Big Valley Grace Community Church sits on Tully Road in Modesto, California, a sprawling 4040 Tully Road campus that includes the church buildings, Big Valley Christian School, and athletic fields. Senior Pastor Joel Boone, who grew up two blocks from the campus, often reminds the church that he is still a neighbor. Across this single location, plus a second site in Ceres, Big Valley Grace has become a Christ-centered, non-denominational, Bible-based family of believers from every age and stage of life in greater Stanislaus County, drawn together by the mission in 1 Corinthians 10:31: whatever they do, they do it all for the glory of God.
What to Expect on a Weekend at the Modesto Campus
Three gatherings fill the Worship Center each weekend: Saturday at 6PM, Sunday at 9AM, and Sunday at 11AM. A fourth Sunday gathering meets at 10AM at the Ceres Campus on Ladd Road. The room itself is built around music, giving, fellowship, service, and teaching, with 45 minutes devoted to learning about the way of Jesus and obeying the abundant life He has called the church into. Bibles are not required: every verse referenced in the message is shown on the big screens, and printed Bibles are available in the prayer room for anyone who needs one. Dress is whatever makes a guest comfortable; jeans, t-shirts, shorts, and flip flops are as common as coats and ties.
The Saturday 6PM gathering is interpreted for the deaf and hard of hearing. The ASL Ministry exists to see people who are deaf and hard of hearing follow Jesus in full surrender, worshiping through music, fellowshipping with fellow believers, and experiencing the Word of God preached. Mustard Seeds, a separate Sunday 11AM fellowship for adults and youth with disabilities, meets in room P602. Each Mustard Seeds gathering begins with prayer and songs of worship, moves into a simplified Bible study and activity, and finishes with a snack and a chance to share prayer requests.
Giving is received during the gathering, but no one is expected to give. Guests are not required to be members. Children are welcome in the gathering, though most parents choose the Kids Ministry rooms. Visitors who need help finding their way can stop at the Information Center in the lobby at the front of the main building.
Kids Ministry, Birth Through Fifth Grade
BVG Kids partners with parents to disciple kids to love God and love others. Every volunteer passes a background check, and children are checked in 15 minutes before each gathering using security tags with a unique number; the matching parent tag is required for pick up. The Infant Nursery (birth to 18 months) and Toddler Nursery (18 to 35 months) meet at every service, with a goal of helping every child understand that God loves them. Ohana Island, for ages three through kindergarten, teaches three basic truths: God made me, God loves me, and Jesus wants to be my friend forever. Elementary ministry (grades 1 to 5) gathers at every weekend service and adds a Wednesday program called Recharge from September through April. Recharge runs 6:30 to 8PM for grades 1 to 5 and offers engaging lessons, games, and small group discipleship in a smaller setting.
The early childhood and elementary studies are synchronized across all ages so the whole family can be in the same Bible passage at the same time. A four-year curriculum walks children through the whole Bible. A Family Room is available for parents with little ones who need a break but still want to watch the gathering. Parent-Child Dedication is offered for families who want to present their child before the church family and commit to raising them to know, love, and follow Jesus.
Middle School and High School Students
Middle School Ministry (MSM) is for students in grades 6 through 8, with the goal of helping them understand God's word and give Him glory in all they do by learning to love God, love people, and make disciples. Mid-week gatherings meet Wednesdays at 6:30PM in the ARC and include active games, worship, topical Bible lessons, and small groups. Sunday gatherings meet at 11AM in the ARC and walk through the same teaching series as the adults but in language that fits students. Director of Middle School Ministry Jacob Harper leads the team.
High School Ministry (HSM) exists to reach students with the Gospel, help them mature in their faith, and equip them to serve others while learning to exalt God with their lives. Mid-week gatherings meet Wednesdays at 6:30PM in The Venue, and Sunday gatherings meet at 11AM in The Venue. Director of High School Ministry Dawson Beachler leads the team. Both ministries take students to Hume Lake Christian Camp in the summer and run volunteer-friendly programs throughout the year. Battalion, for high-school young men, gives 12 to 18 year-olds real responsibility for leading a discipleship program under adult mentors.
Young Adults 18 to 24, Young Married, and Senior Adults
Young Adults 18-24 Singles Ministry is designed for single, college-age and early-career adults who want to grow in their faith and connect with others in the same stage of life. Pastor Rick Countryman leads Bible study on the Patio of the Modesto campus Wednesdays at 7PM, beginning as a large group and then splitting into smaller groups. The Young Married group has wound down into the wider ministry of the church, with Teaching Pastor Ben Kelley helping couples find a small group that fits their season.
Prime Time, the Senior Adults ministry led by Pastor of Congregational Care Gordon Rumble, meets Sundays at 10:30AM in the Fireside Room. The gathering includes a message, songs, and times of sharing, and the ministry provides consistent avenues for seniors to fellowship and grow in their walks with Jesus together.
Men's and Women's Ministries at the Round Tables
Men's Ministry welcomes single, married, divorced, and widowed men of every age into a community that meets around tables. The mission is to reach and disciple men to be spiritual leaders and servants to the body of Christ. Two weekly gatherings meet in the Worship Center: Mondays at 7PM and Tuesdays at 6AM. No registration is needed; newcomers can show up and leaders will help them find a table. Pastor of Men Rich Sasser leads the ministry. A current Bible study series through Proverbs, titled The Way of Kings, runs each Monday evening and Tuesday morning, and an annual Tailgate Party brings the men together for a BBQ and chili cook-off, live music, worship, and testimony.
Women's Ministry is a place where every woman is valued as a unique child of God, encouraged toward greater intimacy with Jesus, and challenged to explore her purpose in the body of Christ. Director of Women Heather Blass leads the ministry. Two weekly gatherings meet in The Venue: Mondays at 6:30PM and Thursdays at 9:30AM. Studies run on a semester basis and include table groups for fellowship, video teaching, and small group conversation.
Neighborhood Groups, Celebrate Recovery, and the Landing
Neighborhood Groups meet weekly or biweekly for 1.5 to 2 hours in homes throughout the greater Modesto area, including Manteca, Ripon, and Riverbank. Groups are mixed-gender and mixed-age, or just men, just women, or just couples. Most include a regular time of fellowship, Bible study, and prayer, with occasional opportunities for community service or simply having fun together. Discussion questions are posted each week in a Google Drive folder keyed to the previous weekend's message.
Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered, Bible-based program that helps people overcome hurts, hang-ups, and habits. The Tuesday night rhythm includes dinner from 5:30 to 6:15PM, large group worship and teaching from 6:30 to 7:30PM in the Worship Center, Open Share groups from 7:30 to 8:30PM, and dessert at 8:30PM. Open Share groups are gender-based and issue-specific, covering chemical and alcohol addiction, codependency, food addiction, sexual addiction, anger, abuse, and adult children of family dysfunction. The Landing serves students ages 13 to 19 on Tuesday nights in The Venue, and Rock Solid Kids serves grades 1 to 6 in the Fireside Room. Step Studies run 10 to 12 months and work through the four Celebrate Recovery participant guides. Pastor of Celebrate Recovery and Counseling Scott Stubbert leads the ministry. The church also runs an open Celebrate Recovery YouTube channel with more than 150 testimony videos.
Counseling, Care, and the Good Samaritan
The Counseling Ministry is led by lay counselors who provide encouragement, insight, and biblical guidance during times of crisis, change, and personal or family difficulties. Sessions typically run six to eight appointments. The ministry is not mental health care and is not a substitute for professional therapy or counseling. Premarital Mentoring consists of about eight sessions taught by mentor couples and includes a relationship assessment; couples are encouraged to enroll at least six months before their wedding date. A GriefShare group meets Wednesdays during the spring semester to support people grieving the death of a spouse, child, family member, or friend.
The Care Ministry walks alongside people in the church and community with food distribution, baby support, prayer, and visitation. The Good Samaritan Ministry (Good Sam) provides food assistance to people living in Stanislaus County and is named for the parable in Luke 10 of a man who showed compassion and met a stranger's practical needs. Appointments are scheduled 8:30AM to 12:30PM, Monday through Thursday. Olivianna's Closet, in the same campus area, gives gently used clothing and new baby supplies to qualifying parents and guardians of infants and toddlers through bi-monthly appointments. The Memorial ministry offers funeral and memorial services for members and active attenders of record.
Special Needs, ASL, and the Family Room
Big Valley Grace believes that every human being is made in the image of God and is deeply loved by their Creator. The Special Needs Ministry is led by Pastor of Congregational Care Gordon Rumble and exists as a place for people with all types of special needs to flourish in their walk with Jesus. The ASL Ministry gathers at the Saturday 6PM gathering, and Mustard Seeds gathers on Sundays at 11AM. Check-in for Kids Ministry, the Family Room, and accessible facilities throughout the buildings are designed to make the weekend experience comfortable for every family.
Local Reach and the Hands and Feet of the Church
The Reach Ministry is structured around the church's name: love God, love people, make disciples. Bags of Grace is an outreach that fills one-gallon plastic bags with hygiene items and a Gospel tract and asks attenders and visitors to give a bag to someone they encounter on the street. Kicks4Kids collects new shoes each summer in partnership with Modesto Gospel Mission for the Back To School giveaway. The Recycle Ministry accepts California CRV-eligible bottles and cans at a collection container behind the campus and uses the funds to support BVG missionary partners. Thanksgiving Reach serves the community with holiday meals.
Good Sam and Olivianna's Closet, described above, are among the most visible local expressions of the church's reach. The Pass It On sermon series highlighted partner ministries that include Vine House, Modesto Gospel Mission, Redwood Family Center, and local pregnancy resource centers. Director of Reach and Executive Assistant to Senior Leadership Katie Fuentes coordinates the work.
Global Reach and Short-Term Mission Trips
The global reach missions and large is to glorify God by multiplying healthy churches among all the nations and bring the gospel to the unengaged, unreached, and Bibleless peoples of the world. Recent short-term trips have gone to Kisumu, Kenya (working with Agape Children to offer training, encouragement, mentoring, and Bible school camp), Pretoria, South Africa, Santiago in the Dominican Republic, India, Mexico, Southeast Asia, Greece, and Jarabacoa. An upcoming Kisumu, Kenya trip is planned for June 4 to 16, 2026, with two tracks: staff training and mentoring with the Agape Center, and Bible school camp and street ministry with homeless children and young adults.
Major Built to Last global missions projects funded to date include translation kits for 35 language groups in South Asia ($87,500), a dormitory in Kenya for rehabilitation of street boys ($23,900), a 15,000-book library in Indonesia for church planters ($199,700), a girls' dormitory in Cambodia ($75,000), a church building in Gauteng, South Africa for Faith Works Church ($12,050), a school in the Dominican Republic for students with special needs ($70,000), a training and lecture facility in South Africa for 250 pastoral students ($160,000), and construction remodeling with Jews for Jesus for The Upper Room in Jerusalem ($80,000).
Worship, Music, and Production
Worship & Production is a community of worship leaders, musicians, story tellers, and techies dedicated to serving and equipping the church with Christ-exalting art and creative content. The Worship Ministry leads worship across all campuses and for various ministries, curating a unified style featuring theologically sound and dynamic songs performed by a band, a Praise Choir, and an orchestra. Pastor of Worship James Fewell leads the team. The Live Production team runs audio, video, and lighting for weekend gatherings. A separate BVG Worship platform hosts original music and creative content. Worship is livestreamed Saturday at 6PM, Sunday at 9AM, and Sunday at 11AM, with archived messages available.
What We Believe
Big Valley Grace holds to a Statement of Faith rooted in the 66 books of Old and New Testaments as a complete and final revelation from God, without error in the original autographs, and the only rule of faith and practice. The church confesses one God who exists in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The church affirms that man was created by God in His own image, that all have fallen into sin, and that salvation is the free gift of God's grace to everyone who believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Believers are baptized by immersion three times forward in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and regularly observe the Lord's Supper. The church teaches that marriage, as designed by God, exists only between one man and one woman as a lifelong, covenant relationship, and that sexual intimacy is intended for that relationship alone.
The mission is love God, love people, make disciples, drawn from the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. The purpose is to glorify God in all that the church does. The five Core Values are worship, serve, reach, connect, and grow. Every believer is a witness for Jesus Christ, and the church is responsible to pray for, support, and send missionaries into all the world.
Baptism and Membership
Water baptism is a public celebration of the new life Jesus has given. Baptisms take place during weekend gatherings, usually in the first 20 to 30 minutes. River baptisms are held occasionally on Sunday evenings during the summer at 2601 Ladd Rd, Modesto, CA. A one-session Baptism Class is offered most months on the first weekend. Each person is baptized three times forward, with a t-shirt provided. Children attend a special Kids Baptism Class with their parents. Baptism is not the means of salvation but symbolizes the burial of the old self and being raised to new life in Christ.
Membership Classes are held in the Choir Room during the Sunday 11AM gathering on the second weekend of most months. The one-session class covers who Big Valley Grace is, what the church believes, and how a member can grow, serve, and belong. A Membership Booklet and the Constitution and By-Laws are available for review. Membership is the formal step from attending to belonging.
The Built to Last 2.0 Campaign
Built to Last 2.0 is the second and final phase of a multi-year generosity campaign to build an 18,000-square-foot ministry space dedicated to kids and students, as well as to fund global mission projects. Phase 1 raised over $5,000,000 from 895 households and completed major construction milestones including the roof, exterior doors and windows, A/C units, and interior framing. Phase 2 carries an estimated total need of $4,000,000 to finish construction, equip and furnish the interior, and complete additional global mission projects, with all work being completed debt-free. The campaign booklet and BTL 2.0 brochure are available for review, and the commitment window is open to anyone who calls Big Valley Grace home.
Educational Ministries: Big Valley Christian School, the Library, and the Nook
Big Valley Christian School (BVCS) is a private, non-profit school offering preschool, elementary, junior high, and high school programs designed to nurture and equip students to impact the world for Christ. BVCS is a ministry of the church and shares the campus at 4040 Tully Road. Jeff Thompson serves as BVCS Campus Pastor.
The BVG Branch Library serves the greater Modesto area with more than 25,000 books, audio tapes, CDs, videos, DVDs, and homeschool resources for all ages. The library is located behind the Worship Center near parking lot E and is open to the community.
The Nook is a curated collection of Bibles, books, and apparel tucked into the lobby of the Modesto Campus and available before and after every worship gathering, plus by appointment during the week. Cafe Istoria, the on-campus coffee shop, provides a welcoming environment especially for first-time guests.
Giving, Stewardship, and Theology of Generosity
Generous giving is treated as worship, as growing as a disciple of Jesus, and as discovering joy together. The church teaches seven ways to give biblically - regularly, proportionately, purposefully, joyfully, sacrificially, generously, and willingly - and offers a Theology of Stewardship booklet for deeper study. Gifts can be given online, by text to 209-252-3583, in person during weekend gatherings, or by mail. The church also accepts gifts of securities, charitable IRA rollovers, cryptocurrency, property, and estate or legacy gifts.
Staff, Elders, and Lay Pastors
The Senior Leadership Team includes Senior Pastor Joel Boone, Executive Pastor Bobby Kirchner, Teaching Pastor Ben Kelley, Pastor of Weekend Gatherings Scott Elliott, Pastor of Congregational Care Gordon Rumble, Pastor of Men Rich Sasser, Director of Women Heather Blass, Pastor of Young Adults Rick Countryman, Director of Middle School Ministry Jacob Harper, Director of High School Ministry Dawson Beachler, Pastor of Celebrate Recovery and Counseling Scott Stubbert, and Pastor of Worship James Fewell. Directors of Connect, Reach, Operations, and Worship Production round out the ministry team. Pastor Emeriti include Alan Boone, Lonnie Skiles, and Rick Thompson.
Elders include Joel Boone, Gary Ericksen, Darryl One, Mike Coats, Lonnie Skiles, Tom Waterson, and Gordon Ching. Lay Pastors include Gordon Ching, Rick Elliott, Josh Gonzales, Jim Huckaba, and Brian Stubbert.
Stay Connected
Weekend messages are livestreamed, archived, and shared on the BVG YouTube channel. The mobile app is available on the iOS App Store and Google Play. Pastors are available through the Connect Card and Prayer Request form for prayer and conversation. Notes for the weekend message can be taken directly through note.church. RightNow Media is available free to the whole church family for discipleship resources.
Big Valley Grace Community Church, at 4040 Tully Road in Modesto, gathers a family of believers from every age and stage of life around the same call that has shaped the church from the beginning: love God, love people, make disciples, for the glory of God alone.