Walnut Hill Church of Christ on Marsh Lane in Dallas is known for Bible-centered, participatory worship with a deliberately casual atmosphere. Formed in 1956, the congregation gathers for English and Spanish worship, offers classes for every stage of family life, supports people working through addiction and grief, and carries out benevolence and mission work extending from Dallas to Cambodia and France. The church is at 10550 Marsh Lane, Dallas, Texas 75229.
A Casual Welcome on Marsh Lane
Greeters meet people as they enter the building and help them find a class or a seat for worship. Visitors are welcomed without being singled out, and the people they meet are warm, friendly, and genuinely interested in getting to know one another. From the beginning to the end of a visit, the goal is to help guests feel comfortable and at home.
The atmosphere is casual, and people do not need to dress up to fit in. The emphasis is on character rather than image, so guests are welcome to come as they are.
Sunday begins at 9:00 a.m. with Bible classes for all ages. English-language worship begins at 10:00 a.m. after the morning classes. The rhythm continues on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. with Bible study, which is taught at the church building and also available live online. The church office can be reached at 214-351-3731.
The morning order lets families study together before worship. Children move into age-specific classes while adults attend Bible classes, and the congregation returns for the 10:00 a.m. service.
Worship is participatory. Everyone is invited to sing, and the service also includes prayer, biblical preaching, and the Lord's Supper, which is central to the worship experience. Communion uses bread and unfermented grape juice. Guests may share in Communion to whatever degree they are comfortable. The weekly sermon is intended to remain true to God's word and applicable to daily life.
Visitors who need accommodations will find listening devices for the hearing impaired, a handicap-accessible restroom, and baby-changing stations.
English and Spanish Worship
Israel Umaña serves as the Spanish-language preacher. Spanish Bible class is at 10:00 a.m. Sunday, followed by Spanish worship at 11:15 a.m. A Spanish Sunday Bible study meets at 6:00 p.m., and the Wednesday Spanish Bible study is also at 7:00 p.m. These gatherings make room for Spanish-speaking families to study the Bible, sing, pray, hear preaching, and observe the Lord's Supper in their language.
The English schedule remains distinct: classes at 9:00 a.m. and worship at 10:00 a.m. The two language groups overlap for the first Bible-study hour, then gather separately for their morning worship services.
Children From Cradle Roll Through Ninth Grade
At 9:00 a.m., the Cradle Roll class welcomes children from birth to 18 months, Little Land serves children from 18 months through kindergarten, and elementary classes cover first through sixth grade. The children are taught through age-appropriate Bible stories and a yearlong Old and New Testament curriculum. Little Land meets on the first floor, first and second grade in Room 3, third and fourth grade in Room 4, and fifth and sixth grade in Room 211 upstairs.
During the 10:00 a.m. worship service, the attended nursery in Room 106 serves babies from birth to 18 months. Toys are sanitized and crib sheets kept clean, each child is paired with attentive adults, and parents receive a pager. A parent may check on the baby at any time, although the nursery asks adults not to enter unless an attendant requests help.
Joy Explosion, a children's worship service for two- through third-graders, begins at 10:30 a.m. after Communion and before the sermon. Children are dismissed by age and room, with two- and three-year-olds going to Little Land and older children meeting upstairs.
Children's teachers undergo background checks. Parents bring and pick up children at the nursery, Bible classes, and Joy Explosion, or use the check-in station for Awana and Vacation Bible School.
On Wednesday during the school year, Awana begins at 6:30 p.m. and runs until 8:00 p.m. for children from 18 months through ninth grade. It combines small-group handbook work with large-group Bible teaching, memory work, missions, games, races, and relays. A meal is provided at 6:00 p.m. so parents can attend Bible class in the auditorium while children participate. Vacation Bible School takes its place in summer at 7:00 p.m. for children from two years old through second grade.
Memory Work That Builds Through Sixth Grade
Elementary classes pair Bible lessons with a year-by-year memory plan. First grade covers the days of creation, the books of the New Testament, and the apostles. Second grade adds the books of the Old Testament, third grade adds the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer, and fourth grade adds Psalm 23 and the sons of Jacob. Fifth grade adds God's armor, Psalm 100, the Ten Plagues of Egypt, love, and faith, while sixth grade adds salvation.
Children also complete Bible memory activities throughout the year. Teachers encourage children to make wise choices at home, at school, and with friends, and parents are welcome to visit and participate in the classes.
Youth, Ladies Class, and Adult Study
The Walnut Hill Youth Group helps young people discover their gifts, grow in leadership and service, and pursue life with Christ through worship, community, and service. Its approach is fun and active, with students encouraged to bring friends along as they seek a life-changing relationship with Jesus.
Sunday adult classes include New Life Bible Class, taught by Mike Meierhofer in Rooms 208 and 210 upstairs, and Adult Bible Class, taught by Lyn Wood in the downstairs Fellowship Room. Experienced teachers guide participants in studying God's word and growing in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Monday at 5:00 p.m., a small group studies by Zoom, and people may listen without speaking. Wednesday Bible study at 7:00 p.m. is offered both in the building and through the livestream. Individual study can also be arranged by email, phone, or in person, and visitors face no pressure to make a decision or become a Christian.
Ladies Bible Study meets at 10:00 a.m. from October through April. Women of all ages are invited to study God's word together, and childcare is provided on request. The class is led by Mary Conley.
Recovery, Grief, and Spiritual Support
Real Recovery is a Christ-centered, Bible-based program for people seeking to turn from alcoholism, drug abuse, gambling, pornography, and other addictive or dysfunctional behaviors. It recognizes that healing from years of addiction takes time, patience, and commitment. Men and women at different stages study together in a relaxed, informal setting.
The 12-step path begins with admitting powerlessness over alcohol and recognizing the need for a power greater than oneself. Participants turn their will and lives over to God, undertake a moral inventory, confess wrongs to God, themselves, and another person, and become willing to make amends wherever that can be done without causing further injury. They continue with self-examination, prayer, and meditation, seek changes in character, and work toward spiritual awakening so the message can be shared with others.
The eight principles repeat those themes in practical terms: recognizing one's limits, believing God exists and cares, choosing Christ's care, confessing faults, submitting to needed change, evaluating relationships and offering forgiveness, making amends where possible, and yielding oneself to God to share the good news. The group meets Monday from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. at no cost.
Grief Recovery meets every Monday from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. at the church. Elders are available for prayer or conversation, and Counseling Works provides professional Christian counseling through a local partnership.
Benevolence for Children, Families, and Older Adults
Walnut Hill's benevolence work is built around helping people with special needs. The church provides monthly support to Christ's Haven Children's Home in Keller and Cherokee Children's Home in Cherokee, organizations that offer care for children in need. Members also take part in clothing drives, provide toys during the Christmas season, and contribute Thanksgiving food baskets and winter coats for children.
Christian Works for Children receives monthly support for work that helps children and families build healthy homes. The congregation also supports Main Street Church of Christ in inner-city Dallas, where the work includes about 150 hot meals each day for older adults and for low-income and homeless families.
Another neighborhood resource is the Adult Medical Supply Bank. It opens on the last Saturday of each month from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for people caring for an elderly patient. The patient must not have full Medicaid that would pay for the supplies.
Mission Work Since 1956
Walnut Hill has supported mission work since the congregation formed in 1956, sending men and women to carry the gospel within the United States and abroad. Its mission partnerships now extend across Asia, Europe, and American campus settings.
Cambodia Christian Ministries is led by Sokhom Hun, director of Cambodia Bible School in Kampong Speu province. The school trains Cambodian students to preach God's word and teaches them practical ways to support themselves through activities such as raising goats and chickens and fishing. Short-term teams from the United States and other countries teach Bible classes, and teleconferencing expands that instruction. The ministry also oversees a medical clinic and provides Bible Leader Care seminars for more than 400 house-church leaders in villages across Cambodia. Its orphan care project includes a Christian K-12 school with room for 240 children.
Preaching and evangelist Mike Meierhofer has participated in the Cambodia work since 2009 and has made more than 30 trips to remote villages.
At home in Dallas, Walnut Hill partners with Main Street Church of Christ, whose pulpit minister is William Ralston. Main Street shares the gospel in an integrated inner-city congregation, serves meals each day, offers a fellowship meal after worship, delivers meals to sick and shut-in people, and supports jail and prison ministry.
Other partnerships include Nations University, where Herman Alexander serves as vice chancellor and directs the Master of Divinity program. Founded in 1996, Nations University is a private international online Bible college centered on affordable, accessible distance learning. Walnut Hill also supports the Christian Student Center at the University of Wyoming, directed by Jonathan and Stacy Phillips, and a church in Marseille, France, where Philippe Dauner and his family lead a Bible school and spiritual internship in French.
What Walnut Hill Teaches and Expects
Walnut Hill's teaching is intentionally simple. In matters of identity, the church calls itself simply Christian and places Jesus Christ, the Divine Son of God, as its authority in spiritual matters. Preachers and elders have no governing authority of their own; their responsibility is to teach the Bible and help people grow in relationship with God. There is no earthly headquarters and no creed book. The Bible is the only guide.
Salvation is taught as grace received through faith. People come to God by trusting Jesus as Savior and surrendering to him as Lord, and by faith are baptized into Christ for forgiveness of sins. The promised result is heavenly inheritance. From that foundation, believers strive for works of faith, love for others, and holy living.
The church understands worship as giving God glory. Every Sunday the congregation takes the Lord's Supper in remembrance of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, hears biblical preaching, sings, studies, prays, and gives financially for the ongoing work of the church. People may participate as far as they are comfortable.
Another defining practice is sharing the gospel without pressure. Walnut Hill presents Jesus' salvation in a spirit of love and leaves judgment with God, because becoming a Christian is a personal choice.
Preaching, Youth Ministry, and the Elder Team
Mike Meierhofer is the Preaching/Evangelism Minister. He studied at the Center for Christian Education, Dallas Christian College, and Lubbock Christian University, and his ministry centers on teaching and preaching the love of God. His long connection to Cambodia mission work is reflected in more than 30 trips to share the gospel in remote villages.
Hai Cao serves as Involvement and Youth/Family Minister. He and Valerie have spent many years in youth and family ministry, and Valerie is an experienced teacher for children and adults. Their stated desire is that people experience the abundant love of Jesus Christ through growing in relationship with God, commitment, and service.
The elder team includes Herman Alexander, Mike Young, Lyn Wood, and David Cortez. Alexander teaches for Nations University and Cambodia Bible School and has mission experience in Australia, New Zealand, Cambodia, Lithuania, and Austria. Young has taught and preached in Texas, New Mexico, Connecticut, and Chile and teaches for Faulkner University. Wood has taught Sunday and Wednesday classes at Walnut Hill for decades and has coordinated children's church. Their shared work is to communicate biblical truth in a form people can understand and absorb.
Serving, Giving, and Shared Worship
Service at Walnut Hill takes many forms: worship, teaching, helping children and families, supporting recovery, assembling food and clothing, praying with those who need support, giving financially, and sharing time and skills in mission work. The online giving option accepts one-time or recurring debit or credit card gifts, and checks can be mailed to 10550 Marsh Lane. Past sermons can be listened to on the church's YouTube channel.
Participation options include Sunday classes, worship, the Monday Zoom study, individual Bible study, and a small-group Bible study in which participants may listen quietly. No one is pressured to make a religious decision, and each person is free to respond personally.
Wednesday classes and the online stream make room for participation beyond the building, while the recovery, grief, children's, benevolence, and mission ministries keep the congregation connected to needs beyond its own walls. Walnut Hill Church of Christ continues to gather at 10550 Marsh Lane in Dallas, where Bible study, worship, the Lord's Supper, prayer, service, and mission are practiced as one shared life.