Living Water offers fun, inviting worship place
After years of floating between temporary Valley locations, Living Water Community Church is now ensconced in a beautiful home of its own. A few weeks ago, the 6-year-old church began offering worship services in a freshly remodeled storefront at Eagle Plaza shopping center, 14415 E. Sprague Ave.
The 180-member congregation took charge of the space in mid-March. It mobilized volunteers who worked alongside paid laborers, transforming a spartan place into a sanctuary with a large stage and nearby child-care and youth worship rooms.
“It’s gorgeous now, with new carpet, paint, windows, a sound system, stage and theater lights,” said David L. Smith, senior pastor. “We have a lot of talented contractors in our church family,” said Smith, who estimates they donated $15,000 worth of services. The church spent $30,000 for the remaining improvements.
Sunday services begin at 10 a.m. and end at 11:15 a.m. During that time, separate nursery and children’s areas are open for youngsters through fifth grade.
Smith became the congregation’s pastor just a little more than two months ago. He’d spent most of the previous year working alongside his 89-year-old father-in-law, a missionary in Japan. Before that, he led the Piqua Baptist Church in Piqua, Ohio.
Smith filled a vacancy created when health concerns led church co-founder Steve Farnworth to resign. Farnworth and his wife, Kristie, established the church in 2000. They’re now living in Arizona.
Smith said the church appeals to folks who prefer casual and nontraditional services.
Smith and his congregation dress casually, and the weekly church newsletter is distributed by e-mail.
“We’re the liberals of the Baptist Church,” Smith said with a grin. “We want to reach people who may be struggling in their journey and who may have been in traditional churches their whole lives and just got tired of it.
“We try to be very, very relational and meet people where they are and help them along in their journey,” he said.
“We do a lot of audiovisual presentations on Sunday morning, we’re big into that. It’s a fun thing. We do skits, we have a great music time and then we have the Bible message, which we try to keep relevant and apply to people’s lives,” he said.
Living Water offers outreach programs for members of all ages. College students meet on Monday evenings. Senior and junior high school students gather on Wednesday evenings. Youth ministers lead those groups, which convene on the Living Water Ministry Center grounds at 15008 E. 16th Ave.
Throughout the week, 10 groups of adults, from young married couples to retirees, meet in the homes of laypeople for Bible study.
For his first sermon, Smith chose the story of the woman who met Jesus at the well.
The message underscores the church’s very name and mission. “Jesus said: If you drink of this water, you will never thirst again,” Smith said. “The Lord said he is the living water. If you’ve been through life’s trials and tribulations, Jesus is the cup of cool water that quenches your needs.”
He hopes visitors will drop in for spiritual rejuvenation. “Someone said Sunday, ‘When we came in, it felt so warm and welcoming in here. We felt we could come anyway we wanted and we would be welcome.”
That’s the goal, Smith said.
“That’s what attracted me to come here as minister, after 28 years of ministry in other places. We have fun at church, I have to admit it. We laugh and we have joy and celebration.”