MISSION Community Church

In the last few years, MISSION has experienced rapid growth. We love the fact that more people are hearing the good news of Christ's resurrection and are living the Micah 6:8 mission. We average 3000 or more adults, students, and children on our campus in a weekend.

No. You will see it all from suits to shorts and as long as you are dressed, you won’t be judged at MISSION.

Click here to sign-up for a Backstage Tour

Mark is a seminary-educated, decade-experienced pastor with a heart for justice and mercy both in and out of our community. He loves the Word of God and teaches from it exclusively in a way that is both applicable and academic. He is a committed father, husband, and gym member.

Read more about Pastor Mark on the staff page.

Click here to follow Mark on Twitter!

We celebrate communion on average once a month.  There is no set week, because we plan communion for the service where it best fits the biblical content of the message.

We have a board of servant leaders that function as biblical elders, in addition to our pastoral staff.  Functionally we are staff led and board protected as a church.

We believe the Bible is God’s word, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit without error in the original manuscripts, and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and life.

We believe there is one true God eternally existing in three persons, who are equal in every divine quality, but each has distinct and harmonious roles.

We believe God the Father is an infinite, perfect, personal spirit, creator of all things, who concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, and gives life to all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.

We believe Jesus Christ is God in the flesh and that He was crucified for the sin of mankind and rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven where He continually intercedes for His people, and one day He will personally and visibly return to earth.

We believe in the Holy Spirit who came from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. 

We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and that He is an abiding helper, teacher and guide.

We believe that all men are sinners by nature and by choice and are, therefore, under condemnation. 

We believe that those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior are reborn by the Holy Spirit.

We believe the church is a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all Christ followers are members.

We believe the church’s mission is to personify Jesus Christ to a lost world.

We believe that a Christian should live for the glory of God and the well being of his fellow men; that his conduct should be blameless before the world; that he should be a faithful steward of his possessions; and that he should seek to realize for himself and others the full stature of maturity in Christ.

We believe Jesus Christ committed two ordinances to the local church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

We believe baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the triune God as a symbol of uniting with Jesus in His death and resurrection.

We also believe, as Jesus said, that the Lord’s Supper is to be observed to remember His death and that these two ordinances should be practiced until Jesus returns.

We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom.

We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the eternal joy of the righteous, and the endless suffering of the wicked.

On Sunday, October 1, 1995, the church held its first public service in the cafeteria of Highland High School as Superstition Springs Community Church. The small group of about 30 people from Sun Valley Community Church, led by Gary Norton, were amazed to see over 200 people attend. The church continued to meet at Highland for 10 years.

Those 10 years at Highland High School were an amazing journey with many changes: from one service to two services, growing from 200 to 600 people, adding new staff, new leaders, new faces, and new families. It was also an era under the leadership of the founding pastor, Gary Norton. Gary stepped down as the Senior Pastor as MISSION prepared to move to its new home at 4450 E. Elliot Road in 2004.

In November 2005, Mark Connelly became the lead pastor and led SSCC to embrace Micah 6:8 as it’s mission.

In 1995 the church was founded as Superstition Springs Community Church (SSCC).  The name was originally chosen to compliment the surrounding community known as Superstition Springs.  In July of 2009 SSCC changed its name to Mission Community Church (MISSION) to better fit its identity and vision.

If you haven't yet, you really should check out our Backstage Tour as your first step to learning more about Mission.  Additionally, you can always contact us too.

Online giving is easy! To get started you will need to create an account. Once your account has been created you will be able to sign in with your new user name and password.

Everything comes from God. And everything belongs to God. Whether you bring your tithe as a step of obedience or contribute to a ministry as an act of generosity, your money will result in more return here than any other place in the world—a return evident in lives changed.

Your contributions will help spread Christ’s message of hope and healing to so many people and places—around the corner and around the world. From giving a single gift to scheduling an ongoing contribution you continue to facilitate our desire to do justice, love mercy & walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8).

Scripture doesn’t use the literal terms “gross” or “net”. It’s more important to note that the spirit in which we give is of greatest value to God. He tells us in 2 Corinthians 9:7 that “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give; not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Absolutely. Security is our top priority. We understand that you may be concerned about privacy and security issues surrounding the use of the internet for giving contributions. We have partnered with Fellowship Technologies - a company that works with thousands of churches just like ours to provide a secure, 128-bit encrypted online system which is monitored and tested daily.

Absolutely. The online giving form requires personal information which we store in an 128-bit encrypted and secure database. We do not rent, sell or share ANY of your personal information to ANY third-party for ANY reason.

Click HERE to read our privacy policy.

Currently, you may give to:

• General Fund
• ALL IN Building Campaign (see http://build.mission68.org for more info)
• HBC (Home Based Care) Workers - an organization working with the hurting in Africa and which MISSION sponsors as part of our ongoing commitment to do justice.

For your convenience you may use e-check or credit card to give online. You may also use a debit card that features a Visa or Mastercard logo.

By using e-check you can be sure that your giving to MISSION is not accumulating additional credit debt that can pose later financial challenges. Also, e-check has the lowest cost to MISSION for processing your gift. Because of this we encourage you to use e-check as your online giving choice whenever possible.

It's a great question. If MISSION is concerned about helping people reduce their debt why do we allow giving with debit & credit cards?

Used within the parameters, debit and credit cards can be an efficient tool for payments and purchases. Many people utilize them in place of checks or cash throughout the month, and then payoff the balance in full. For these people, we offer the option of using a debit or credit card to give. We strongly discourage those who have ongoing credit card debt from exercising this option.

Additionally, we host a program called Financial Peace University which helps individuals and families become debt free. How would your life change if you were debt free? What could you do? Who could you help? Get control of your money by putting together a spending plan that really works. Tell your money what to do - so it can't tell you what to do.

This 13-week class helps the average family reduce their debt by $5,300 and save $2,700 in 91 days. For more information on Financial Peace University please use our contact form or contact the church office directly at 480.545.4024.

Yes, just follow these simple steps:

1. Sign in to your account, or, create an account
2. Enter the amount you would like to give and then select how often you'd like to give that amount from the drop-down box
3. Select the account you'd like to schedule your giving for
4. Select the date you'd like to begin giving, or, if it is a one-time gift you may choose to give immediately
5. Choose either to give continuously or a fixed number of contributions
6. Choose a payment method from the drop down box and then enter payment information
7. Enter your billing information
8. Click "Schedule New Contribution"
9. You're done!

Yes, simply follow the steps above to setup an ongoing (recurring) giving schedule and repeat the steps for as many funds as you'd like to give to.

Nope. You choose the dollar amount and that is the amount that will be processed as your donation. There are no costs or fees.

You can view statements, or add/edit/remove giving contributions 24/7 by following these simple steps:

1. Sign in to your account, or, create an account
2. Scroll to the bottom of the window to view your giving history for the current year
3. To print your statement, scroll to the top of your giving history and click "Print View" which is just above your giving history. Finally, click "Print Contribution History" 

Yes, we will mail an end-of-year contribution statement to the home address we have on record at the end of the year.

You can edit or delete a scheduled contribution at anytime, including the credit card, date, frequency and amount by following these simple steps:

1. Sign in to your account, or, create an account
2. Scroll down to find the Contribution Schedule's you have already created and click either the "Edit" or "Del" icon to the left of the contribution to make changes.

Please use our contact form to for more questions, or, you may contact the office at 480.545.4024.

Baptism is an outward expression of an inward commitment made to Christ. Baptism does not make you a believer - it shows that you already believe. Baptism does not "save" you, only your faith in Christ does that.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith...it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

Baptism does not wash away your sins - it symbolizes that Christ washed them away. Baptism is like a wedding ring - it's the outward expression of the commitment you made in your heart.

Matthew 28:19-20 says:

"Jesus said, 'Go then, to all people everywhere and make them my disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and then teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.'"

People who have become disciples or followers of Jesus Christ should be baptized.

"Those who believed and accepted His message were baptized..." Acts 2:41

"But when they believed Philip as he preached the Good News...and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized." Acts 8:12-13

1. To follow Christ's example: 

"At that time Jesus came from Nazareth and was baptized by John in the river." Mark 1:9

2. To obey Christ's command:

"Jesus said, 'Go then to all people everywhere and make them my disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Song, and the Holy Spirit, and then teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.'" Matthew 28:19-20

3. To show I am a Christ follower:

"...many of the people who heard Him believed and were baptized." Acts 18:8

"We know that we have come to know Him, if we obey His commands." 1 John 2:3

"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven." Matthew 10:32

4. To identify with Christ's death, burial and resurrection:

"Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection." Romans 6:3-5

5. To illustrate my new life to Christ:

"When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. The old life has passed away and a new has begun!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

"By our baptism then, we were buried with Him and shared His death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead...so also we may live a new life!" Romans 6:4

In summary, our baptism is a public testimony of our faith in Christ and our commitment to Him.

The Biblical examples of baptism were done by immersion or being submerged briefly under water.

1. Jesus was baptized by immersion:

"As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water." Matthew 3:16

2. The book of Acts is full of examples of baptism by immersion:

"...then both Philip and the man went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water..." Acts 8:38-39

Words such as "went down into the water" and "out of the water" give evidence that Biblical baptism was by immersion.

3. Immersion best symbolizes death and new life, which is the imagery of baptism. In Romans 6:3-5 we find that baptism is symbolic of death, burial and resurrection:

"Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin–" 

1. After you give your life to Christ:

"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins." Acts 2:38

2. Soon after we have given our life to Christ:

"Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, 'Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?' And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him." Acts 35-38

As soon as you have given your life to Christ and received him as your savior, you can and should be baptized. Excluding health problems, there is no reason to delay. If you wait until you're "perfect", you'll never feel "good enough". Jesus asks you to follow Him in baptism now.

Some churches practice a "baptism of confirmation" for children. This ceremony is intended to be a covenant between the parents and God on the behalf of the child. The parents promise to raise their child in the faith until the child is old enough to make his/her own personal confession of Christ. This custom began about 300 years after the Bible was completed.

This is different from the practice of baptism we see in the Bible which was done by those who had made a personal decision for Christ. For this reason, we reserve baptism for those who are old enough to understand and choose to make a personal commitment to Christ.

To not confuse the purpose and intent of baptism, at MISSION a "child dedication" service is available to parents as a ceremony of covenant between parents and God on the behalf of the child. In many ways a "child dedication" service is truly a "parent dedication" service, as parents publicly declare to raise their child in the faith until the child is old enough to make his/her own personal confession of Christ.

If you desire to dedicate yourself and your child to God please click here to get started. A child dedication service is held about once a quarter during weekend services.

We are called to only once give a profession of our faith in Christ through baptism. If you have already been baptized by immersion in response to your faith and commitment to Christ we do not ask you to be baptized again.

If you were baptized prior to faith in Christ we ask you to consider the Bible's teachings and follow Christ in baptism. If you have questions we invite you to contact us or approach/contact your small group leader or a pastor.

The Bible gives no age for when a child is ready to be baptized. For baptism to be a meaningful experience and expression of faith, its significance should be understood. Our desire is for a child to understand this important step of baptism in their life.

In a child's development it is often the age of 8 or 9 that a child gains the ability to understand abstract concepts. It is at this stage in a child's development that they gain the ability to understand imagery such as concepts involved in baptism representing our spiritual death, burial and resurrection. That being said, each baptism should be determined on a child-by-child basis. Children who wish to be baptized are asked to complete a one-hour baptism class with the attendance of his/her parent(s).

At the beginning of a baptism service the pastor will pray and then briefly explain the meaning of baptism. The pastor will introduce you and the other participants and each person being baptized will either answer a couple questions about their relationship with Jesus or share their story of faith in Jesus. This is often done live on site but sometimes is previously recorded and shown on video.

When it is your turn to be baptized, you will get into the water with the person(s) who will baptize you. The person(s) baptizing you will say, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit". The person(s) baptizing you will briefly lower you back under the water and then raise you back up. You can then leave the pool, towel off and watch others being baptized.

Note: For baptism, women should wear shorts and a dark t-shirt top over a swimming suit. Men may wear a swimsuit of shorts with a dark t-shirt. Don't forget to bring a change of clothes, a towel, and bag for your wet clothes.

Baptism is a public profession of our faith in Jesus Christ. However, private baptism can be performed in special circumstances. Please contact us for more information or details.