The answer to your prayers…
You love Jesus. You love Christianity. You have a servant’s heart, but you feel restless and unsettled. You’ve been searching for a home, somewhere to belong and a church family where you can put your talents to good use and grow in faith, in knowledge, and in grace. You’ve prayed about it, you’ve kept your eyes open, looking for that place to call home.
We want to be that place.
We are the Vilonia Church of Christ, a Bible-loving, big-hearted community of believers in Jesus, committed to serving our Lord, our community and each other. We’re serious about growth, not just in number, but in spirit, truth, grace, service and love.
If you’ve been praying for a church family that prizes the Lord above all others, that serves and ministers to those in need and that is growing a little closer to Jesus every day, you’ve found us. If you’ve been praying for a place where you can belong and do good for the Lord, this is it: The answer to your prayers.
Come and see for yourself.
Among those who serve…
“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).
The Vilonia congregation, in keeping with the New Testament pattern, is overseen by Scripturally qualified men, who hold the office that goes by many different titles in the New Testament. Sometimes they are called Pastors (Ephesians 4:11) because they shepherd a flock of Christians. Sometimes they are called Bishops (1 Timothy 3:1-2) because they carry the burden of leadership. Sometimes they are called a Presbytery (1 Timothy 4:14) because they are a council that deliberates prayerfully before making decisions. Sometimes they are called Elders (Acts 14:23) because their counsel is wise and their example is respected by others.
A good eldership balances all of these traits. They are not overly concerned with running the “business” of the church at the expense of shepherding souls, nor are they negligent to hold people accountable like leaders must. They make decisions with respect to the Word of God. They strive to walk faithfully to the precepts of Jesus and His Apostles. They are approachable and loving, fierce in defense of the Truth, and eager to get their hands dirty as they work with their fellow Christians in the ministry of the Gospel.
In Christianity, a leader is merely a servant at the front of the line. We all submit to Jesus. The overseers at Vilonia strive to live up to the description of them given by the Apostle Paul: Stewards of the house of God (Titus 1:7).
Our presbytery includes Patrick Fay, Stan Glover, Jeff Gray, and David Koone.
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine”
(2 Timothy 4:2).
Matthew Martin is the Gospel Preacher here at Vilonia. He is not a farmer, but he is from a farm just north of Morrilton, Arkansas. He is a graduate of Wonderview High School, the Memphis School of Preaching, and Bear Valley Bible Institute. He holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s Bible degrees and, in the past, has served as the Associate Preacher at the Forest Hill congregation in Memphis, TN (2005-2007), the Higden congregation in Greers Ferry, AR (2008-2011), the Guy congregation in Guy, AR (2012-2018), and the North Heights Church of Christ in Batesville, AR (2018-2025). He has preached the Gospel for two decades, as well as spoken on Lectureships and held Gospel Meetings in Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, Missouri, and Kansas.
He and his wife Lauren have three sons together, Jack, Caleb, and Joshua. In addition to his work in Vilonia, he is an avid reader, writer, and football watcher. If the mood fancies him, he might even be caught playing Tetris (among other video games).
Books authored by Matthew include PARENTAL ADVICE FROM THE HEAVENLY FATHER (a guide to Biblical parenting using God as the template), WHAT NEXT (answering common questions asked by new converts), FROM PARADISE TO PARADISE (a handbook breaking down God’s plan of salvation), DESPISED (a devotional book for young people struggling with the challenges of youth), AN EXPOSÉ ON THE DEVIL (an in-depth study of the enemy of our souls). These books, as well as numerous commentaries, can be found on his personal website, HERE. You can also listen to his podcast HERE.
“You deserve a good church.”
Do any of us “deserve” anything?
Grace, by definition, precludes “deservedness.” Nevertheless, what I mean is, if we're going to have something by the Lord's blessing, we can expect those things will be good (James 1:17). In that case, it's right and good for us to say “if the Lord is giving me something, it's going to be good.”
The Lord has given us congregations. Is yours good? I am comfortable saying “you deserve a good church” because I think the Lord wants you to have a good church. He didn't go through all He did just for you to settle. Christianity is not the religion of “it's good enough, I guess.” Jesus wants excellence. He doesn't demand perfection, but He does want us striving. You can't strive and settle at the same time. So why should you settle for a congregation that isn't good for you?
Ask yourself: Is my congregation a good one?
Does it have strong, Biblical leaders? Does have it faithful, dedicated deacons? Does it have hard-working, compassionate preachers? Does it have members committed to growth, both personally (spiritually) and congregationally (numerically)? When you’re there, do you feel energized, encouraged, and motivated to do more (and more) kingdom work? Those aren't the only ingredients for what makes a good church, but that's a good foundation, and you deserve a good church.
I've talked with many Christians in many different areas over the years, brethren who struggle to find a “good church home,” as they say. They are in a place where they're not being fed, where the little things aren't being done, where the big things aren't being done right. Instead of feeling good about their spiritual life, they are restless, anxious, and frustrated. They’re wrestling with attitudes the Lord does not want us to have in His Kingdom (and certainly not about His Kingdom). Sometimes those brethren will visit another congregation and it's like a light switch is flipped: Things are calm, happy, well-organized, etc. Those brethren, who previously would get in their car after services and just talk about how sad and depressing things are, now get in their car and talk excitedly about the work going on there, about the lessons they heard, the connections they made, etc. And then they feel guilty because they know they only visited and now have to leave that lively church and go back to a dead one, and they're guilty because they feel obligated to stay at the dead or dying place, when the lively place can fill the missing pieces of their life.
People deserve a good church.
However, know this: Wherever you go, whatever church you belong to, you're going to run into problems. If you ever do find the perfect church, please, don't go there: You'll ruin it! Wherever you go, the expectation on you is the same: Work. Work to strengthen your congregation's relationship with the community. Work to encourage the members who are struggling. Work to reach the Gospel to those who are lost. Work to make your congregation one that, when visitors come, they walk away saying "I don't want to go anywhere else." Put in the work. Why?
Because people deserve a good church…and that’s exactly what we want to be.
Come and see for yourself.
What we’re all about…
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Christianity has changed a lot over the years. What people think of when they hear the word is not exactly what people thought of when the church of our Lord first started popping up around the world.
People are to blame: People who would rather do things their way than God’s way have pushed and pushed for things to be done in the name of Christ that the Man Himself (and His Apostles) never taught.
At Vilonia, we just want to be Christians. We don’t want to be hyphenated, watered-down, Christians; we just want to be Christians. Don’t call us “Church of Christers.” Just call us Christians; that’s the name that was good enough for the Lord’s first people and the name is still good enough today.
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Even though Christianity is two-thousand years old, the lessons we learn from Jesus are still applicable today. Even though Jesus was a Jew who lived on the other side of the world, in a culture very different from our own, the example He left us is still worthy to be followed. That’s what we want to do.
At Vilonia, we want to take the lessons of Jesus and His inspired Apostles, and fit our modern lives around them. We want to make sense of this very turbulent world and the only way to do that is to listen to our Master and trust that He knows what’s best for us.
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We believe the Bible. We believe the Old Testament tells of how God worked His plan to save man through the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We believe God inspired thirty-nine books in the Old Testament, which record the history of God’s nation, His relationship with them, the poems and odes they wrote to His glory, the words of wisdom they followed, and the prophetic writings that counseled them and pointed them to the coming-Savior.
We also believe the New Testament tells the story of how God accomplished His plan to save man through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. We believe God inspired twenty-seven books in the New Testament, which record the history of Jesus’ birth, ministry, and passion on the cross, as well as the beginning of the Christian movement, important letters to Christians to guide them through the religion’s early struggles, and a word of prophesy promising that God is in control, that the Devil is defeated, and that Jesus reigns forevermore!
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Yes, Jesus is our King and our King is invincible, but we still struggle. We slip and stumble. We sometimes feel overwhelmed by the world around us. It’s not easy being a Christian and we need help.
The Vilonia congregation is a loving, caring, praying family. We are always looking for an opportunity to wrap our arms around someone and lift them up to God.
When a new family says they want to worship and serve Vilonia with us, you can be sure our elders will surround them and pray for them. When a brother or sister steps up and says they’re in trouble, they’ve made a mistake, they don’t know what to do, you can be sure they will be swarmed by loving arms, with a family of Christians ready to pray for them to help them in every way possible. A church that prays together, grows together, and we are a church that prays together.
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Simply put, we can’t do it alone. The Apostle Paul says that everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). Without Jesus, we’d all be doomed, but with Jesus there is hope.
Our Lord died on the cross, shedding His perfect and precious blood to buy our pardon and unlock the shackles of sin that Satan had locked around us.
What do we do now? Is there a prayer we have to say? Are there some magic words to utter? Do we have to pay some membership fee to access the salvation of Jesus? No, no, no.
What we need is His life-giving blood, His soul-saving blood, His sin-washing blood. According to Paul, when we reenact Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, we put our sins to death, bury them in a proverbial grave, and rise to walk a new life in Jesus (Romans 6:1-4).
We touch the blood through repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38), at which point Jesus washes our sins away (Acts 22:16).
After that, we’re a new creation of God, called to walk faithful in Him. And when we stumble and fall and succumb to the temptation to sin, we don’t give up or fret that we’re doomed; no, we repent again and trust in the blood to keep us cleansed (1 John 1:7).
At Vilonia, we don’t tell our people that they can earn it, deserve it, or make it happen. We tell people they need Jesus and that if they will trust and obey the Master, He will save them by the power of His blood.
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Our Master said He didn’t come to be served but to serve (Matthew 20:28). As Christians that’s our call as well: We are sent to serve.
Our mission is to shine the light of Christ, to bring the lost to Jesus. If we shut our doors, failed to help our community, and only served ourselves, what good would we be? We wouldn’t deserve to wear Christ’s name. That’s not Vilonia.
We are a church of CHRIST, and that means we will do as He did. We feed the hungry, clothe the needy, and visit the downtrodden. We do it, not to receive praise of men, but because it’s the least we can do in the name of the One who did everything for us.
A Typical Sunday Morning…
We get it: It can be scary making the decision to visit a new congregation. You don’t know the layout. You don’t know the procedure. You don’t know where the bathrooms are. We get it. Maybe you are used to the way things are at another place, and you don’t know how we do things around here. That’s understandable. Fortunately, we don’t think we do anything too radical…
at 9am…
We have Bible Classes for all ages, including a nursery class, a teen class, an adult class, and everything in between. You will find an emphasis on learning the Bible and applying the Bible here. Kids will learn age-appropriate material, as will our teens, and our adults. Our Bible class teachers are well-prepared, well-equipped, and full of love.
at 10am…
We have worship in our auditorium. Typically, before worship begins we’ll have some announcements to keep everyone informed about people we’re praying for and events that are upcoming.
After that we’ll sing. We don’t use musical instruments but instead lift up our voices. If you’ve never experienced a’capella singing, it may seem different at first, but it will grow on you. When the alto, soprano, bass, and tenor voices blend all in harmony, you’ll never want to sing to God any other way.
We will have prayer together and take in a reading from the Bible. We’ll also take the Lord’s Supper/Communion Meal; we do this every Sunday, in fact. That’s something else that might be foreign to you but we do it for the same reason we sing the way we do: That’s the pattern of worship that was followed in the beginning of Christianity, and that’s what we’re all about, doing things the original, New Testament way.
We will take up a collection as well, because we believe in giving a sacrifice to God, and because the works that we do here at Vilonia are worthy of our support.
Finally we will consider a sermon from God’s Word, based out of Scripture, but relevant to our modern world.
That’s it…
It may not happen in the order you’re used to, it may not look and sound exactly like what is normal for you, but come visit us and see for yourself: You’ll find a family of believers here who love the Lord and who desire to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.
You’ll love worshipping with us.
After we dismiss, don’t run away: Give us a chance to find you, to say hello and ask if there’s anything we can do for you. We’re called to be servants and to bring people to Jesus. If you need help with that, just let us know. Give us the opportunity to serve you!
The other 313…
There are fifty-two Sundays in a normal calendar year. On those fifty-two occasions, the church of Christ in Vilonia can be found meeting at our building to sing, pray, take communion, and study God’s word. The other three-hundred-and-thirteen days are not wasted, however. We are always together doing something and throughout the year we host many events that show our community our commitment to serving others.
Every Tuesday we open our food pantry to help those who need a little extra to get through the week. On Thursdays, we host a Bible study for our “Mountain Climbers,” (those who are, “over the hill”). The Mountain Climbers don’t just study; they visit folks, serve the community, and check on the sick and needy. On the other hand, we have YACS (Young Adults and College Students), who gather together for their own class on Sunday mornings, as well as hanging out in each other’s homes and going on trips together.
Every Spring we take part in a Wild Game Supper, which is either the most bizarre thing you’ve ever heard of or something perfectly normal. It depends on if you grew up on a farm or in the city. The meal is always great, but it’s the fellowship and time together that really makes it special. Also in the Spring, we host an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids, as well as a church-wide picnic and Bible study in the park. In Summer, a week or so before we host our VBS, the whole community comes to watch us shoot fireworks into the sky on Independence Day.
There’s hardly a month that goes by that doesn’t feature VCC members’ coming together for fellowship, fun, or spiritual growth. If you’re looking for a place to slip in the back door on a Sunday morning, sit in worship for an hour and disappear… you can do that here, but you’ll be missing out on so much that makes being a Christian such a delight in this day and age.
We’ve grown a lot over the years…
The church of Christ in Vilonia began meeting together on November 11, 2007, first in a house, then in a barn, and now in our current facility.
Over the past two decades, we have grown in number, in spirit, and in closeness to our beloved community.
We’ve gone through devastating tornados together, celebrated holidays together, and served this great city as soldiers of Christ are called to do.
Below are just a few of the pictures taken over the years, showing how quickly we’ve gone from a small house church to the thriving family of believers we are today.
We’ve grown a lot in almost twenty years.
If you’re looking for a spiritual family that loves Jesus Christ and wants to help you know Him better, come grow with us!
Contact us
Do you have a Bible question? Do you need some help? Whatever we can do for you, please let us know!