A Half-Century on 82nd Street in Lubbock
For more than fifty years, Raintree Christian Church has gathered West Texas families at its campus on 82nd Street in Lubbock. The independent congregation describes its calling in terms of "Kingdom Life": the Holy Spirit forming disciples to worship God with all of life and to actively love their neighbors. Members come together each week to sing, hear Scripture, share the Lord's Supper, and serve the city around them.
Sunday Worship at Ten
Raintree meets for in-person worship each Sunday at 10:00 a.m., and the same service is livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook at the same hour. The order of service is straightforward: a time of congregational singing that blends hymns and contemporary songs, prayer, a 20- to 25-minute sermon from the Senior Minister, and the Lord's Supper. Weekly Communion is a defining rhythm of the congregation, a practice the church says shapes them for life with God and relationships with others.
First-time guests will find a family-friendly environment. Children are welcome in the sanctuary for worship and Communion; during the sermon they are dismissed to age-appropriate teaching in the Treehouse. An archive of recent services is available on YouTube for anyone unable to attend in person.
The Treehouse: From Small Sprouts to Fifth Grade
Children's ministry at Raintree is coordinated by Brady Pickett, the church's Children, Youth and Family Minister. A graduate of Lubbock Christian University with a degree in Youth and Family Ministry, Pickett oversees what the church calls the Treehouse, which runs every Sunday during the sermon.
The Treehouse serves children from six weeks through fifth grade. The youngest "Small Sprouts," from six weeks to twenty-four months, are cared for by background-checked volunteers and introduced to creation, Noah's Ark, and the birth of Jesus through song and Bible class. Children from age two through kindergarten learn through stories, games, crafts, songs, and play, progressing through themes such as "God made me," "God wants me to be a good friend," and "I am special to God." In the upper Treehouse, kindergarteners through fifth graders gather where, as the church puts it, "the Bible should never be boring, worship can be really loud, and good leaders always care." Every lesson is built on three truths drawn from Luke 2:52: making the wise choice, trusting God no matter what, and treating others the way you want to be treated.
Beyond Sundays, Pickett's ministry hosts an annual calendar that includes the Raintree Retreat in Sacramento, New Mexico over Labor Day weekend, a back-to-school blessing, movie and game nights, summer family nights, Summit Camp at Pine Springs, New Mexico, the Jingle Jam Christmas Variety Show, the Honey Elementary Fall Festival, and a baby blessing celebration.
Wednesday Nights for Students
Students in sixth through twelfth grade meet on Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the Raintree Youth Room. The format is intentionally relaxed: games, fellowship, and music. The aim, Pickett says, is to help young people become "fully devoted followers of Jesus seeking the will of God in all things and seeing Christ in everyone they meet," and the ministry invites students into intergenerational community and shared worship alongside the broader church.
Gospel-Centered Worship
The church's worship ministry is led by Kris Tryon and a team of musicians. Together they prepare "thoughtful, highly-skilled and gospel-centered music" each week, drawing on both hymns and contemporary songs. Theologically, the ministry points to Psalm 150 as its touchstone: "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." Tryon and his wife April have two sons, and he describes himself as humbled to serve a congregation he calls "a special place." Alongside the music, the service includes prayer, the sermon, weekly Communion, and an opportunity to give toward the church's mission.
Small Groups Across Lubbock
Beyond Sunday mornings, Raintree offers Small Groups and age-appropriate classes throughout the week in homes and meeting places across Lubbock. The church frames these gatherings as venues for "Kingdom life and relationships," places where members study Scripture together, pray for one another, and practice the kind of servanthood the sermon calls them to. Small Groups sit alongside Sundays, midweek youth nights, and family events as a regular rhythm of congregational life.
Core Beliefs
Raintree's stated beliefs begin with the Christian doctrine of one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and with the conviction that Jesus is fully human and fully divine, the King and Savior who gave himself as a ransom for many. The church teaches that Jesus took on the entirety of humanity's sin, was crucified, was raised from the dead, and now reigns with the Father, offering free salvation, eternal life, and a share in God's mission. The Old and New Testaments are received as the inspired Word, revealing God's character and giving instructions for living loving and peaceful lives.
Two practices mark the congregation's life: gathering around the Lord's Supper each Sunday as a body of believers, and believer's baptism, by which new followers wholly give themselves to God's purposes. The church's stated convictions include a desire to live "passionately and humbly for God" and to build relationships of "genuine trust, hope, and compassion with others, regardless of background, gender, ethnicity, ideology, or socio-economics."
Partners Across Lubbock
Raintree's mission work centers on three local partnerships. The longest-tenured is Open Door, a Lubbock organization that since 1997 has served people experiencing poverty, homelessness, and sex trafficking through its church, community center, supportive housing, and survivor housing programs. Raintree supports Open Door financially, sends volunteers, and runs regular drives for needed goods.
Honey Elementary, the neighborhood school that has served families since 1983, is the second partner. The church supports its faculty and staff with volunteer hours and contributes financially to special projects.
Lakeridge, a care community that provides for its residents, is the newest partner. Raintree members visit regularly, plan activities, and coordinate drives for supplies.
Becoming Part of the Family
Those exploring membership are invited to attend Starting Point, a quarterly gathering that introduces the church's history, ministries, and leadership and gives attendees the chance to share their own stories. Starting Point follows the regular Sunday worship service, and registration is available through the church's Church Center app.
Members commit to being led and cared for by the church's elders, to supporting the congregation with their gifts and resources, and to allowing their contact information and a photo to appear in the password-protected online directory. The process involves completing the New Member Form online and submitting a photo to the church administrator.
Reading and Listening on Racial Reconciliation
In August 2020, then-Senior Minister Josh Haynes preached a sermon on Psalm 78 and the topic of racism in Lubbock and the United States. The church maintains a curated list of resources members can use to engage further: books by Jemar Tisby, Bryan Stevenson, John M. Perkins, Martin Luther King Jr., Ibram X. Kendi, and Isabel Wilkerson; films such as "13th," "I Am Not Your Negro," "When They See Us," and "Just Mercy"; TED talks by Bryan Stevenson; and local resources including Lubbock's 2020 Disparity Report, a thesis on Black Lubbock, and links to Lubbock Compact and the Lubbock NAACP.
Staff and Elders
Raintree is led by a Senior Minister who preaches each Sunday, a team of elders who provide spiritual oversight, and a small staff. Brady Pickett oversees children, youth, and family ministry. Kris Tryon leads worship ministry. The church's contact directory lists Matt Spitsberg among the staff; Spitsberg grew up in the Independent Christian Church tradition, joined Raintree as a Texas Tech freshman, met his wife Beth through a summer youth camp, and, after years in Houston and a career in medicine, returned to Lubbock with his family to "give back to a church and congregation who have given so much."
Staying Connected Week to Week
The church keeps members informed through weekly email updates and its Church Center app, which carries the events calendar and the members directory. Online giving is available through the church's secure giving page, and a public prayer wall on the Prayer Resources page allows members to share prayer concerns and lift up one another's needs. The main office can be reached at churchinfo@raintreechristian.org or (806) 797-3097.