On a quiet stretch of East Santa Ana Canyon Road, next to the Anaheim Hills Montessori School, Canyon Church has gathered for worship and Bible study every Sunday morning since October of 1990. The congregation is small, intentionally so, and describes itself as a community of Christians living in and around Orange and Riverside Counties. Visitors stepping through the doors are told plainly what to expect: a welcome, an enriched spirit, and minds challenged by the teaching of the Word.
A Church Without a Superstructure
Canyon Church makes a point of declaring what it is and what it is not. The leadership page opens with a single, deliberate sentence: the church is truly non-denominational. It has no conference, no denominational office, no set of policies and procedures to which it is accountable. The congregation answers only to Jesus, the "Chief Shepherd" of their souls. Their structure mirrors the pattern found in Philippians 1:1-2: members (or "saints"), elders and pastors (or "overseers"), and appointed servants (or "deacons").
The vision behind this simplicity is to be a loving New Testament church family equipped to face the challenges of the 21st century. The elders describe the gospel as truly good news - a proclamation from heaven in the person of Jesus Christ about how human beings can come to God in a restored relationship. That conviction shapes everything else the church does, from the way Sunday morning is organized to the curriculum used to teach children.
Three Elders Shepherding the Flock
Canyon Church currently has three elders. Mark Kercheville has been a member since the church's inception in October 1990. He spent forty years as a public school elementary teacher before retiring in 2013 and now carries a deep passion for teaching and preaching. Tommy Degeneffe and his wife Colleen became followers of Jesus in 1980 and joined the Canyon family around 2005. Tommy has served as an elder since January 2014; both he and Colleen love teaching the Bible in classes and small groups and have been privileged to do pre-marital counseling over the years. Dan Buttrey joined Canyon Church in 2004 and the eldership in 2008. A general manager in the elevator industry, he assists with adult Bible studies and occasionally fills in to preach on Sunday mornings.
Each elder contributes something distinctive: Kercheville's decades of classroom experience, the Degeneffes' heart for small group Bible study and pre-marital work, and Buttrey's steady hand in adult teaching. Together they set the tone for a congregation that prizes Bible literacy and personal faithfulness over institutional polish.
Sunday Morning on Santa Ana Canyon Road
A visitor who arrives at 9:30 on a Sunday will find the building already alive with classes. Bible classes run from six months old through adulthood and are developed and taught by the elders and other qualified teachers. The adult class meets in the auditorium under Tommy Degeneffe's leadership for a deep exploration of Scripture. Canyon Teens (7th through 10th grade) gather in an upstairs classroom and tackle questions about origins and meaning - including why Christians see evidence that the world did not arrive by accident. Canyon Kids covers cradle roll through 6th grade, and "Wee Worship" - an age-appropriate worship and study time - is available for children ages two through six during the sermon.
After a short break at 10:15, the main service begins at 10:30 with a time of praise and the Lord's Supper. At 11:15 the sermon begins and runs until noon. The whole Sunday rhythm moves from studying the Word, to breaking bread and singing, to hearing the Word preached - a sequence the congregation has kept for decades. Services are streamed live on the church's Facebook page for those who cannot attend in person.
Canyon Kids: Walking Through the Whole Bible
Children's ministry at Canyon is unusually thorough. Each Sunday morning, Canyon Kids classes walk through a curated, downloadable curriculum that begins in Genesis and runs all the way to Acts. Lessons are organized into named units - Beginnings, First Fathers, Moses and the Great Escape, the Life of Christ (Parts 1 and 2), Acts, Kings and Prophets, with side units on Creation, Proverbs, and the Captivity and Return of God's People. Recent lessons have covered "The Kingdom Divides," "Paul Arrested and Shipwrecked," and "The Philippian Jailer."
The expectations for children leaving the program are spelled out clearly. By the time they finish 6th grade, Canyon Kids are encouraged to own a personal Bible (the NIV is recommended once a child can read), memorize the books of the Old and New Testaments, find any book of the Bible within twenty seconds, and tell the Bible's story from Creation to the Church Age using a ten-card system. They memorize the Ten Commandments, attend class faithfully (parents are reminded this is their responsibility, not the child's), and learn to explain justification by faith in simple terms before they move on to Canyon Teens.
Vacation Bible School is part of the children's calendar as well, and the curriculum is supported by a full set of teacher resources available through the Canyon Kids pages.
Canyon Teens
Canyon Teens meets in the upstairs classroom each Sunday morning during the 9:30 Bible class hour. The teen curriculum takes seriously the worldview questions young people encounter - a recent lesson, for example, is titled "It Couldn't Just Happen" and walks students through what it means that humans are made in the image of God. Materials are downloadable, mirroring the Canyon Kids model and giving families a way to keep the conversation going at home during the week.
Life Groups Across Two Counties
Canyon Church believes that Sunday morning is only the beginning. During the week, Life Groups gather in homes throughout Orange and western Riverside counties - in Anaheim Hills, Norco, Orange, Tustin, Yorba Linda, and Riverside. The Riverside group meets in person and also offers an online option. Days and times are chosen by the members of each group rather than set by the church office. The purpose of these groups is simple: grow in relationship with God, develop relationships with others, and be used by God to serve the neighborhoods and people around them.
Two other mid-week gatherings anchor the community. Men's HEART meets on the fourth Sunday of every month and focuses on creating a clean heart for God, echoing the prayer of Psalm 51:10. The time is devoted to prayer, meditation, Bible study, and group discussion, with an open invitation that mirrors Jesus' words in John 1:39: "Come and see." The women's fellowship gathers periodically for devotionals, fellowship, and service projects, with the goal of building close-knit bonds of faith, hope, and love. On the first Saturday of each month, men and women come together at the church building for a morning of prayer and fasting.
Marriage and the Marriage Retreat
Marriage ministry surfaces in several places. Tommy and Colleen Degeneffe have enjoyed doing pre-marital counseling through the years, and the church periodically hosts a Marriage Retreat - the 2026 series was titled "Rooted: Growing a Marriage for Every Season" and included four sessions across a weekend in April. Couples who missed the retreat can revisit sessions through the church's sermon archive.
The Story of the Bible
One of the most distinctive features of Canyon Church's teaching is the resource called "The Story of the Bible." It is a retelling of the Bible's overarching narrative, available as a video and accompanying posts, designed to help both children and adults grasp Scripture as one continuous story rather than a collection of disconnected books. The same ten-card system used in Canyon Kids grows out of this approach, and the teaching is woven into adult classes, teen lessons, and sermons throughout the year.
Worship, the Lord's Supper, and Baptism
The Sunday gathering opens with a time of praise and the Lord's Supper before moving into the sermon. The church practices believer's baptism by immersion, understanding it as the response of those who have repented and believed - the same response called for by Peter and the first apostles in Acts 2:38. The church sees itself as proclaiming the same gospel that was proclaimed by the early apostles, prophets, and preachers in New Testament times, and it teaches that salvation is by grace through an obedient faith in the One who gave Himself on Calvary's cross.
Staying Connected
For those who want to keep up between Sundays, the Canyon Church app is available for both Apple and Android devices. Giving is handled through Pushpay. A digital connection card lets first-time visitors share their contact information and indicate what they would like to know more about - children's programs, opportunities to serve, speaking with someone about a commitment to Christ, or simply finding a home church. Newcomers can also reach the church office by email at info@canyonchurch.com.
A Building Next to a Montessori School
The Canyon Church building sits at 6264 E Santa Ana Canyon Road, Anaheim Hills, adjacent to the Anaheim Hills Montessori School. It is a modest, functional space - classrooms for children, an auditorium for the main service, and an upstairs classroom for Canyon Teens. The setting is unhurried and suburban, fitting for a congregation that has chosen to remain small and focused on the basics: studying the Bible, breaking bread, praying together, teaching the next generation the full story of Scripture, and walking with one another through the week in homes scattered across Orange and Riverside counties.