elders, and the Care Team). The Prayer Team is also available in person after each Sunday service.
Baptism and Membership
Baptism at VCC is a public declaration of inward transformation, a sign that a person belongs to Jesus. The church teaches that baptism does not make a person right with God but is a response to faith already present, an act of obedience symbolizing being washed clean from sin and stepping into new life. Baptism classes meet on Sundays from 10 to 10:45 AM in the VCC Conference Room a few weeks before each baptism service, and baptisms are scheduled multiple times a year.
Covenant Membership is the church's name for formal church membership. The path into membership is Way of Apprenticeship, a five-week course that walks through the church's mission, core beliefs, and distinctives, and discusses why membership matters. Sessions are nonsequential, so attendees can make up missed weeks. The five sessions cover apprenticeship to Jesus, what the church believes, the five distinctives, discovering spiritual gifts, and what covenant membership means. Lunch and childcare are provided.
Local and Global Missions
Ten percent of every dollar given to the General Fund supports global and local missions. The church gives to 32 missionaries serving in places including Cambodia, Spain, Iraq, and South Africa, overseen by a Missions Committee whose members serve three-year terms and act as points of contact for the missionaries. Long-term partnerships with Compassion International and HOPE International support holistic discipleship, child development, and economic empowerment in Guatemala; VCC families have sponsored more than 200 children through Compassion, and HOPE Savings Groups are expanding throughout Central America.
Locally, VCC partners with Monthly Miracles (serving those who are homeless or facing homelessness in the Tri-Valley with practical support, prayer, and the hope of Christ), Next Step (a compassionate, Christ-centered resource for women navigating unplanned pregnancies), and Tri-Valley Seek and Save (mentoring, practical assistance, and prayerful support to families in great need).
The Benevolence Fund is managed by deacons and meets one-time unexpected financial hardships for church members and regular attendees (utilities, transportation, rent, food) and for Tri-Valley neighbors living in Pleasanton, Dublin, or Livermore (utilities, transportation, food). The application is available in English and Spanish. The church cannot pay credit card bills, fines, storage fees, medical bills, or attorney fees.
Inklings Coffee and Tea: A Missional Outpost Downtown
One of VCC's most distinctive ministries is Inklings Coffee and Tea, a coffee shop in the heart of downtown Pleasanton that exists as a missional outpost of the church. Inklings is a place designed for community and conversation with purpose. Its team serves excellent coffee and creates a welcoming space where people can form genuine connections and safely explore life, faith, and meaning. The church's belief is that curiosity is often the first step toward faith, and that Inklings can make that step easier for people who feel far from God but open to something more. Inklings Community Groups, which launched as hobby-based gatherings hosted at the shop (book clubs, film discussions, hiking groups, creative workshops), are led by trained VCC volunteers.
Leadership and Governance
The Lead Pastor is Heath Hardesty. Bryan Hardwick serves as Executive Pastor, Seth Fowler as Worship Arts Pastor, Jake Lemmer as Student Ministry Pastor, and Dane Olney as Adult Ministries Pastor. The Elder Team is chaired by George Stevenson, with Kevin Sousa as Vice Chair and Pete Reece as Secretary; other elders include Jason Alley, Noah Chiu, Will Fenwick, Steve Johnson, and Kent Laws. The ministry team includes Kaelee Haggerty (VCC Kids and Disability Director), Heather Muncy (Women's Ministry Director), Brett Johnson (Young Adults Director), Kyle Newman (Middle School Director), Kelly McIntosh (Shining Light Preschool Director), Karina Brown (VCC Kids Preschool Coordinator), Jennifer Gilbertson (VCC Kids Special Events Coordinator), John Heyer (Tech Arts Director), and Fiona Newman (Community Care Coordinator). The office is open Monday through Thursday from 9 AM to 4:30 PM, and the main phone line is 925.846.6622.
Visiting VCC
First-time visitors will find the church at 4455 Del Valle Parkway in Pleasanton. Sunday morning services are at 9 and 11 AM, and both include VCC Kids for children from birth through fifth grade and Disability Ministry inclusion. Visitors can stop at the Welcome Center in the back of the kids' building to check in children and fill out a quick family form. Prayer is available in person after each Sunday service through the Prayer Team, and a Connect Card makes it easy to share contact information or prayer requests. Connection Point gatherings, held periodically after the second service, give newcomers a casual opportunity to meet pastors and staff and ask questions.
Giving can be done online, by texting VCCGIVE to 888.364.4483, or by placing a gift in one of the giving boxes by the Sanctuary exits. Services are livestreamed and archived for on-demand viewing. The church's app, available through Subsplash, keeps events, registrations, and groups close at hand. The Benevolence Request Form is available in English and Spanish. For practical needs or care, the Care Ministry can be reached through fiona@vc.church; for prayer requests, through the church's prayer request forms; and for benevolence, through the Benevolence Request Form.
Whether someone arrives exploring faith or looking for a church to call home, the welcome at Valley Community Church is the same: come as you are, and find family here.