Who We Are

Missions, Goals, Vision

Our Mission: Why do we exist?

The Village Chapel exists to glorify God through the teaching of His word, through heartfelt worship, and by connecting people with opportunities to live lives of real significance, serving God and their neighbors as a local community of faith.

We frequently refer to the four facets of this mission as “The 4 W’s:”

  • Word – We hold a high view of Scripture which is our standard for belief and behavior. We study verse-by-verse through books of the Bible to ensure we benefit from the full counsel of God’s Word.
  • Worship – We seek to engage in worship that is God-focused, God-glorifying, passionate, and authentic. We gather to draw near to God, to catch a glimpse of His Majesty, and honor His name.
  • Witness – We desire to manifest the love of God in word and deed; to show concern for the spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and physical needs of those around us. We desire to live out the gospel of grace through faith in Christ in such a way that others are drawn to believe.
  • Withness – We desire to be a church where relationship is more important than membership; where everyone feels a little less lost and a little more found.

Our Goals: What do we hope to accomplish?

To become a living platform for the love, truth, grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ to be shared with the people of Nashville and the surrounding areas. To be a voice calling people to become members of the kingdom of God, to live under God’s loving authority and to reflect outwardly God’s justice, mercy and faithfulness.

A church that isn’t a desert but a stream in the desert

A church that is more like an organism than an organization, more like a movement than an institution, more like a family than a corporation, where people come more out of a sense of divine calling than dutiful membership

A church that reflects humility and respects honesty

A church that reaches the lost and renews the languishing

A church family that reaches out with the love and grace of God to minister to the needs of the entire person — spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, physically

The kind of church people might be surprised by

So, once again, we go back to the basics.

Our Vision: What results do we hope to see?

  • More Worship of God
  • More Lives Transformed
  • More Kingdom Living

Who We Are

The Village Chapel is a nondenominational church family whose primary desire is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Therefore, we seek to live in right relationship with God, our neighbors and with each other.

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Meet Our Team

The Village Chapel exists to glorify God through the teaching of His word, through heartfelt worship, and by connecting people with opportunities to live lives of real significance, serving God and their neighbors as a local community of faith. Our staff is here to serve in this mission, and can be reached via email simply by clicking on a name in the list below. We’d love to connect with you!

Our Leaders & Staff

Our Story

The Village Chapel was born out of the Watershed Bible Study in 2001. Our founders, Pastor Jim and Kim Thomas, still full-time touring musicians, longed for a church with verse-by-verse Bible teaching and a Sunday evening service. The first service was held in the record label lobby on Music Row and quickly moved to the Hampton Inn in Green Hills.

In 2003, TVC began renting space in the St. Bernard Building. After three years of having only the Sunday evening worship service, we had our first morning service on Easter 2004.

As the primary tenants for over a decade, we were offered the opportunity to purchase the St. Bernard Building in 2015. Our congregation quickly raised the down payment, and we gained a permanent home.

On February 11, 2021, we celebrated TVC’s 20th anniversary during the COVID-19 pandemic. We looked back at God’s faithfulness and looked forward to the coming years.

After several years, the TVC leadership prayed and planned for a multi-season outdoor gathering space for adults and a secure play area for our TVC Kids. In March 2024, we celebrated the opening of these spaces, designed to foster community and “with-ness,” and we are so excited to see this new space in use every week!

History of the St. Bernard Building

The historic St. Bernard Building has been home to The Village Chapel for over two decades. The brick and stone building dates back to 1905, but the story is even older.

In 1866, just months after the end of the Civil War, the St. Bernard Academy was founded. Several years later, Mother Mary Xavier chose the nine-acre tract of land on Hillsboro Road, spearheaded the fundraising and oversaw the building of the combination boarding school and convent. Thanks to this tireless nun’s perseverance, the new St. Bernard Academy opened in 1905. Modern for its time, it boasted steam heat, electric lights and telephones. There were classrooms on the first two levels, with dormitories for students and rooms for the nuns and boarding students on the top two floors. Many of the rooms The Village Chapel uses today are still recognizable in old photos from St. Bernard’s early days.

The Chapel where we hold services today was not part of the original building but was added as an addition built in 1924. Originally, the new Chapel included colorful stained glass windows, ornate Carrera marble altarpieces and traditional oak pews.

By the 1980s, school registration was dwindling, and it was announced that the class of 1989 would be the last. The high school was closed and new leadership took over the elementary school, continuing to run St. Bernard Academy outside our back door. In 1990, the sisters, in preparation for their move, removed the stained glass windows, gave the altarpieces to a church in Georgia and sold the pews in a yard sale.

After the Sisters of Mercy relocated, local businessman Charles Jones purchased the St. Bernard property. Businesses moved in, and it seemed St. Bernard’s days as a place of ministry and worship were over. But then, in 2001, a new congregation happened upon the space. With an average weekly attendance of 35-40, The Village Chapel filled only a corner of The Chapel.

Today, The Village Chapel owns the historic property we now call The Offices at Convent Place and leases space to numerous tenants. And while we have no official ties to the Sisters of Mercy, we like to think we’re continuing to live up to the ideals of mercy and Christian service that led to the establishment of St. Bernard’s more than a century after they broke ground on the site.

The Village Chapel is a non-denominational church family that exists to glorify God through the teaching of His word, through heartfelt worship, and by connecting people with opportunities to live lives of real significance, serving God and our neighbors as a local community of faith. We look forward to seeing more worship of God, more lives transformed and more Kingdom living in Hillsboro Village for generations to come!

Edited Original article by Wendy Lee Nentwig

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If you’d like to get connected or have questions about your next step, please contact us.

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