THE VALLEY FOURTH CHURCH STORY

Valley Fourth Church was founded in 1972 as part of the church planting vision of Fourth Memorial Church in downtown Spokane, Washington. That year, a group of several earnest believers reached out to reclaim an abandoned church property and restore it. Within the first year, the church had grown to 100 people and was firmly established. It grew rapidly in the early 1970s as the new neighborhood around it grew, with people coming to Christ and believers finding a place to thrive under the teaching of the Bible. The new property was acquired in stages until ultimately the church sat on 14 acres of developable land. The first church sanctuary was outgrown within a few years and a larger sanctuary was built in 1975. Soon after this, continued church growth required the expansion of the education and recreation buildings. The current worship center was built in the mid-1980s and can seat up to 650 for worship. Early in the 1980s, a vision for Christian education was born among the leadership, and Valley Christian School was founded on campus. The school eventually grew to serve Kindergarten through 12th grade and became a key influence in the community. Eventually, the school purchased a stand-alone campus nearby and is thriving today. The present church campus includes numerous classroom spaces and a full-service gymnasium as a result of that era. The current campus and organization are both debt-free.

The church has benefited from stable leadership at the Elder level for over 50 years, and this has sustained stable pastoral leadership as well. Only three Senior Pastors have served the church in its lengthy history.
Pastor Tom Starr was the first Pastor and served for almost twenty years. He was succeeded by Pastor John Underhill who served for twenty years. He was then succeeded by the present Senior Pastor, Joe Pursch, who has been in ministry at VFC since 2012. The church has had a multiple-staff configuration for over 40 years, with many gifted individuals developing ministries and going on to further work elsewhere. In addition, the church supports a large group of foreign and stateside missionaries, all funded by a generous missions budget (six figures annually), in addition to the church’s general budget.

Numerically, the church has experienced different seasons of growth. In the mid-1980s, the Sunday morning service reached a high point of 800 attendees on campus. The school’s departure created a loss in the number of attendees to approximately 500. Currently, the church is operating with slightly over 300 Sunday attendees with the total number of individuals impacted by the church’s ministry being around 400 people, with 200 of these involved in community groups on campus or in homes.

In 2006, a classical Christian academy, The Oaks, began leasing space on the campus. In 2018, the school
purchased seven and a half acres of land from the church to build its own freestanding facility. They dedicated the large facility in 2023.

The church has always had a reputation as a nondenominational Bible church, with a cornerstone philosophy of strong Bible teaching from the pulpit and solid discipleship experiences among the flock as key elements. This is reflected in the skill sets of the pastors and staff members who have been called to serve at VFC. Although many attendees have come and gone over the years due to changes in ministry style, focus, and staff, the church still regularly sees new faith decisions and baptisms and is visited by new families and others of all ages eager to find life-giving Bible teaching and authentic relationships. Recently, the Elders and Pastoral Staff defined some current strengths of VFC: a congregation committed to Biblical truth, a heart for global outreach, a strong involvement of volunteers in ministry, a creative children’s ministry, a desire to grow the present community of small groups, and a growing online ministry. VFC is set to build on these strengths, as well as ready to develop a greater vision for creating redemptive relationships with lost people in Spokane Valley and around the world.

VALLEY FOURTH CHURCH MISSION

Making, Teaching, and Sending Disciples for the Glory of God

VISION

We envision a church with a passion for making disciples:

• A church where engaging people with the Gospel through relationships in our daily lives and the marketplace is “vision critical” for every believer
• A church where every worship service and ministry event creates a Christ-connection for people by telling the timeless Gospel of the cross
• A church where new believers move past decisions into discipleship, learn the essential truths of Christianity, and put their faith into action by being baptized and growing in the experience of Christian community, worship, and ministry

Loving, engaging, and training hungry hearts in the Gospel, for His glory!

We envision a church with a passion for teaching disciples:

• A church where every ministry is connected to discipleship and every person sees themselves as a disciple
• A church where everything we do, on the platform, in our programs, and within our ministry communities, involves clear and committed Gospel-centered Bible teaching
• A church where worship reflects the Word
• A church where people exalt His truth and call forth His power through passionate prayer
• A church where every believer can discover deep Biblical truths, learn to defend their faith, and reproduce this knowledge in others
• A church where singles, couples, and families can grow into their Biblical purpose
• A church with clear gateways for anyone to discover and pursue their God-designed ministry path
• A church where people bear real spiritual fruit in life-giving contexts of a prayer-empowered Christian community
• Preaching, teaching, and building the Word of God into lives, for His glory!
• We envision a church with a passion for sending disciples:
• A church that encourages and equips people at all ages and stages of their lives to discern the further call of God upon their lives for ministry
• A church that is continually sending out humble, called, and qualified people into professional or volunteer ministry in Spokane, the USA, and around the world
• A church that intentionally partners with sister churches in groups worldwide to help their leaders develop and their ministries thrive
• A church with a “Shared Missions Culture”, in which global outreach is ingrained in its ministries and communities

Developing, supporting, and sending Gospel-bearers worldwide, for His glory!

CORE VALUES

Doing All Things For God’s Glory: We believe we were created to glorify God. All things
can and should be done to God’s glory, as He works through us (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Producing Disciples: We believe in reaching people worldwide with the Gospel and
teaching them to be obedient disciples (Matthew 28:19-20)
Biblical Preaching: We believe in preaching that draws the content of the message
from the context of the text (2 Timothy 4:1-2)
Spirit-Transformed Lives: We believe Spirit-controlled living produces true
Christlikeness that is seen in visibly transformed lives (Galatians 5:22-23)
Primacy Of Prayer: We believe in seeking the face of God in worship before we seek
His hand in requests, and that prayer should guide and empower all that we do
Biblical Community: We believe in following Biblical principles in our relationships as a
church, as individuals, as families, and as leaders, in a spirit of love and unity
Faith In Action: We believe in empowering all believers to use their spiritual gifts from a
heart of service and compassion to impact the church and the community
Obedience To The Scriptures: We believe that Scripture should guide all our decisions
and practices as a church, with a spirit of becoming doers of the Word (James 1:22)
Preaching Christ Crucified: We believe in preaching the historic, Biblical gospel that
holds to the substitutionary death of Christ, His physical resurrection, and salvation
received by grace through faith (1 Corinthians 2:2)
Christ Honoring Worship: We believe in worship that honors the Word of God and the
work of Christ (John 4:23-24)

JOB SUMMARY

We are looking for an individual with a pastor’s heart to care for people and develop them as
disciples. The Associate Pastor will have proven skills in building ministries and developing leaders
and can preach and teach the scriptures with impact across a broad range of ages. This is a role that
involves partnering with the Senior Pastor and other pastoral staff to provide pastoral care,
counseling, and teaching in the broad church environment. It will also require the development of
both local and global outreach as well as small group communities to enhance the ministry team’s
realization of the mission of VFC: to make, teach, and send disciples for the glory of God.
This role will support the work of the Senior Pastor and the mission of the church by calling the
people of the church into discipleship. The Associate Pastor will accomplish this significantly (though
not exclusively) through the development and growth of communities of believers within the church.
Using these communities, participants will be led along pathways that lead to their spiritual growth
and then trained in discipling others.

PERSONAL PROFILE

• Biblical
• Relational
• Humble
• Team player
• Discipler
• Self-starter
• Pastor’s heart
• Teacher
• Ministry builder
• Grace-filled

CANDIDATE COMPETENCIES

• Responsive to authority yet willing to contribute and innovate
• Highly relational and interested in a wide spectrum of people
• Able to develop disciples at all levels
• Competent at developing and leading ministry programs
• Capable exegetical Bible teacher
• Compassionate and has the heart of a shepherd to draw, nurture, build up, and train believers, who will then be able to do the same for others
• Humble, graceful, hopeful, and encouraging
• Organizer
• Attentive to detail with careful and patient follow-through
• Very competent with technical skills in computer equipment and software and has some experience in the creation of audio and video content for social media and other contacts
• Passionate and experienced in mission work

ESSENTIAL DUTIES &
RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead in our efforts of outreach, conversion, and assimilation of new attendees to VFC
• Develop interest and engagement in our small group communities, along with curriculum and content
• Develop new and existing leaders in our small group communities
• Work to develop the extent and impact of our commitment to global missions
• Assist the Senior Pastor in pastoral care, counseling, and general pastoral needs
• Fill the pulpit upon request
• Perform in teaching ministry in different venues at VFC
• Work in a team relationship with other ministry staff members to further the mission, vision, and strategy of VFC
• Partner with pastoral staff/ministry directors in planning and executing our worship experience week to week, as well as baptisms, weddings, and special events
• Be involved in the general life and ministry of the church at large. Attend weekly staff meetings and participate with the ministry staff team in church-wide ministry and activities as needed
• Establish, develop, and lead small community groups among adults of various ages
• Teach regularly (several times a week) in classroom and group settings and reach occasionally (a few times a year)
• Counsel and disciple adults in various life circumstances
• Plan and organize events, outreach, and mission trips for people in the church
• Manage and create content for social media, which may include original content or existing content

SPOKANE, WA

As the largest American city between Seattle and Minneapolis,
Spokane is the unofficial capital of the inland northwest. It is a
large city that has four hospitals, an international airport, and a
symphony orchestra. Spokane is also surrounded by beautiful
mountains, lakes, and rivers that invite all kinds of outdoor
recreation throughout every season. For the past several years, this
growing region has been considered a top choice in the US for
people moving toward active and healthy lifestyles. In contrast,
Spokane is also recognized as one of the least churched cities in
America. Spokane is lifestyle-rich but spiritually in great need.