Canyon Ridge Church was originally founded in 1961 as Bethany Open Bible Church. After meeting in temporary locations for the first few years, the church was able to purchase property and build a modest facility at 84th and Waller Road, where the church still meets today, though in a facility that has since been expanded 3 times and then remodeled in 2010, when the church was relaunched with a fresh vision as Canyon Ridge Church.
Since its inception, this church has only had three lead pastors. Pastor John Sims has been the Lead Pastor since October of 2008 and he and his family desire to remain at Canyon Ridge and to continue to serve God there, so long as the new pastor is amenable. The church also has a robust staff of leaders, most of whom who are volunteers or close to it, including an executive pastor, a teaching pastor, directors for children’s, youth, and young adult ministries, and a faith community nurse. In 2016, CRC launched its first missionaries to serve in Papua New Guinea, aiding Wycliffe Bible Translators with bringing God’s Word to people groups who do not have access to a Bible in their heart language.
Approximately 175-225 people call CRC their home church, and on any given Sunday, about 90-130 of them are in attendance. In addition to Sundays, CRC has a strong emphasis on Community Group participation, with about 75 people currently signed up to meet in smaller groups during the week. 2016 was an incredible year for Canyon Ridge Church, with all staff members agreeing that it was the church’s best year yet. In 2016, CRC truly became a praying church, launching and continuing a church-wide initiative to start each morning (during the week as well as on Sundays) with Bible reading, meditation, and prayer. As of the end of the year, over 70 individuals in the congregation had reported that they were practicing this discipline!
