Bridge Church exists to walk the lifelong journey of apprenticeship to Jesus with you and your family. In alignment with Jesus’ teachings and the arc of scripture, we define the direction of the Christian life to be one of increasing love. We live in that direction by practicing the way of Jesus, together, for the sake of others. Said another way, we are all about structuring our lives for an inner life with God and an outer life for God.
Our dream is that as we live this way, our lives, our communities, and our region, will be transformed. Our prayer is as Jesus prayed, that God’s will would be done, and His kingdom come, in The Valley, as it is in Heaven.
WHO WE ARE
WHAT WE BELIEVE
At Bridge Church, we hold to the historic teachings of Christian orthodoxy as articulated in the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed. We humbly and lovingly seek to hold many non-essential beliefs secondarily in the pursuit of love and truth. At our center, we hold the life and teachings of Jesus, as mediated to us in scripture, to be the primary expression and embodiment of God.
WHAT WE BELIEVE TO BE TRUE
WHAT WE BELIEVE TO BE TRUE
BRIDGE THE GAP
Our journey of becoming like Jesus and doing “the Jesus stuff” is easier said than done. In fact, it’s an entire life’s pursuit. It is not just an event on a Sunday, but a “way” of life in community around the teachings of Jesus. To live this way means we need to be transformed, from the inside out.
At Bridge Church, we have named three gaps that are common places of struggle in our attempts to apprentice with Jesus: the identity gap, the wholeness gap, and the integration gap. Our heart is that the expression of our gatherings and community would help you bridge those gaps, in love, vulnerability, and humility.
Identity
One of the most fundamental and
far-reaching questions you can ask is, “Who Am I?” As followers of Jesus, we must travel the inner distance between who we think we are and who God says we are. Our prayer is that you would be able to say, “I am who Jesus says I am.”
Wholeness
To be human is to know pain, hurt, and brokenness. It is an unavoidable reality. But it doesn’t have to be the defining reality of your story. One of Jesus’ core invitations to life in the kingdom is one of ever-increasing healing, mending, and wholeness. Our prayer is that as you become like Jesus, you will find freedom, hope, and beauty again.
Integration
You were made for more. You were made to live congruently, where the passions of your heart are expressed through the way you live. At Bridge Church, we talk about this outward movement as “doing the Jesus stuff”- for the sake of the lost, the least, and the last.
MATT DAVIS,
Elder
Matt was born and raised in “The Valley” (WV), where he still lives with his wife Eliza and their three daughters. He is a graduate of Teays Valley Christian School, Marshall University, and Asbury Theological Seminary.
Matt is passionate about seeing the kingdom come in the Valley, as it is in heaven, and joining God in His desire to see a multiplying movement of Jesus followers whose primary driver is lifelong apprenticeship with Jesus for the sake of others.
Meet the Team
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Daven Wall
Bridge Students & Interim Bridge Kids Coordinator
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Hannah Wall
Congregational Care & Formation
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Samantha Nottingham
Business & Operations
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JD Bing
Production
Elder Cohort
Our elders serve as the shepherds of our church, humbly guiding and serving the flock in three core areas: teaching, direction, and discipline. Our elder cohort is made up of the current elders in formation. We are on a journey of reorienting our church leadership structure around a theology of shared leadership through a plurality of elders. The men in this cohort are the first group of prospective elders on a track towards installation as elders in our church family.
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The Lord brought Evan Dailey to Bridge Church, along with his wife, Cassandra Williamson and their three children, in January 2020.
Evan has been active in lay Christian ministry for over 25 years with diverse experience in youth ministry, church planting, and church eldership. He is passionate about scripture, theology and doctrine and helping people find deeper relationship with Jesus through those means.
He has worked in the building construction industry for 30yrs as an architect and project manager.
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Benjamin Stratton and his family have attended Bridge Church for over 10 years. He graduated from Teays Valley Christian School, where his wife Lindsey now teaches. They have been joyfully married for 14 years and have two children.
His ministerial focus is musical worship and he has served in that capacity for over 20 years. He thoughtfully seeks to cultivate strong congregational worship that embraces a diverse range of modern, traditional, and original songs that are doctrinally sound and done in excellence.
He works as a Telecom Engineer and enjoys hiking, disc golf, poetry, cinema, board games, and sushi.
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Chris has attended Bridge Church off and on for nearly 30 years, and has a heart for helping people grow in a biblical community with a deeper commitment to Scripture. Professionally, he works in health tech SaaS sales, but is especially passionate about community groups, missions, discipleship, family ministry, and stewardship. Chris and his wife, Sarah, are grateful to be raising their son Solomon within a church family that has shaped and encouraged them through many seasons of life.
Proverbs 3:5–6 has long been a guiding verse for Chris as he seeks to trust the Lord faithfully and lead with humility, wisdom, and dependence on God’s direction, always.
Board of Trustees
The Bridge Church Board of Trustees is the governing body accountable for the business operations and liabilities of the 501(c)3 organization of Bridge Church, which also includes the ministries of Teays Valley Christian School, Teays Valley Child Development Center, and Camp Appalachia.
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Board Chair
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Vice-Chair
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Treasurer
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Secretary
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Member at Large
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Member at Large
WHAT DOES BRIDGE HAVE FOR KIDS?
At Bridge Church, we believe that spiritual formation in the Way of Jesus is a lifelong process - one we intentionally integrate into every aspect of Bridge Kids and Bridge Students. Our dream is that as we serve together, worship together, and live in community together, our families will orient their lives around Jesus and live as teams on mission for our friends, schools, neighbors, teams, and more.