Curtis Lake Church has been a fixture on Westview Drive in Sanford, Maine for nearly a century. Jody Slaven's grandmother walked through its doors as a teenager in 1935, the year the church was founded, and four generations of her family have followed. Today the congregation gathers at 38 Westview Drive with two Sunday morning services, a robust midweek childcare and learning center, dozens of small groups, and a global outreach program that reaches from Sanford to Uganda, Ethiopia, Guatemala and beyond. The church describes itself as a "Curious Church" - a community that keeps asking, as its values put it, "What does love require of me?"
Two Sunday Mornings on Westview Drive
Sunday is the heartbeat of the week at Curtis Lake. Two identical-format services run at 8:45 AM and 10:30 AM, with programming for children from birth through eighth grade offered at both. The services are designed for first-time guests: friendly greeters, contemporary music led by a worship team that rehearses each Thursday evening, and Bible-centered preaching. "You can expect friendly and authentic people, engaging and relevant music and worship, and compelling preaching from the Bible," the church tells visitors. "You will be encouraged and maybe even challenged."
For those who cannot attend in person, services are livestreamed and on demand through curtislake.online.church, with a full archive of past messages and podcasts available on the church's media page.
Wednesday Night Bite and the Midweek Rhythm
Wednesday nights at Curtis Lake begin around the table. The auditorium is converted into a community dining room where Curtis Lakers and neighbors from across greater Sanford share a free meal of pasta, pizza and salad from 6:00 to 7:00 PM. "There will be no bill and no clean up for you," the church notes, "simply an opportunity to connect with others over a hot meal." Wednesday Night Bite is a fit for anyone - those looking for connection, a meal without cooking, or a way to stretch a food budget - and it gives way each week to small groups, classes, and a junior high program called CREW 78. The meal takes a summer hiatus during July, August and the first half of September, then resumes.
Growing Up at Curtis Lake: Kids and Students
Curtis Lake invests heavily in the next generation, with three Sunday environments for children from birth through fourth grade.
- Nursery (birth to age 2) is staffed by volunteers chosen and trained for the youngest children, with greeters who note feeding, napping and diapering details at drop-off.
- Firefly Hollow is a weekly preschool environment that introduces young children to God as their Creator, Heavenly Father and Friend.
- Kidz Church runs during the 10:30 AM service for elementary-age children. Its three core values - "I need to make the wise choice," "I can trust God no matter what," "I should treat others the way I want to be treated" - anchor every lesson. The program is built around consistent small groups so children see the same leader and friends each week.
A Sunday buddy program pairs trained volunteers with children who need extra support to thrive in the classroom.
For students in fifth through twelfth grade, the Student Ministry, led by Pastor Tim, offers three distinct environments. Deep End is the Sunday environment for students in grades 5 through 8, who join the main auditorium for worship before moving to their own space for teaching. Rise gathers sixth through eighth graders for games, friendship and teaching that helps them "rise above simply surviving" middle school. Elevate, for grades 9 through 12, meets Sunday nights with large group teaching, small group discussion and games. CREW 78 is a Wednesday evening option for junior high students that pairs with Wednesday Night Bite. All of the normal programming is free and open to the entire community.
Midweek Childcare, the Early Learning Center, and Camp Curtis Lake
For many Sanford-area families, Curtis Lake is not only a Sunday church but a weekday partner. The Early Learning Center is a licensed preschool program (licensed by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services) with a "child-directed, hands-on learning environment" rooted in Biblical principles. Children grow physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially through circle and Bible story time, outdoor play, art and science, dramatic play, fine motor activities, and literacy development.
The School Age Child Care program serves grades K through 6 with Before School (opening at 7:00 AM) and After School (closing at 6:00 PM) care, Monday through Friday. The After School program includes a snack, homework help, games, crafts and recreation, with full-day care on school vacations and snow days and enrichment programming on Sanford's early release days.
Camp Curtis Lake is a Jesus-centered summer day camp for children in Kindergarten through fifth grade. Doors open at 7:00 AM and the camp day runs until 4:00 PM, with extended care to 6:00 PM. Each day includes six tailored activities - sports, arts and crafts, team-building, outdoor living skills (think fort-building and cooking over a fire), and a daily Bible time. Camp Curtis Lake partners with Sanford's summer food program so campers do not need to bring a lunch, and the facility is nut aware. Registrations are handled through ProCare.
Small Groups: Something for Every Stage
Curtis Lake describes its small group ministry as the place where roots grow deep and wide. Groups meet across Sanford, Springvale, online and at the church throughout the week, and the catalog is unusually broad:
- Alpha, offered both Sunday evenings at 6:00 PM and Wednesdays at 6:30 PM, creates space for honest conversation around life's biggest questions - "Is the Bible relevant? Who is Jesus? Why so much suffering?" It is described as a great first small group.
- GriefShare meets three times a week - Tuesdays at 6:00 PM, Wednesdays at 10:00 AM at Curtis Lake, and Thursdays at 6:00 PM online.
- DivorceCare is a 13-week Christ-centered program that combines expert video teaching, small-group discussion, and personal workbook study.
- Financial Peace University, a nine-week Dave Ramsey course on budgeting and debt reduction, runs periodically with a $50 materials fee.
- Raising Hope (Wednesdays at 5:00 PM) gathers foster and adoptive parents for Scripture-centered conversation and shared experience.
- Grands Raising Greats (Wednesdays at 6:30 PM) supports grandparents and extended family raising children.
- Bible study groups work through books of the Bible, including Genesis, Revelation, 1 Corinthians and the Gospel of Luke.
- Men's and women's groups meet on weeknights for relational study and prayer.
- The Adventure Small Group hikes, kayaks, bikes and explores outdoors with Scripture-centered conversation along the way.
A Curious Church: Vision and Values
Curtis Lake calls itself "a Curious Church" and grounds its identity in five commitments, all rooted in the question "What does love require of me?"
- Jesus first. Every decision, conversation, and circumstance is filtered through the question of how Jesus would think about it.
- Grace and mercy. Members choose to "err on the side of grace and mercy rather than judgment," loving all and leaving the rest to God.
- Together. Following Jesus is a team sport. The church works in pairs and teams because "healthy community and greater impact comes from doing less with more rather than more with less."
- Dream big. Members are encouraged to dream big individually and corporately about how God can use them to bring hope to the community.
- Give generously. Following Christ's example, members give of their time, talent and treasure to bring hope to Sanford and surrounding communities.
The motto: "To live in such a way that people take notice of you for the right reasons."
What Curtis Lake Believes
The church's Statement of Faith opens with the Apostles' Creed and adds five doctrinal pillars: the entire Bible is the inspired, wholly true word of God; God exists eternally in three co-equal persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - and the Son became flesh, lived a sinless life, died and rose again; people are made in God's image but marred by sin and in need of reconciliation; salvation comes by faith in the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, sustained by grace; and the Holy Spirit lives within every believer from the moment of salvation, providing power for living, understanding of spiritual truth and guidance in doing what is right.
Global Outreach: Going to the Uttermost Parts
Curtis Lake takes seriously the call to love both next-door and overseas neighbors. Its Global Outreach ministry partners with a wide network of organizations and leaders. Locally and regionally, the church supports Alpha Pregnancy Center (free ultrasound and confidential services), BeLoved (foster and reunified family support and a Compassion Closet), Thrive New England (prevention of child exploitation and trafficking, with active programming in the Sanford school system), Journey to Hope (university student support and human trafficking awareness), and a local Young Life chapter that meets kids on their own turf.
Around the world, GO Partners include Asia's Little Ones (orphaned and vulnerable children in Asia Pacific since 1990), ChildVoice (restorative care for war-affected girls in northern Uganda and South Sudan), Selamta Family Project (long-term family-style care for orphans in Ethiopia), Discipleship Works (raising up Christ-centered leaders, including a Bible study for members of Congress), Youth Impact (library, Hope House and Shalom Center for underprivileged children in Addis Ababa), Young Life Africa, Morning Glory (a school in San Raymundo, Guatemala), Rivers of Mercy (a children's home in Juarez, Mexico), CICRIN (an orphanage and school on Ometepe Island in Nicaragua), Value Plus (Romanian youth ministry), and Wycliffe Bible Translators (where Sanford natives Jim and Becky Clarke help five language groups in Zambia get the Bible).
GO Trips send Curtis Lakers to encourage and serve these partners in person. The church also collects stories from past trips - displayed on a lobby wall as ordinary objects with extraordinary meaning, from a blue playground ball that crossed Guatemala and customs, to a matryoshka doll from Russia, to a plastic fork that traveled back from a Philippine dump site.
Curtis Lake Stories: A Wall of Memory
The lobby at Curtis Lake holds a display wall of curious objects submitted by church members. Each item represents a story: David Eldridge, a 34-year teacher, displays a Reese's Cup from Curtis Lake's annual Trunk or Treat, where students discover his faith; Jody Slaven holds a planting pot symbolizing four generations of her family connected to the church; Shaina Morrow keeps a small ball tied to Winter Camp at Berea; and Sharon Rogers displays bingo cards from a decades-old 4th of July camping tradition. The wall is meant to be a living archive of who has called Curtis Lake home.
Care, Prayer and Practical Help
Curtis Lake operates a dedicated Care Ministry under Executive Director of Ministry Support Services Sharon Rogers. Trained Care Ministers are available to listen, pray, encourage and walk alongside people through difficult seasons - from crisis and loss to celebrations and new beginnings. Prayer requests can be submitted online, and a separate care request form funnels into a team that prayerfully reviews each need and creates personalized care plans when appropriate. The team is not a substitute for professional counseling but will connect people with outside resources when needed.
The church also runs a benevolence fund through a network called One Need, a partnership of Christ-followers committed to generosity. Financial aid applications are available online, and the fund can assist with pregnancy, marriage, addiction, grief and other practical needs. Sharon Rogers can be reached at sharon@curtislake.org to help facilitate connections.
Getting Connected
For those ready to jump in, Curtis Lake organizes serving opportunities into six areas: Arts and Technology (musicians, A/V techs, designers and stage builders who create the worship environment); Kids and Youth (Firefly Hollow, Kidz Church, Sunday buddies, 5th and 6th grade helpers, junior high and high school leaders); First Impressions (greeters and the team that shapes a guest's first 27 seconds); Hospitality (Sunday morning coffee and Wednesday Night Bite meal service); Relational Impact (care ministers and small group leaders); and Administration and Facilities (behind-the-scenes support). A "Find Your Fit" form on the church's serve page connects newcomers with the right team.
A Word on Resources
Pastor Shaina Morrow, who oversees the resources page, recommends several go-tos: a free Right Now Media account (a streaming library often called the "Netflix of Bible Studies"), a Spotify worship playlist curated by the worship team, and the church's own podcast, where Pastor Josh answers questions submitted by the congregation. Three books the staff is currently recommending: The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis for advanced theological reading, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry for those wanting to slow down, and the NIV Application Commentary on 1 Corinthians for deep study.
The Staff
Curtis Lake is pastored by a team that includes Pastor Josh Parison, Pastor Shaina Morrow (Worship and Discipleship), Pastor Jim Shafer (Community Care) and Student Ministry Pastor Tim. Sharon Rogers serves as Executive Director of Ministry Support Services, Caleb Randall leads the Worship Team, Becky Riley directs the School Age Child Care and Camp Curtis Lake programs, and Michelle Silke directs the Early Learning Center. Worship team members rehearse each Thursday evening; A/V techs, photographers, videographers, set designers, hospitality teams and care ministers round out the volunteer network.
Visiting Curtis Lake
The church sits at 38 Westview Drive in Sanford, Maine. Sunday services begin at 8:45 AM and 10:30 AM, both with full children's programming from birth through eighth grade. Wednesday Night Bite runs from 6:00 to 7:00 PM most of the year (with a summer hiatus). Livestream is available for those unable to attend. The church can be reached at (207) 324-0652 or info@curtislake.org. Giving is handled securely through PushPay. A benevolence application is available for those facing financial hardship, and prayer and care requests are taken online through the church's CCB system.