Church in Tyler, Texas
Seeking to Treasure Christ—Together(and we’d love to have you with us this Sunday @ 10:20am)
Worship With Us Sundays @ 10:20am
Want to worship in-person?
Tyler, TX 75701
Not able to make it?
Have Questions Before You Come?
There are some things people often want to know before they arrive. Let us know if your question didn’t make the list.
What do you believe?
The long answer to “What do you believe?” is on our What We Believe page, which contains our full statement of faith.
The short answer is that together with all Southern Baptist churches in Tyler TX, we affirm the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message. Being reformed, however, our beliefs are most accurately reflected in the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith.
The statement of faith IS the official teaching position of the church. As you probably expect, it’s affirmed by all of our pastoral staff and elders.
But full adherence to our statement of faith IS NOT required for church membership. In short, church membership requires faith in the Triune God of the Bible, affirmation of the basic gospel, and the commitment to a life of growth in Christ-likeness.
Have questions? Contact us. We’d love to talk!
What's your worship style?
From the pulpit, you’ll hear expository preaching, which, in essence, means that we aim to make the point of the text we’re preaching the point of the sermon. Typically, our expository preaching is verse-by-verse and book-by-book. If you’d like to listen before you come, you can listen to our sermons online.
Our worship music is driven primarily by its content and secondarily by its style.
In practice, we sing old stuff old style, old stuff new style, and new stuff new style.
That means that everyone in attendance will most likely sing a song or two in a style he/she prefers and the rest in a style that’s not his/her favorite. It reiterates to us individually that “it’s not about me.” And that’s a good thing.
You can listen to some of the songs we sing or even listen to the ones we’ll sing this Sunday.
What should I wear?
No one likes to show up under (or over) dressed. On Sunday mornings, you’ll find everything from blue jeans and t-shirts to coat & tie.
What's your COVID policy?
A quick scan around Sylvania reveals that 90%-ish of our people are shaking hands, hugging, sitting next to each other, etc. without masks in the same ways we were before COVID.
That means 10%-ish of our members are more at-risk and/or COVID-cautious. And we do not want them to be (or even feel) left out/isolated. So, we:
- Stream our 10:20am worship service online.
- Have some Sunday School classes that offer in-person and Zoom options.
- Have a small section of our sanctuary in which masks are required and every other pew is roped off.
Where do I go?
If you decide to join us for Sunday school, enter the double doors under the portico. We’ll help you from there. If you only come for corporate worship, then you can enter under the portico or through the double doors closest to the Loop.
Where do my kids go?
During Sunday school, we have ministries for every age child. During corporate worship, kids age 2-4 have the option to go to children’s church after the musical portion of the service. The nursery (kids under 2 years) is open all morning. But it’s totally fine if you’d rather keep your kids with you during the service.
If I have kids, how early should I arrive?
If you’re attending for the first time, 15 minutes should give you enough time to get your kids checked in and still have time to get to Sunday school or the worship service.
How do I get connected?
There are several things that make connecting at Sylvania Church easy: (1) commit to a Sunday school class, (2) stick around after corporate worship (we like each other, so we stick around to talk), (3) commit to the Wednesday night meal, (4) join a small group, and (5) invite people to lunch and/or dinner (our folks enjoy it). The people who do those things tend to connect very easily.
The Latest Sermons
Want more? Or rather listen another way? Explore our sermon audio.
Paid In Full: Seeing Jesus in the Book of Leviticus (Leviticus 1:1-2)
Preached by Phillip Dancy over Leviticus 1:1-2 on January 9, 2022
Walk in Grace and Truth (2 John)
Preached by Chad Barnes over 2 John on January 2, 2022
The Continuing Story of Christmas (Matthew 2:1-11)
Preached by Phillip Dancy over Matthew 2:1-11 on December 26, 2021
Connect
The Heart of Sylvania Church
Sylvania is a Bible-saturated, Gospel-driven, missions-oriented, reformed, Southern Baptist church in Tyler, TX, whose aim is to see Jesus supremely treasured (Matthew 13:44) not only here in Tyler and Smith County, but in every people group in every nation on earth.
And we’d love for you to join us.
Ministries We Appreciate
Living in Community
The general approach to ministry at Sylvania Church is shaped by the “ordinary means of grace.” In practice, devotion to the means of grace means that together we regularly (1) submit ourselves together to God’s Word, (2) pray, (3) celebrate the Lord’s Supper, and (4) strengthen, encourage, exhort, and sacrifice for one another in community. While the third element happens only during corporate worship, the others happen in Sunday school and small group, but they don’t stop there. They extend into lunch during the week, play dates at the park, and small group discussions. The goal is not only for Jesus to be the center of our worship services, but the center of everything we think, want, discuss, and do.
Explore Our Ministries
The ministries of Sylvania are some of the more structured ways we’re trying to grow in Christ together.
From lunch hangouts and dinner gatherings to play dates and cookouts, our people look for ways to be together and take care of each other outside of these structured times. And there’s a particular sweetness to that.
Discipling the Nations
Sylvania Missions
We don’t only want to enjoy Christ together. We want to see others doing the same—wherever they are.
Pastors' Blog
Sylvania On The Radio!
Sylvania Is Coming To A Radio Near You! Starting this Sunday morning, September 6 at 8:30 AM (Central Time), Sylvania will be on the radio! We have partnered...
40 Days of Focus: A Call To Prayer and Fasting
Church family, Below is a transcript of the announcement made in the church service today about a call to prayer and fasting... Purpose Our world right now is...
Book 4: Confessions, by Saint Augustine
"The enemy had a grip on my will and so made a chain for me to hold me a prisoner. The consequence of a distorted will is passion. By servitude to passion,...
Worship With Us Sunday.
You can find us on Southeast Loop 323 in Tyler about 1/2 mile northeast of Spur 248 (the road that leads to UT Tyler and the Grace Community School Upper Campus).
Sunday school starts at 9am and corporate worship begins at 10:20am.