First Christian Church Chattanooga

05/27/2026

The Spirit doesn’t ask people to conform in order to belong. At Pentecost, people heard the good news in the language of home. This is the kind of community we’re working to become: one where questions are welcomed, young voices are taken seriously, elders still dream dreams, and people can encounter God just as they are.

This Sunday, we celebrated baptisms and renewed our promise to keep nurturing that kind of life together. Which is a way of saying that the Spirit is still moving among us. Maybe it smells like pancakes on a Saturday morning, maybe it looks like wet footprints by the baptistry, maybe it sounds like joy echoing through the sanctuary. 🔥💧

05/26/2026

On Sunday, we stepped into the waters of baptism with children and teenagers we have loved for a very long time. Long before they could speak for themselves, this church was already telling them the truth. At baby dedications, in Sunday school rooms, at communion tables, in hospital visits, at church camp, in hallways and pews and classrooms, we kept trying to make the voice of God the loudest voice in their lives.

The voice that says:
You are beloved.
You belong to God.
Nothing can separate you from love.

Rachel Held Evans once wrote that baptism is both a naming and a claiming. In baptism, nothing magical suddenly happens to make someone good, worthy, or whole. These young people were already beloved before they ever stepped into the water.

We framed baptism as the moment they begin claiming that truth for themselves.
The moment they say:
Yes. I believe this love belongs to me too.
Yes. I want to live my life from this truth.

And we, as a church, make promises too.
To keep reminding them who they are when the world gets loud.
To keep surrounding them with mercy, courage, justice, tenderness, and hope.
To keep helping the voice of Love ring louder than shame, fear, or despair ever will.

Thanks be to God for sacred waters, sacred promises, and the voice of God who claims all of us. 💧🔥

05/20/2026

We’re grateful to see Rev. Daniel Lyvers featured in a recent article from the Chattanooga Times Free Press

In the piece, Rev. Daniel reflects on the kind of community we are called to become: one rooted in connection, dignity, and care for one another in a world that so often pulls people apart.

At First Christian Church Chattanooga, we believe faith is something we practice together around open tables, through honest conversations, and in the ongoing work of wholeness in a fragmented world. We’re thankful for opportunities to share that witness beyond our walls. ❤️

Chattanooga Times Free Press

05/19/2026

This Sunday, Rev. Daniel Lyvers reflected on Jesus’ prayer in John 17: “that they may be one.” Not sameness. Not avoiding hard conversations. But the kind of love that refuses to leave people behind.

Through the story of two brothers changing the rules of a race so everyone could belong, we were reminded that the Gospel calls us to something different than competition, division, and isolation. It calls us to connection, to wider tables, to mutual thriving, to the courageous work of becoming whole together.

In a fragmented world, Jesus still prays:
“Hold onto them. Keep them connected.”

And that prayer still reverberates through the church today.

05/15/2026

The Chattanooga Ironman is this Sunday, and you can expect impacts to your commute to worship that morning.

Please check the attached traffic impact map so you can plan accordingly. Be sure to give yourself a little bit of extra time on Sunday!- https://mailchi.mp/befaa9cbae90/sunday-traffic-impact-for-ironman

05/14/2026

Please help us welcome the Pulcher family to FCC Chattanooga! 💛

Jason, Brittney, and Braylee first found FCC through our old website and newsletter, but what drew them in most was what they describe as a “fruit bearing church” filled with people who are genuinely welcoming and kind. After experiencing the community here firsthand, they shared that they now understand why having a church home matters so deeply.

The Pulchers bring so much joy and personality with them: a love of theater, wrestling, comics, Star Trek, Marvel movies, video games, singing, reading, smoked meat, and even ten guinea pigs (yes, ten 🐹).

As they look ahead to this next season, Braylee is excited to start high school and earn her learner’s permit, Brittney is looking forward to vacation, and Jason is hoping for a season with a little more rhythm and stability. Their prayer for future new members is simple and beautiful: that they would stay open to what God has next for them in life and in the church.

We’re so grateful you found your way to FCC, Pulcher family. Welcome home.

05/12/2026

This Sunday, Rev. Allison reflected on John 14:15–21 and Jesus’ promise: “I will not leave you orphaned.”

In scripture, the Holy Spirit is called Advocate, Comforter, and Helper: the one who comes alongside people. But the Spirit’s comfort is not passive. She does not simply help us avoid hard things or remain unchanged. The Spirit keeps drawing people back toward truth, courage, belonging, and the ways of God.

From hovering over the waters of creation to moving among the disciples after Jesus’ departure, the Spirit has always been active. She disrupts fear, calls communities toward love, and refuses to abandon people to isolation or despair. The Spirit keeps moving people toward deeper courage, deeper compassion, and deeper connection with one another.

And thanks be to God, she is still moving among us now.

05/07/2026

Welcome our newest member, Kate Dennis (she/her) 🤍

Kate is the Aquatics & Safety Coordinator at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and felt a deep sense of shared call bringing her to Chattanooga. She loves staying active, baking cheesecake, and being an aunt to a growing crew of kiddos she adores.

Kate shared that she chose FCC because she was “loved so well” from day one and because she’s ready to be part of a church that loves everyone abundantly.

We’re so glad you’re here, Kate ❤️

05/05/2026

What if the question isn’t “Who’s in?” but “Will we lose our way?”

In John 14, the disciples aren’t asking about exclusion. They’re asking how to keep going when everything feels uncertain.

And Jesus doesn’t hand them a map: He reminds them of a life.
The tables.
The welcome.
The compassion.
The love that stayed.

“You already know the way… because you know me.”

So when your heart feels troubled, look around.
Where love is showing up,
where hope is breaking through,
where community refuses to let you be alone…

That’s the way. You’re already on it. 🤍

04/30/2026

Take a look at what's going on at First Christian Church in May! Join us in worship at 11AM on Sundays. See our calendar on page 11 for all activities and volunteer opportunities.

04/29/2026

Sunday’s sermon started with a simple, unsettling question from a person often sent away: why do churches lock their doors?

In John 10, Jesus says, “I am the door,”
Not a barrier, but an opening.
Not exclusion, but invitation into abundant life.

We’re invited to imagine a community marked by care, nourishment, and belonging. We’re still asking what it looks like to live that kind of faith, the kind that holds the tension between that promise and the reality of the doors we keep closed.