Farmington Community Church sits along County Road 41 near the intersection with Route 332 in Farmington, NY. The congregation has been gathering in this part of the country since 1987, when a small group of Christians were led to plant a new church in the area under the leadership of Pastor Bill Vallet. Today it is a Global Methodist congregation known for its emphasis on prayer, the warmth of its small groups, and a steady stream of ministries for children, youth, and young adults.
From a Hotel Near the Thruway to County Road 41
For its first seven years, the young church met in a hotel near the New York State Thruway, setting up its sanctuary every Sunday morning and rotating through the building's rooms for classrooms and nursery space. By 1994 the congregation had outgrown that setup and moved into its present facility, a one-story, multi-purpose building set on County Road 41 directly across from Beaver Creek Road.
In 2023, after more than three decades in the United Methodist Church, members voted to disaffiliate from the UMC and affiliate with the Global Methodist Church, a denomination that traces its roots to the renewal movement begun by John Wesley in eighteenth-century England. The church then changed its name from Farmington United Methodist Church to Farmington Community Church, while continuing in the same building and the same overall mission. Pastor Jeff Long, who became the permanent pastor in 1997 and served for twenty-three years before his retirement in June 2021, was one of the defining pastoral voices in those middle decades.
What Farmington Community Church Believes
The statement of faith centers on five core convictions. Members believe in the one true God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ; in the Bible as the God-breathed Word and the sourcebook for life; in the church as the body of Christ; and in a lifelong trajectory of growing toward a Jesus-centered life through Scripture, prayer, worship, community, and service.
Baptism and Holy Communion are the two sacraments celebrated in worship. The congregation describes itself as a community of followers of Jesus Christ, recipients of God's grace, students of the Bible, serious about prayer, and committed to serving others locally and around the world. As a Global Methodist congregation, it affirms the doctrines and discipline of the Global Methodist Church.
Two Sunday Mornings, a Praise Band, and a Sanctuary Without Pews
Sunday is the heartbeat of the church's week. During the fall, services are held at 9:00 am and 10:45 am, with children's Sunday school offered during the earlier service. In the summer the two services combine into a single gathering at 10:00 am. The 10:45 am service is also livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel, and recordings of recent sermons are posted to the church's YouTube page for later viewing.
The sanctuary is set up with chairs instead of pews so the room can be reshaped for pageants, fellowship dinners, blood drives, family game nights, and receptions as well as for worship. A praise band leads mostly contemporary Christian songs, joined by voices from the congregation. Sermons are Biblically grounded, rooted in real issues of the day, and offered in a relaxed, engaging style with sprinkles of healthy humor. On occasion, the worship team adds creative elements to amplify the message, and prayer ushers are available after each service to pray one-on-one with anyone who has a need.
Nursery care is available during both Sunday services, year round. Children's Sunday school classes are held during the school year at 9:00 am only, and families are welcome to keep their children with them in either service if they prefer.
Prayer Woven Into Everything
Prayer is one of the defining marks of the congregation. The leadership believes prayer should be embedded in everything the church does, and a dedicated prayer team supports that vision through several overlapping ministries. A prayer chain carries requests to committed intercessors, prayer ushers make themselves available after each service to pray with anyone who has a need, prayer chairs are set aside for the same purpose, and a prayer room is open throughout the week. Prayer meetings are held on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, and prayer is threaded through the worship services themselves, where attendees can submit requests that the team will lift up for the next five weeks. The prayer team keeps requests confidential and continually welcomes new members who feel called to that work.
Community Groups and Discipleship Bands
Small groups are the primary way Farmington Community Church helps people grow in their faith and form lasting relationships. Two formats run side by side.
Community Groups are gatherings of six to twelve people who meet weekly to share food, study the Bible, pray together, encourage one another, and apply Scripture to everyday life. Groups meet during the school year in two semesters, with churchwide sign-ups in September and January to make joining easy, though new members are welcome at any time. Some meet in homes and others at the church, and childcare is worked out group by group.
Discipleship Bands are smaller, same-gender groups of three to five who meet weekly for transformational questions and prayer. Modeled on the band meetings John Wesley started among the early Methodists, the goal is for participants to become the love of God to one another and to those around them. Bands choose their own meeting times and places and can be formed at any point.
Both ministries are coordinated by Small Groups Director Joey Norsen, who has served at Farmington since 2005. Adult Sunday School on Sunday mornings at 9:00 am and a congregation-wide Summer Read offer additional ways to dig into the Bible together.
Children from Birth Through Sixth Grade
Children's ministry is organized by age and runs during the school year at the 9:00 am service. Amanda Smith serves as both Children's Director and Nursery Director, having stepped into the children's role in March 2025 after several years as Nursery Director. Children's staff have gone through background checks and follow the church's Safe Sanctuary policies, and a separate children's wing with a greeter at the check-in station provides a secure check-in and check-out experience.
The nursery, called God's Little Garden, serves children from birth through age four with Bible stories, music, snacks, and play. Kindergarten and first graders meet in God's Pathfinders, a hands-on room of stories, songs, and play that introduces the Bible in age-appropriate ways. Second through fourth graders gather in God's Adventurers, a class built around Bible stories and weekly memory verses on topics like prayer, obedience, and friendship. Fifth and sixth graders move up to Next Level Faith, where the focus is on learning how to use and navigate the Bible independently while serving like Jesus through several service projects each year.
Nursery care is available during both Sunday services year round, and special events through the year draw families together around the holidays.
D.I.G.: Disciples In God
The youth ministry, called D.I.G. (Disciples In God), is built around three priorities: spiritual growth, service, and fellowship. Students in grades seven through twelve meet on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 pm to connect with one another, dig into real topics with a voice in the discussion, and experience Jesus alongside friends walking similar paths.
Each month the youth choose a place in the community where they can be the hands and feet of Jesus, often serving alongside ministry partners like Eight Days of Hope. A winter retreat and a summer trip to Kingdom Bound are highlights of the year, and the calendar regularly fills with movie nights, games nights, birthday bashes, and ideas the students themselves bring to the table. Youth Director Kevin Smith, who has been in youth ministry since 2016, leads the program alongside his wife Amanda.
The Disciples Young Adult Ministry
Launched in 2024 with a group of recent graduates, the Disciples Young Adult Ministry gathers young adults into an intentional community shaped by John 13:35: 'Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.' Bi-weekly small groups dig into Scripture and walk through life together, and once a month the whole group meets at the church for an evening of food, fellowship, worship, and study. Once a month they also join friends from other churches for a worship gathering called Like No Other.
Young adults partner locally with Father's Heart Ministry in Rochester and Eight Days of Hope in Buffalo, and gather for spring and fall retreats in Old Forge. The ministry has attended the Passion Conference and is planning its first global mission trip to take the love of Christ beyond borders.
The B.R.I.D.G.E. and a Worldwide Reach
Outreach at Farmington Community Church is organized under a renewed ministry called The B.R.I.D.G.E. (Building Relationships In Discipleship, Grace & Evangelism). The team meets twice a month after Sunday services and welcomes anyone with a heart for people, service, and sharing Christ's love. Its purpose is to connect the congregation with neighbors near and far through intentional relationships, acts of grace, and the hope of the gospel.
Outreach projects span local, regional, domestic, and global work. Highlights include Easter baskets for families in need, regular food donations to a local food pantry, Operation Christmas Child, World Vision child sponsorships, and short-term international mission trips. The church's mission is to help ordinary people become spiritually thriving servants of Christ for the sake of the world.
Walking the Discipleship Pathway
The Discipleship Pathway is the framework the church uses to describe and encourage spiritual growth. It begins with Exploring Jesus, the stage for anyone curious about who Jesus is and what the church community is about, with steps like reading the Gospels, joining worship, attending a Discover FCC gathering, and serving in some small way.
Meet Jesus names the moment someone decides to follow Christ and walk through the door the gospel opens. Growing in Jesus invites new believers into community groups, regular Bible reading, baptism, Adult Sunday School, and ongoing spiritual practices. Close to Jesus describes a deeper intimacy marked by spiritual disciplines, Discipleship Bands, leading or hosting a Community Group, and the discovery of personal spiritual gifts. Jesus-Centered is the most mature stage, where disciples invest in others through mentoring, multiplying Discipleship Bands, and engaging in relational service and evangelism.
Across all four stages the church emphasizes Scripture, prayer, worship, community, and service as the basic practices of a life rooted in Christ.
The Building, the Staff, and What to Expect on Sunday
Built in 1994, the church facility is a one-story, multi-purpose structure designed to flex with the ministries inside it. Beyond the sanctuary with its movable chairs, the building holds a working kitchen for events, multiple small rooms for meetings and ministry gatherings, a dedicated nursery, children's program rooms, a library, and offices.
Day-to-day ministry is carried by a small leadership team: Music Director Paul Raduns, Small Groups Director Joey Norsen, Youth and Young Adult Director Kevin Smith, Children's and Nursery Director Amanda Smith, Guest Connector and Serving Coordinator Kim Raduns, Office Manager Freeman Fessler, and Custodian Karen Freeland. Music is led weekly by Paul Raduns and the praise band, and an archive of recent sermons is posted to the church's YouTube channel.
Newcomers are welcomed warmly. There is no dress code, and guests are encouraged to come as they are. On a first visit, look for a welcome bag on the way out, with separate bags for youth and children. The church office phone, (585) 398-2626, is answered Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to noon, and a weekly newsletter keeps newcomers in the loop on what is coming up. Online giving is available through the church's secure giving portal, and those who want to go deeper can sign up for one of the quarterly membership classes. The church's core values hold that lost people matter to God and therefore matter to the church, that God accepts people as they are but loves them too much to leave them there, and that the church should be culturally relevant while remaining Biblically true.
For nearly four decades, Farmington Community Church has gathered on County Road 41 to pray, worship, study Scripture, serve neighbors, and walk alongside families in their faith. The aim is straightforward: helping ordinary people become spiritually thriving servants of Christ for the sake of the world.