Church in Tyler, Texas
Seeking to Treasure Christ—Together(and we’d love to have you with us)
Worship At Sylvania Church
Sundays: 9am Bible Study, 10:20am Corporate Worship
Wednesdays: 5pm Dinner, 6pm Services
Tyler, TX 75701
Stuff People Like to Know Before They Show Up for the First Time
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.
How big is Sylvania (and how old are the people)?
On a typical Sunday, there are about 200 people in Sunday school and about 250 in corporate worship. And on a typical Wednesday night, about 150 of us eat dinner together and participate in classes according to age.
As for the age of our people, we have ~80 kids who are elementary age or younger, ~25 junior high and high school students, a handful of college students, ~60 people in their 20s and 30s, ~50 people in their 40s and 50s, and ~40 people who are 60 and up.
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.
Am I going to feel out of place?
Unless you’re an extrovert extraordinaire, then you’ll almost certainly feel at least a little out of place—at first. After all, when you’re the “newbie,” you’re aware that everyone else seems to know exactly where to go and what to do. Plus, they all seem to know everybody—except you.
But there’s good news—we were all “newbies” at Sylvania at some point. That means (1) we get it and (2) we pushed through the initial awkwardness (and are really glad we did).
And if you show up, we don’t think it will take you long to figure out that we’re (actually) glad you’re with us.
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.
How do I learn about membership?
If you’re interested in membership at Sylvania Church, then sign up for a Discover Sylvania luncheon. They’re always fun and they’re a great time to meet our staff, elders, and others interested in the church. And hey, there’s free food!
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.
Light & Heat
Ten Books Every Christian Should Read
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It’s Resolution Time! The New Year Is Coming
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Women’s Roles In The Church: A Q&A with Pastor Phillip Dancy
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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.