Churches in Davis

Active churches in Davis

315 E 14th St, Davis
discoverydavis.org
78 sermons · 2 days ago
203 E 14th St, Davis
baysideonline.com
8 sermons

Types of churches in Davis

Student-Focused Churches in Davis

Many congregations centered around UC Davis tailor worship times, small groups, and volunteering to student life, with evening services and bike-friendly access from West Village and the campus core. They often meet within walking or biking distance of the Arboretum, Downtown, and the Russell Boulevard corridor, and schedule outreach around the academic calendar and Farmers Market weekends.

Family-Friendly Davis Churches

Suburban congregations in South Davis and East Davis (Mace Ranch, Wildhorse) emphasize kids’ programs, youth-sports–friendly schedules, and easy parking near greenbelts and community parks. Parents often find weekday playgroups and childcare during services, with elementary and teen activities timed around Davis Joint Unified School District calendars.

Liturgical & Traditional

Historic and liturgical congregations in and near Downtown and Old North Davis feature structured services, choir or organ music, and a focus on sacraments and the church year. These communities tend to draw multigenerational families and offer morning worship and seasonal observances like Advent and Holy Week.

Progressive & Inclusive

Many Davis congregations highlight social justice, environmental stewardship, and LGBTQ+ inclusion, reflecting the city’s university-town culture and bike-centric lifestyle. You’ll find sermon themes engaging local issues—from sustainability along Putah Creek and in the Arboretum to affordable housing—along with partnerships with campus groups and local nonprofits.

Sermon clips from Davis churches

57s
#BringYourBestToGod
“One one version of this is is, it can kinda get spiritualized in this way. Right? Like, if you are too skillful, if you bring too much of your your skill or your expertise, then somehow you, like, make it impossible for God to do something amazing. So the idea is, like, if a task requires a a level 10 effort, you should only give five because you wanna leave that extra five for, like, God to show up. Right? So never you would never do your best or shoot for excellence or or apply your best skills and work to something because you want to leave space for God to show up as if God doesn't want you to bring your best. One of the things we see here repeated over and over again is that God values your skills.”
41s
“Mhmm. You get the most qualified person to actually know how to get to God. Mhmm. So, you know, Nicodemus would have been a member of 6,000 different pharisees at that time, but all 6,000 weren't on the Sanhedrin. They were not on the Jewish ruling calendar. Nicodemus would have been a member of 70. You gotta think about it this way. If I went through my rabbi's little school in my village, and then I graduated to the next level of the next most important rabbi, and I ended up at the most important rabbi in Jerusalem, and he was my teacher.”
55s
#SpaceThatSpeaksMission
“We've been looking for, longing for, praying for a space that serves as a physical reminder of the deep spiritual truth of our God who wants to be with us, our relational God, our communal God, who desires for us to live in right relationship with him and with each other. This God who has given us gifts and skills and passions and who invites us to participate in the restoration of that shalom with him right here and right now. So it's not just about the thing we need a different space to meet. It's about the thing behind the thing. Meeting in a space that communicates our mission and our values, the reason why we exist as a church here.”
53s
#CommunionPointsToGrace
“The sacrament of communion, it is also a sign, A thing that points to a deeper thing. The point of communion is not the elements, the bread and the juice. It is the spiritual truth that they represent, the vast love of God. Grace like an ocean, justice and mercy like a rushing river. The table is the moment that we consecrate, that we set aside as holy because it speaks the story.”
45s
#CreatedToCreate
“God has given you these abilities. God is a skilled creator, and you and I, we are made in the image of God, which means we have skills and abilities that can be put to great use to to create, to make stuff, to serve, and to worship God, to participate, and creating and adding to shalom, right relationship with God and each other and the rest of creation. We can use our skills. We can be proud of our skills and abilities, the things that we have developed mastery in.”
45s
#GodIsPresentWithin
“That because of what God has done through his son, Jesus Christ, his life and his death and his resurrection, his spirit now lives in us. We don't have to go to a place. We don't have to set up a tent in order for God to show up. God is here. He is with us. He is in relationship with us now because of what he has done through the life and death and resurrection of Jesus. And yet, at the same time, at the same time, we need physical reminders of the deep spiritual truths. And I think sometimes we lose that as a mobile church.”
53s
#ImmanenceAndTranscendence
“So again, there's the thing, this beautiful, skillfully made tent. But the point is not the tent. The thing behind the thing is the proximity, the witness, the relationship that Yahweh desires to have with the people of Israel. The tabernacle is really where the exodus paradox comes to a dramatic head. We've referenced this several times now in our journey through this book. But the exodus paradox is this tension between the imminence, right, the closeness, the personalness of Yahweh, and then the transcendence of God, the otherness, the distinctness.”
54s
#JesusIsTheRealThing
“``The tabernacle was a sign, a sacrament. That word sacrament just means sign. It was a sign that pointed to this deeper truth. It wasn't about the tent. It was about the God who wanted to be with them. As a writer of Hebrews says, it's Jesus. Jesus is the real thing. The one who closes the distance, restores the relationship. Through his life and his death and his resurrection, this is what we remember and celebrate every time we gather on Sunday morning in this meal that we call communion.”
39s
#GodClosesTheGap
“Yahweh, right from the beginning, has always taken the initiative to close the gap, to erase the distance between us. This this distance, this break in relationship created by our sin and rebellion has been overcome by God ultimately through his son, Jesus Christ. Again, his life and his death and his resurrection is what allows us to now live in right relationship with Yahweh and with each other.”
77s
#NotLikeOtherGods
“Certainly, all the other gods of the ancient Near East, including the gods that they had been exposed to in Egypt for generations, those gods were brutal. And so in some ways, the harshness of these rules and consequences in Exodus would have been very familiar to them. Oh, yeah, of course. Like, of course, you break the rules, God's gonna punish you. It was not a radical idea. But there are some very important and distinct ways in which Yahweh is different from other gods. No other deity went to this length to explain all of this so clearly. Ancient Near Eastern gods were unpredictable. They were capricious. You knew they were gonna be harsh, but you didn't know when or how or what that was gonna look like. You didn't know why they were gonna be mad. You didn't know what was going to set them off. You had no idea how it was gonna go. You only knew it was probably gonna go bad. For a God to be this clear and detailed and orderly, was new and radical.”

Why Davis churches are unique

Anchored by UC Davis, churches in Davis reflect the rhythm of a university town, blending academic curiosity with spiritual formation for a transient yet vibrant population. Many congregations offer late-evening gatherings, mentorship, and cross-cultural activities that serve international scholars and first-year undergrads alike, featuring college student ministries, young adults and professionals, and multicultural worship services.
Set amid flat, bike-friendly neighborhoods and miles of greenbelts, Davis churches tend to be hyperlocal and accessible, with gatherings that spill into parks, courtyards, and community spaces. This geography encourages neighborhood-based small groups, seasonal outdoor services and events, and a practical commitment to creation care and sustainability.
Shaped by a civic-minded culture, farm-to-fork traditions, and active neighborhood life, churches in Davis often pair spiritual depth with hands-on service. Expect robust strong kids programs for young families, ongoing community service and social justice efforts, and welcoming communities that offer inclusive and affirming spaces while maintaining thoughtful, dialogue-friendly teaching.

Recent sermons from Davis churches

Nearby cities: 13 churches in Sacramento 16 churches in Concord 6 churches in Auburn 7 churches in Berkeley 8 churches in Alameda