A Church on Sycamore View Road
Sycamore View Church of Christ sits at 1910 Sycamore View Road in northeast Memphis, an unpretentious building with a long story. The congregation has called this site home since 1978, and the mission that drives everything from Sunday worship to global outreach is short enough to fit on a wristband: "Helping people see Jesus." The name itself comes from the story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector who climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see Jesus speak; the church reads its own name as an invitation to lift others up high enough to catch a glimpse.
The Cross They Built in 2007
By the spring of 2007, the neighborhood around the building had changed, and leaders faced a familiar question: relocate, or stay? After a season of prayer and fasting, the answer came clearly. One Sunday, every family unit took a small wooden cross and drove it into the front yard of the campus, joining them into one large cross across the lawn. The gesture said, "This is our home. We are committed to this place. We aren't going anywhere." From that moment on, Sycamore View poured itself into Memphis with new urgency, praying big prayers that God would give the congregation a heart that aches and bends toward the people in the community.
Sundays at Sycamore View
Sunday mornings begin with Bible Classes for every age at 9 am. The worship gathering follows at 10:15 am, in person and online, and runs about an hour and fifteen minutes. The Awakening, the church's worship team, leads the room in music before the sermon. Each Sunday the whole church gathers around the Lord's Table with bread and juice representing Jesus' body and blood. An offering is collected; visitors are under no obligation to give.
On the first Sunday of each month, "View into Sycamore View" runs in Room 100c at 9 am - a one-hour introduction to the church's mission and a way to get connected. First-time guests are invited to a free lunch after the 10:15 gathering.
Visitors walking into the front lobby will meet the Welcome Team, easy to find by their green lanyards and their smiles. The Connect Center in the front lobby hands out a small gift. Dress runs the spectrum from jeans to dress clothes. All Scripture texts appear on-screen, a free Bible is offered to anyone who wants one, and a Bible app for phones is suggested to anyone who would like to follow along digitally.
Mid-Week Rhythm on Wednesdays
Wednesday nights at 6:30 pm the campus fills again. Adult Bible study meets alongside service opportunities across the church. The nursery, preschool, and elementary classrooms open at the same hour. Students in grades 6 through 12 head to the MPAC for The Bridge, a one-hour blend of community, worship, and teaching that runs from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm.
Helping Children See Jesus
Sycamore View's Children's Ministry works to plant a faith that lasts. The nursery serves babies from six weeks old through 24 months on Sunday mornings at 9 am and again during the 10:15 gathering; on Wednesdays a staffed nursery runs from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Preschool and kindergarten children meet in their own rooms at 9 am Sunday and join Children's Worship upstairs during the 10:15 hour, returning Wednesday at 6:30 pm. First through fifth graders gather Sunday at 9 am and Wednesday at 6:30 pm.
Every adult volunteer follows Safe Ministry Practices and goes through a background check. Families new to Sycamore View can pre-register their child ahead of a first visit and check in at the Kids Check-in desk in the front lobby; a guide walks them to the right classroom. Anna Likens leads Children's Ministry and Mandy Goodhart coordinates the nursery.
Students at Sycamore View
The Sycamore View Youth Group, called SVYG, meets sixth through twelfth graders on Sunday mornings at 9 am in the MPAC for teaching and Roots Groups, a small-group discussion hour. Wednesday nights, The Bridge gathers in the MPAC from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm for community, worship, and a lesson. The youth ministry keeps a tradition of summer mission trips, with Panama Oeste as a regular destination where students serve alongside the church's partner congregation there. Tyler and Anica Irvin share the role of youth minister.
Adults, Life Groups, and Bible Classes
Sycamore View treats small-group life as essential. Life Groups meet across the city throughout the week, studying God's Word together and praying for one another. A current Life Group list is published each year, and ministry leader Josh Nix helps people find the right fit or launch a new group.
Sunday-morning Bible Classes at 9 am serve as the front door for many adults. Homebuilders, Renewal, and Family Matters offer multi-generational conversation. A college class walks through topics relevant to that stage of life. Unbroken gathers young adults around a discussion-based study. Emerging Families leans into shared experience for parents and the singles and couples in their world.
Women of the Word
The women's ministry takes the playful name WoW, Women of the Word. A ladies' Bible class meets every Tuesday morning at 9:30 am in Room 4. WoW runs book clubs, an annual fall retreat, monthly Heart Groups, and a Gratitude Harvest alongside a Secret Sisters program. The church covers half the cost of the first three counseling sessions for members who see one of several recommended counselors. A private Facebook group called SVCC WoW Women's Ministry keeps the women of the church connected between gatherings.
Celebrate Recovery
On Tuesday nights at 6:30 pm in Room 115, the Celebrate Recovery family welcomes anyone struggling with emotional baggage, codependency, grief, job loss, depression, anger, addiction, abuse, or any other hang-up. Participants apply Christ-centered coping skills together in a setting the church opens to men and women, individuals and families, with or without a church background.
The Five Commitments
Sycamore View's discipleship pathway is organized around five commitments members are invited to make. Discover is the daily quest to learn how God wants you to live, plus the regular practice of gathering on Sundays. Connect calls every disciple into at least one small-group setting: a Bible Class, a Life Group, or a Discipleship Group. Serve points members toward one or more of the church's ministry teams - more than sixteen in total, ranging from Children's Ministry to Safety and Security. Give asks every family unit to develop a regular discipline of generosity, including the special offerings for 901 (Urban Missions) and 3:16 (Global Missions). Go is the Great Commission lived out in word and deed across daily life.
Rooted in 38134
Sycamore View names its immediate neighborhood after its ZIP code, 38134. The Sunday Samaritans repair homes and yards for people in need across greater Memphis, a ministry born in the post-Katrina relief spirit of its founders. For more than fifty years, members of Sycamore View have led Sunday worship services at KDS (Kings, Daughters and Sons home), originally the Home for Incurables, a residence founded in 1908 to support people with physical and mental limitations. The Children's Clothing Sale, held twice a year, lets families sell gently used clothes, shoes, and toys at a discount to others in the community. Handprints walks alongside adoptive, foster, and wrap-around families. A prison ministry has reached men and women in correctional facilities for more than twenty-five years through communion, Bible studies, correspondence courses, and prayer requests.
The 901: Memphis Partners
For its city-facing work, Sycamore View leans into Memphis's area code: 901. The church hosts the largest Boys and Girls Club branch in the city at its own building each school day, serving an average of 120 students; Tevaris Douglas directs the club. The church supports Shelby Oaks Elementary with free school supplies and volunteers for the Arise 2 Read reading program. Kingsbury Middle and High School receive volunteers and prayer support across the school year. HopeWorks, a nonprofit helping the working poor out of poverty through classes, meals, spiritual counseling, and job training, receives Sycamore View's financial resources, food, and volunteers. Agape Child and Family Services finds a partner in the church's adoption and foster care events. The Center for Church and City Engagement, launched in 2024 as part of Harding University, prepares students for urban ministry; Sycamore View counts the center as one of its strategic partners.
The 3:16: To the Ends of the Earth
Global missions are tagged 3:16, after John 3:16. In Athens, Greece, Dino and Mata Tzanetos lead the Ambelokipi Church of Christ alongside children's ministries, refugee outreach, feeding programs, and Bible studies. In Panama Oeste, Gonzalo and Mayra Salinas pastor a growing Spanish-speaking church that has tripled in size in recent years and plants new congregations just west of Panama City. In Ukraine, the Ukrainian Bible Institute and a ministry called Let's Love carry on work that includes refugee support, summer camps, humanitarian relief, chaplaincy, and Scripture teaching; the institute's director, Brandon Price, leads the school virtually from Slovakia. In Chilanga, Zambia, David and Lorie French lead Daybreak: Mission of Hope, a Bible college paired with a primary school, agricultural training, orphan care, and women's programs. In Ghana, Pearl House empowers young women through counseling, vocational training, residential care, and a Christian academy.
Preschool and PDO
Sycamore View Preschool and PDO serves families with young children, weaving faith naturally into daily routines under the direction of Jillian Davenport. The program is licensed by the Tennessee Department of Human Services. Curriculum blends hands-on exploration, guided play, and developmentally appropriate instruction, with teachers walking alongside families through the early years. Registration forms are available on request.
What Sycamore View Believes
The church's beliefs rest on a simple set of confessions. God is still creating out of chaos today. Jesus is God's Son, the image of the invisible God, whose obedience to the Father led him to the cross and whose resurrection broke the power of death. The Holy Spirit is counselor, comforter, and transformer, forming followers into the likeness of Jesus. The Bible is the story of God's restoration, a story to be imitated as much as studied.
Salvation is a free gift that no amount of self-improvement can match. Baptism is by immersion, representing the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The Lord's Table, celebrated each Sunday with bread and juice, points to the new covenant. Discipleship is the mission of the church: with Jesus, there is no Plan B. Three Shepherd's studies lay out the church's pastoral conclusions on marriage, divorce, and remarriage (redemptive love for the divorced and remarried); on musical style in worship (neither a cappella nor instrumental music is necessary to proclaim the gospel); and on gender roles (the congregation supports expanded roles for women in public worship).
The Staff and the Shepherds
Josh Ross serves as Lead Minister; Jim Hinkle as Executive Minister; Kip Long directs the worship ministry, with The Awakening leading the music. Anna Likens leads Children's Ministry and Mandy Goodhart coordinates the nursery. Tyler and Anica Irvin share the youth ministry. Jillian Davenport directs the Preschool and PDO. Meagan Leonard manages design, branding, and communication; David Pickett runs sound, slides, and livestream from what the team calls the crow's nest. Kim Chapman co-leads the Compassion Ministry alongside her role as campus coordinator.
Nineteen shepherding couples serve the flock in the New Testament sense of elder, each caring for an assigned portion of the congregation. They are godly men and women dedicated to feeding, leading, and caring for the people who call Sycamore View home.
The church office is open Monday through Thursday, 8:30 am to 4 pm, and Sunday, 8:30 am to noon. Giving options include online giving through Fellowship One, Venmo @SycamoreViewChurch, CashApp $SycamoreViewChurch, and check or cash placed in the boxes at the back of the worship center. The address is 1910 Sycamore View Road, Memphis, Tennessee 38134.