Grandview Christian Church is a self-governing, non-denominational congregation in Johnson City, Tennessee, known for its Life Means More motto and for bringing generations together through worship, small groups, and service. Its Buffalo Campus sits on University Parkway, while its Cityview Campus meets downtown in The Gallery above Southern Craft BBQ. The two locations share one mission, vision, budget, and leadership structure, but each offers a distinct worship setting.
Two Campuses, One Church in Johnson City
Grandview began in 1927 as a small house church on Virginia Street. Today its work continues from two Johnson City locations, with the shared life of one church expressed through different worship environments, ministries, and styles of gathering.
- Buffalo Campus: 300 University Parkway, Johnson City, Tennessee 37604
- Cityview Campus: The Gallery, 601 Spring St, Suite 102, Johnson City, Tennessee 37604
The Buffalo Campus occupies a traditional church building with a sanctuary, classrooms, and children's facilities under one roof. It offers both a full-band contemporary service and a blended service that brings together a band, choir, chorus, and hymns. People who want a familiar church setting can also find a more contemporary form of worship there.
Cityview has a different atmosphere. Its services take place in The Gallery, an event venue above Southern Craft BBQ in downtown Johnson City. The laid-back room is suited to people who prefer a less formal worship environment, and both its Sunday services use a contemporary format.
Life Means More with Jesus
Grandview does not ask its people to agree on every opinion or belief. Instead, a shared conviction holds the congregation together: life means more with Jesus. This is both a statement of faith and a description of the church's purpose. Grandview wants people to know that God loves them, that they are loved by the church, and that their worth as human beings cannot be measured.
Grandview teaches that Jesus is more than a prophet, teacher, or leader. In the church's account, God became human, lived and died as one of us, lived a life free from sin, and rose from the grave. Jesus offers a way for the broken parts of the world to be made whole again, gives followers the promise of resurrection, and sends the Holy Spirit to guide them in the meantime. Grandview presents this promise as a gift offered to everyone.
That belief becomes visible through love for neighbors, service, hospitality, and shared life. The church seeks freedom from habits that keep people from thriving and encourages habits that keep them connected to God and one another. Grandview also gives importance to creativity, whether expressed through traditional arts or through efforts to address problems in the world. Sharing resources, time, abilities, and belonging is part of how the church makes love immediate. In the end, Grandview believes God uses these practices to bring new life and to work toward the healing of creation.
Sunday at Buffalo and Cityview
A Contemporary Start and a Blended Service at Buffalo
The Buffalo Campus worships at 9:30 a.m. with a contemporary service led by a full band. At 11:00 a.m., its second service blends band and choir, including chorus and hymns. Both are services of the same church, and both include room for people who are new to worship as well as those who have attended for years.
Contemporary Worship Downtown at Cityview
Cityview hosts contemporary services at 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. in The Gallery. Its setting is intentionally relaxed, but the pattern of worship remains familiar: people sing, pray, hear a Bible teaching, respond to the message, and share in communion.
Singing, Prayer, the Bible, and Communion
Songs are not assumed to be known. A visitor can listen and join in when ready. Most services begin with someone praying aloud while others close their eyes and pray silently, although some prayers are said together by the whole congregation, with the words displayed so everyone can read along. After the sermon, a minister teaches from the Bible and offers ways to connect the message with everyday life. Ministers also stand at the back of the room for people who want to talk about becoming a Christian, joining Grandview, having someone pray with them, or discussing what the service means.
Communion closes every service. Grandview remembers and gives thanks for the life, death, and new life of Jesus through bread and grape juice. The method of receiving it varies among services, and the person leading worship gives instructions. Everyone who identifies as Christian is welcome to participate, and those who are not Christians are welcome to remain seated while others receive communion. Grandview describes that part of a service as a safe place to wrestle with questions of faith.
Children and Youth Find a Place for Every Stage
Children may remain with their families during worship, but Grandview also offers age-specific teaching and activities. At both campuses, the children's welcome desk helps families register, learn where to go, and understand secure drop-off and pick-up procedures. Classrooms are staffed by trained, background-checked volunteers, and Grandview describes them as safe, secure environments where children can form friendships, ask questions, and understand that they are unique and valued.
Kids' Camp from Birth Through Sixth Grade
At the Cityview Campus, teaching and activity time for toddlers through third grade is offered at both 9:30 and 11:00, along with a nursery for newborns and infants. Buffalo provides teaching and activities for toddlers through sixth grade at both services, also with a nursery for newborns and infants. In Kids' Camp, children move, worship, explore Bible stories, and consider questions of faith with trusted adults and peers their own age.
Crew456 for Grades Four Through Six
Crew456 gives students in grades four, five, and six a place in both Sunday worship and the wider life of the church. At Buffalo, children worship with their families at one service and attend a designed Sunday school class during the other. Cityview students worship with their families and then join Crew456 at Buffalo for Sunday school. Sunday evening Canopies bring grades four through six together for activities, community service, games, and conversation about faith.
Inter-Campus Growth for Grades Seven Through Twelve
Students in grades seven through twelve are encouraged to attend adult worship at either campus. At 11:00 a.m., they also gather in the Student Lounge at Buffalo for an inter-campus Bible study and discussion class with peers and trusted adults. Youth Canopies meet on Sunday evenings, divided by age and gender and led by intergenerational teams. Wednesday Nights add discussion groups, service projects, games, dinner, activities, and worship to the school-year rhythm.
Canopies Bring the Whole Church Close
Grandview calls its small groups Canopies. The name comes from the natural phenomenon known as canopy shyness, in which some trees grow in patterns that allow light to reach the forest below. The individual canopies remain spread out, but the whole forest can be healthy and grow together. Grandview's small groups work in a similar way: they gather people from different places into close relationships while remaining connected to the larger church family.
Canopies meet weekly, every other week, or once a month. Some study the Bible, some serve, some visit, and some simply share life together. There are groups for children, students, college-age adults, young adults, young mothers, women, widows, and longtime members, along with opportunities to begin a new group.
Adult Classes at Buffalo
- Church and Community Class: Meets at 9:30 a.m. in the Stone-Campbell Room and studies books of the Bible.
- S.A.L.T. Class: Meets at 9:30 a.m. in the Virginia Street Room. Teachers rotate, and discussion subjects vary.
- Faith in Living Class: Meets at 10:45 a.m. in the Grandview Room for prayer and the study of biblical books and other topics.
Other Canopies include the Calling Group, which meets Tuesday mornings and serves shut-ins, people in the hospital, and those needing pastoral care. The College Age Canopy gathers for lunch and prayer, the Young Adult Canopy meets for food and conversation, and the Young Mom Canopy provides childcare. The Widow's Might Canopy brings widows together for an activity, lunch, and fellowship. A one-hour Welcome to Grandview class introduces newcomers and curious people to the church's story and ways to participate.
Grandview also gives its Canopies unlimited access to RightNow Media's library of video Bible studies, discussion guides, leadership development material, and programming for children and youth. The material can support group studies or personal study.
Two4Two Brings Generations to the Table
Two4Two is Grandview's intergenerational ministry based on Acts 2:42. Eight Wednesday evenings each fall and spring, families and friends gather at the Buffalo Campus from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The evening begins with lively worship, moves into a family-style dinner, and then offers teaching and enrichment classes open to both children and adults.
The classes are deliberately varied, with past offerings including art, dance, outdoor games, crafts, fly fishing, mahjong, tai chi, and a Christian culture and cuisine class. The common thread is the creation of relationships across generations. Worship, dinner, and class time give people of different ages a reason to spend time together rather than simply occupying separate ministry spaces.
Serving Johnson City Through Practical Partnerships
Service is not limited to activity inside the church building. Grandview works with local organizations and residents in ways that address housing, food, education, transportation, home maintenance, and companionship.
- Food Pantry: The pantry serves Johnson City residents in need and is open Thursday mornings from 9:00 to 10:00. Nonperishable food donations are accepted, and volunteers help distribute food to pantry guests.
- Appalachian Service Project: Grandview is a longtime partner in efforts to make Appalachian homes warmer, safer, and drier. Its support includes recovery work and additional service opportunities.
- Campus House at ETSU: Grandview collects ground coffee for this campus ministry, whose weekly gatherings include a meal, music, conversations, and Christ-centered storytelling with university students.
- Cornerstone Village South: Grandview provides a regular presence at the assisted living and memory care facility through Sunday worship, music, and visits with residents.
- Family Promise: This organization provides housing and support to local homeless families. Grandview channels donations through its thrift store and provides healthy snacks for its day center.
- Interyear Fellowship: Grandview helps with home and yard maintenance, shares meals, visits fellows, and gathers for coffee and games.
- South Side Elementary: The partnership includes mentoring at-risk students, supporting mentors, improving school grounds, and helping with PTA events.
- LoveJC and Rideshare: Grandview joins the citywide LoveJC service day with participants, recruiters, and coordinators. Its rideshare ministry also helps residents who would otherwise have difficulty getting to church.
There are many ways to serve within Grandview as well. The Connections Team greets newcomers and helps them find friends, groups, and opportunities to serve. Cityview's setup team prepares the rented room for worship and restores it afterward. Musicians, readers, devotional writers, audiovisual volunteers, children's workers, and Canopy leaders use their abilities in the life of the church. Giving is another form of participation, with online gifts available through Grandview's giving page. One-time or recurring gifts can be made by card or bank account, with separate funds for the Buffalo Campus, Cityview Campus, and confidential assistance through the Partnership Fund.
Youth Service, Music, and Mission
The Grandview Youth Band includes vocalists, guitarists, pianists, and drummers. It leads students in worship throughout the year and occasionally leads the congregation. Grandview's youth also take part in recurring neighborhood service and fundraising traditions, with middle school students serving at Riverwood Christian Community, a residential program for developmentally disabled adults in Louisville, Tennessee. High school students have worked with Englewood Church and community partners in Indianapolis through projects involving cleaning, landscaping, housing, childcare, and local learning.
Grandview's Missions Ministry Team maintains relationships with missionaries and mission partners, emphasizes missions within the church, hosts mission-related gatherings, oversees a Vision Fund and missions budget, and coordinates support. Among the partners named by the church are Roots, a ministry to university students, and Ghana Christian Mission. Mission support is understood as part of the same life of welcome and service expressed throughout Johnson City.
Worship Online, Weekday Prayer, and Church Center
Both campuses stream their 9:30 and 11:00 Sunday services, allowing people who cannot attend in person to worship with Grandview. The church's worship channels include separate Buffalo and Cityview video options. Sermons from each campus are also available as podcasts, with new recordings added each Wednesday.
Morning Prayer takes place online at 7:00 a.m. on weekdays. It is live on Grandview's Facebook account and remains available to watch later. This creates a regular rhythm of prayer that extends beyond the Sunday services and the physical campuses.
The Church Center mobile app connects people with events, registrations, communication, and giving. Youth reminders, schedule changes, and other alerts can arrive through app notifications. The Church Center setup allows congregants to create an account and begin using those tools.
The Ministry Team Behind Grandview
Aaron Wymer serves as senior minister. He holds degrees from Asbury Theological Seminary, Emmanuel Christian Seminary, and the University of Florida, and serves as adjunct faculty at Emmanuel Christian Seminary at Milligan. Heather Lawson, the executive minister, has a background in music education and elementary education and earned her master's degree from East Tennessee State University.
Nathan Cachiaras leads the Cityview Campus and holds a Master of Divinity degree from Emmanuel Christian Seminary. Brett Hyder leads worship arts at Buffalo and graduated from Johnson University. Joy Eden directs youth and college ministry, while Corri Carpenter leads children's ministry at Buffalo with training in English, theatre, and counseling. Katy Woodward oversees discipleship, and Noah DeLong directs the choir and also serves as an associate professor of music at Milligan.
Luke Floyd leads worship at Cityview while pursuing a mechanical engineering degree at Milligan University. Abby Tramel, a recent Milligan graduate with an elementary education background, serves as interim children's minister for Cityview. Alongside these ministers, Grandview is served by elders and ministry team leaders whose responsibilities include worship, discipleship, connections, fellowship, property, partnership, and missions.
A Story Still Being Written
Grandview's story remains centered on a simple conviction: life with Jesus means more because it makes lives better and calls people to participate in something larger than themselves. In Johnson City, that conviction takes shape through worship at two campuses, Canopies across generations, shared meals and classes, children's and youth formation, mission support, and hands-on service. Grandview is a church that welcomes others into the truth that God loves all of them, and its central story continues to be written by the people who love and follow Jesus.