Garden Ridge Church of Christ has been a fixture on North Garden Ridge Boulevard in Lewisville for decades. Tucked into a single building between residential streets and the shops of Flower Mound Road, the church is best known for how much it packs into that address: a Sunday and Wednesday congregation, an on-site preschool, a Spanish-speaking Iglesia de Cristo, a Christ-centered recovery program, and a worldwide missions support network that stretches from the Bronx to South Africa. Officially, members call it a family - "imperfect people with every kind of story imaginable" learning to walk in the footsteps of Jesus - and visitors are welcomed with the promise of "love, grace, and forgiveness."
Sundays: Bible Class, Then Worship at 10:15
Sunday mornings at Garden Ridge open with a 9:00 AM Bible class hour and move into the main assembly at 10:15 AM. The combined service runs about 75 minutes. A worship leader and praise team lead the singing with lyrics projected on screens so newcomers can follow along or simply listen. The service includes prayer, a communal observance of the Lord's Supper, and a sermon from Senior Minister Scott Jarvis. Communion is shared every Sunday, in keeping with the church's teaching that the bread and cup are a weekly memorial of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, and all baptized believers are welcome to participate. Dress is described as completely flexible: "You'll be comfortable dressing casually or dressing up."
The Sanctuary is at the heart of the building, but on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Sundays of the school year the auditorium empties halfway through. Children ages three through third grade are dismissed after communion to Christian Soldiers (preschool and kindergarten) or Young Disciples (first through third grade), where they engage in song, prayer, games, crafts, and skits tailored to their age. Parents pick them up using a matching security tag printed at a Check-In Station when they arrive.
Wednesday Nights: Dinner, Then Bible Classes
Wednesday is the church's other weekly anchor. From 5:30 to 6:30 PM the kitchen serves Wednesday Night Bite, a budget-friendly family meal priced at $5 per adult, $2 per child, and $15 max per family. (There is no Wednesday Night Bite during the summer months.) At 7:00 PM the adult Bible classes begin.
The Wednesday rotation includes a women's class in Room 222 that has studied books like 1 Timothy and Jen Wilkin's In His Image, and a men's class in Room 226 that has walked through Bob Goff's interactive A Journey with Jesus study. A summer series typically rotates additional offerings, such as "Marriage: Two Becoming Fun," a relaxed class led by Philip and Jan Nichols designed to help couples at every stage of life.
Ridge Kids: Children from Nursery Through Fifth Grade
Ridge Kids is the umbrella for everything Garden Ridge offers children from birth through fifth grade, and the ministry describes itself with three verbs: planting, watering, and serving. "The seed of faith cannot be planted too early," the children's ministry team explains, so even nursery time is teaching - songs and play that introduce babies and toddlers to a creator who loves them.
Age-appropriate Bible classes for every child meet at 9:00 AM on Sundays and again on Wednesdays. Check-In Stations print a security tag for the child and a matching parent tag, and every volunteer has been screened with a background check. On 1st, 2nd and 3rd Sundays the children are released partway through the worship service for their own Kids Worship programs, described in more detail in the Family Friendly section above. During the summer the kids' ministry shifts its focus to service projects - across the street and across the world - and provides take-home materials so parents can revisit lessons through the week. Children's Minister Dan Morrow leads the ministry and serves as the contact for parent questions.
The Spanish-Speaking Iglesia de Cristo
Wimon Walker and Nacho Rios lead the church's Spanish-speaking ministry, which meets every Sunday at 9:00 AM. The congregation began in the 1990s when Arturo Esquivel, along with his wife Rosa, started a Spanish Bible class; Esquivel later preached for the group as it grew and began meeting independently. After years under Mario De La Garza, the work moved back into the Garden Ridge building, and Wimon and Rosalinda Walker have led the Bible studies since 2016.
Visitors are often surprised at what they find. The members sit around a table over coffee, share news and prayer concerns, and then open their Bibles together to talk through how the day's passage plays out in ordinary life. The group is small - some members join in person, others by Zoom - but the congregation has included people born in at least six Latin American countries as well as the United States, and pot-luck meals reflect the variety. Walker, who taught for eight years at Abilene Christian University's Faculty of Biblical Studies and worked with churches in Botswana, Argentina and Uruguay before coming to Lewisville, leads the conversation alongside Rosalinda, who grew up in Argentina while her parents established congregations there.
Celebrate Recovery and Celebration Place
Friday nights at Garden Ridge belong to Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered 12-step program open to anyone 18 and older who is wrestling with a hurt, habit, or hang-up. Leigh Loyd coordinates the ministry. Meetings begin at 7:00 PM with a large-group time of worship and teaching, then break into smaller open-share groups from 8:00 to 9:00 PM. The program draws from the Beatitudes and applies eight "Recovery Principles" that move participants through hope, confession, forgiveness, daily inventory, and service.
The list of struggles Celebrate Recovery addresses is wider than most people expect: divorce, food addiction, anger, gambling, alcohol and drugs, co-dependency, fear, sexual addiction, overworking, overspending, abuse, lying, perfectionism, guilt, eating disorders, grief, hurtful relationships, rejection, the need to control, and insecurity. Running alongside the adult meetings, Celebration Place provides a parallel curriculum for children ages 5 through 13 whose families are affected by those issues - engaging kids with songs, games, videos and crafts in age-appropriate language. Childcare for infants through age five is available from 6:45 to 9:30 PM by advance request.
Adult Bible Studies, Connect Groups and Education
Beyond Sunday and Wednesday, the church's adult education is structured around three platforms. First, weekly Bible classes: a Tuesday morning study at 10:00 AM in Rooms 222 (men, currently in Hebrews and moving into 1 & 2 Peter) and 226 (women, a Study of Romans), plus a rotating Wednesday evening lineup and Sunday morning offerings like the Biblical Financial Stewardship Class, a Spanish-language class in Room 226, and Andrew Swango's auditorium study of Colossians.
Second, Connect Groups: circles of 8 to 12 adults who meet regularly for roughly two years to pursue spiritual growth and stay accountable to one another. The church's stated philosophy is straightforward - sustained life change happens best in intentional relationships - and small-group leaders are equipped with separate training materials.
Third, the Next Steps pathway, a self-assessment and follow-up sequence that walks newcomers from "Curious" through "Getting Started," "Growing," "Serving," "Leading," and "Healing," with a contact form at every stage. The Adult Education ministry supports and recruits Bible class teachers and promotes classes to visitors and to the wider congregation.
Men of the Ridge and Women's Ministry
Men's and women's ministries each run on a Tuesday morning and Wednesday evening Bible study plus a calendar of retreats, nights out, and service projects. The men's program, Men of the Ridge, organizes around three priorities: spiritual growth, relationship development, and community and church service. Steve White leads it, Joel Anderson teaches the Tuesday study of 1 & 2 Peter using the Engaging God's Word study guide, and a separate Wednesday night option has worked through Bob Goff's Holy Land video series.
The women's ministry describes itself as "imperfect, but chosen women of God for a mighty purpose" and gathers around Sunday Bible class, Tuesday morning and Wednesday evening studies, retreats, worship nights, ladies' nights out, and "everyday life together." Sheri Coulter and Pam White lead it. The women's Bible work has moved through Romans, 1 Timothy, and Jen Wilkin's In His Image, and Pam White's Wednesday discussion class in Room 223 focuses on applying those lessons practically.
Youth Ministry
The Garden Ridge Youth Ministry is led by Trane Wyatt and operates as a community for middle and high schoolers committed to "creating and cultivating life-long disciples of Christ." Programming includes small-group Bible studies, mission trips, summer activities (Capture the Flag and similar events get specific mentions), and partnerships with parents and siblings to cultivate faith at home. Adult mentors serve at every local event and trip, and the youth ministry can be reached at grymonline.org.
Lewisville Christian School, On Site Since 1970
Inside the same building sits Lewisville Christian School, a nonprofit preschool and kindergarten for children ages 2 through kindergarten, directed by Katie Swaim. The school has been operating on the Garden Ridge campus since 1970 and is supported entirely by the church's leadership and members. Linda Seagraves shares the administration. Classes focus on cognitive, social, emotional and physical growth within a Christian learning environment, and the school works hard to keep tuition accessible to families in Lewisville, Flower Mound and the surrounding area.
Volunteers can serve the school in several ways: substitute teaching, serving on the school board (made up of Garden Ridge members who meet monthly), soliciting donations for the annual LCS auction, helping with the spring carnival, or pitching in on lawn care and building projects.
Missionaries Near and Far
Garden Ridge's missions ministry, led by Greg Barber, supports a roster of missionaries around the world in places that include the United States, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Hungary and South Africa. Closer to home, the Food 4 Kids ministry addresses weekend hunger in 15 local schools. Andrea Abellera coordinates Food 4 Kids; Larry and Suzanne Statler personally deliver bags into classrooms at Degan Elementary, where more than 40 percent of students receive free or reduced lunch. On average, the program distributes about 43 cases of kid-friendly, nonperishable food every two weeks and reaches over 100 students each week.
The mission field is, in practice, much wider than that. Garden Ridge sends teams that have taught at vacation Bible schools, led Let's Start Talking English-conversation outreach, taught marriage enrichment classes, delivered dental and medical care, and helped build church buildings. The Let's Start Talking / Friend Speak ministry in particular equips church members to help international neighbors practice English through meaningful faith conversations, online or in person.
Beliefs and Garden Ridge Standards
Garden Ridge identifies as a Church of Christ congregation and teaches that salvation comes by grace through faith in response to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Members are baptized by immersion after confessing Jesus as Lord, and the church observes the Lord's Supper each Sunday, welcoming all baptized believers to take part. Members also give financially to support the work of the church; guests are not expected to contribute but are welcome to do so.
The Garden Ridge Standards spell out twelve commitments that guide daily life together: love God, love people, follow Jesus, treat the Bible as truth and wisdom, speak hope rather than condemnation, pursue unity and peacemaking, prize holiness over happiness, give above and beyond, serve because Jesus served, refuse to live life alone, invest in the next generation, act in faith rather than playing it safe, live as contributors rather than consumers, love people when they least expect it or least deserve it, and go into the world rather than waiting for it to come through the door.
Staff, Shepherds and Serving Opportunities
The full-time staff includes Senior Minister Scott Jarvis; Children's Minister Dan Morrow; Worship Minister Ross Rodgers, who also leads prayer and communion talks from the pulpit; Youth Minister Trane Wyatt; and Media and Communications Minister Josh Starrett, who also oversees Connect Groups. These five form the team's working core.
Around them, ministry leaders oversee the work of the church: Sheri Coulter coordinates women's ministry, food ministry, and events and kitchen; Pam White co-leads the women's work; Steve White leads Men of the Ridge; Leigh Loyd heads Celebrate Recovery and the Golden Crown Ministry for widowed and senior members; Wimon Walker and Nacho Rios lead the Spanish-speaking congregation; Keith Seagraves runs the safety team; Bret Atchley heads the greeters; Andrea Abellera leads Food 4 Kids; Greg Barber oversees missions; Rachel Barber leads the grieving ministry; Sammie Underwood coordinates the Encouragers prayer ministry; Danny and Karen Smith direct Leadership Training for Christ (LTC); Caleb Foltermann oversees building and grounds; Joby Raymond and Ed DeMatteo handle church administration.
Anyone interested in serving can fill out a Next Steps form, pick a volunteering option (landscaping, auditorium reset, Golden Crown, church maintenance, or Wednesday Night Bite clean-up), or apply to lead a Bible study, join the praise team, run the audio/visual team, share a communion thought, or lead a Connect Group. The church's livestream is hosted at gardenridge.online.church, online giving runs through onrealm.org, and the office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.