About Us
We are dedicated to knowing God and loving others.
We’re passionate about helping people know God and grow in their faith. And the best part is that we do it together.
Putting God’s Word into practice
Church in the Valley is a community where you can learn about following Jesus and make genuine friendships. We’re here to help you take real steps in your faith and develop real connection along the way. On Sundays, we meet together to worship God, to encourage one another, and to go deep in understanding how God’s Word impacts our lives.
Walking through life together
Faith and friendships flourish beyond our Sunday gatherings. We are a diverse group of believers who strive to build community throughout the week. Our goal is to support each other, to look for ways to serve and meet needs, and to enjoy sincere relationships in the midst of life. Our ministry extends into homes, cafes, or wherever two or more are gathered for Christ.
Our Values
Our Mission
To know, love and glorify God and be used by Him to help all people come to know Jesus Christ and become fully devoted followers of Him.
Meet the Staff
Pastor Mark Bustrum
Mark is our lead pastor and oversees the overall direction of the church, including the teaching, preaching and leading towards the vision.
Mark and his wife Hannah have been married for over 26 years. They have three beautiful girls, one son-in-law and the best grandson ever!
Mark and Hannah have a rich background in ministry and service. They both grew up in Kenya, Africa, served two years in domestic missions and 16 years as church planters and leaders in Western Europe.
Mark loves to study culture, drink coffee and talk theology; preferably while exploring a new part of the city. One of the things that Mark loves about Church in the Valley is our commitment and passion to make disciples of Jesus.
Our History
1987-2012
Church in the Valley began in 1987 with three families in Diamond Bar, California. The church developed a close connection with Christian Challenge, a new college ministry at the University of Southern California. As both ministries grew, graduates from the college group became a thriving fellowship in Alhambra and Monterey Park.
2013-2019
Church in the Valley launched a new campus in Alhambra in 2013 to better enable the 60+ “westside” members to connect locally and reach their communities. We initially met for Sunday services at Mark Keppel High School, before moving to The Alhambra in 2018. Much of the ministry takes place in homes, cafes, parks, and wherever relationships happen.
2020-Present
Church in the Valley Alhambra became an independent church in early 2020, while maintaining supportive relationships as part of the 17:6 Network. We welcomed Mark Bustrum as our lead pastor in 2024, after several years of prayerful searching. With each new development, we aim to continue our mission in the Los Angeles region!
What We Believe
Church in the Valley holds to an orthodox historical Christian faith, as reflected in these basic statements of our beliefs.
God
We believe that there is only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver and Ruler of the universe. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
God the Father
We believe that God reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures and the course of human history according to His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude towards all of mankind.
God the Son
We believe that Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with all of its demands, completely identifying with mankind, but without sin. He willingly went to the cross and his substitutionary death made our redemption possible. He was raised from the dead, ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is our One mediator, fully God and fully man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to complete His redemptive mission. He dwells in all believers who place their faith and trust in Him as Lord and Savior.
God the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is God, fully divine. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement. He enables us to pray and to understand God’s Word. He inspired the writing of the Scriptures through divine illumination and He enables us to understand truth. He exalts Christ, cultivates Christian behavior, comforts us, and gives us spiritual gifts by which to serve God and the church.
The Scriptures
We believe that the Bible (66 books making up the Old and New Testaments – One story) was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s revelation of Himself to man. God is the author, salvation is its purpose and it reveals truth without any mixture or error. Scripture is totally true and trustworthy, for all matters of life and faith. All Scripture points us to the glory of God in Christ Jesus.
Creation
We believe that God created all things and all people. God created us male and female in his own image to glorify Him. God created all things and His creation was very good. We believe in the sacredness of human life that is evident, in that God created people in His own image, and that Christ died for us; therefore, every person possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
Our purpose
We glorify God by loving Him and obeying His commandments and law. God requires that we love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves. Our only hope in life and death is that we are not our own but we belong to God.
Sin and the Fall
Sin is rejecting God or ignoring God in the world He created, not being or doing what he requires in his law. Idolatry is trusting in created things rather than the Creator. Since the Fall, no human has been able to keep the law of God perfectly. God did not create us unable to keep his law, but because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, we are all born in sin and guilt, unable to keep God’s law. Although no one can keep the law, it’s purpose is that we know the holy nature of God, and the sinful nature of our hearts; and thus our need of a Savior.
Salvation
We believe that God reconciles us to Himself through the Redeemer, who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus willingly died in our place to deliver us from the power and penalty of sin and bring us back to God. Christ’s death on the cross fully paid the penalty for our sin and God will remember our sins no more. We are saved only by faith in Jesus Christ and his substitutionary atoning death on the cross. Faith is receiving and resting on Jesus alone for salvation as He is offered to us in the Gospel. Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in salvation for all of eternity. Growth in grace requires human effort, but it is continually maintained by grace through faith, not by earning with good works.
The Church
We believe the Church is a community elected for eternal life and united by faith, who love, follow, learn from, and worship God together. The Church practices two ordinances; baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It symbolizes the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior and death to sin while being raised to the newness of life in Christ Jesus. The Lord’s Supper is Christ’s command to all believers to eat bread and drink from the cup in thankful remembrance of Him. In doing so, we celebrate what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross and look forward in anticipation to His second coming.
Eternity and the return of Christ
We believe that people were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally united with God. To be separated from God is a real place of eternal existence called Hell. To be eternally with God is to enjoy Him forever because Christ triumphed over sin and death so that all who trust in Him are raised to new life in this world and to everlasting life in the world to come. Christ will one day return and we will live with and enjoy God forever in the new heaven and the new earth where we will forever be freed from all sin in a renewed and restored creation.
Questions?
For a more detailed statement of our beliefs, including Bible references, please see the Baptist Faith & Message.
Come and see!
A great way to get to know us better is at a Sunday service. Experience Church in the Valley’s encouraging community for yourself this Sunday. We look forward to meeting you!
