Where Everyone Belongs
“Something here is clicking for me.”
For many people who walk through the doors of The Church at Bushland’s Mesa Verde campus, that feeling is difficult to put into words. It doesn’t necessarily feel like what they expected church to feel like.
It feels more like family.
It feels welcoming. Safe. Genuine.
People feel loved, encouraged, and valued.
They find people who genuinely want the best for them and who are willing to walk alongside them through life.
That is the heart behind what God is doing in Mesa Verde.
Located on 26th Avenue in North Amarillo, the Mesa Verde campus is more than another church location. It is a mission field right here in our own community. And it is a place where the words of Jesus in Luke 4:18–19 are coming to life:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Meeting Practical Needs. Sharing Eternal Hope.
The vision for Mesa Verde began with a simple idea: meet people where they are and love them well. Two years ago, TCAB planted an after-school program in the community. Today, Clay Vessels Learning Center serves children Monday through Thursday from 3:20 - 5:30 p.m. Volunteers walk to Mesa Verde Elementary School, pick up the students, and bring them back to Clay Vessels. There, they receive a hot meal, participate in classes, develop life skills, play, build relationships, and, most importantly, learn about Jesus. The goal was never simply to provide childcare or a place for kids to spend their afternoons. The goal is transformation.
One mother shared that she initially wasn’t sure whether she should bring her children to Clay Vessels. But after just a few days, she began noticing a difference. She saw how the children were being treated. She saw the care of the volunteers. She saw what they were learning. And she knew her children were safe.
For working parents, that practical help is a tremendous blessing. But for the children, Clay Vessels is becoming something even greater, a safe place where they can be known, loved, encouraged, and introduced to the hope of Jesus.
Love Has No Language Barrier
Mesa Verde is one of the most culturally diverse and underserved areas of Amarillo. Many refugee families who have arrived in our community over the past 10 - 15 years have made this area home, representing nations across Asia, Africa, and Central America. That means Mesa Verde gives TCAB an incredible opportunity to experience the nations without leaving Amarillo.
Sometimes there is a language barrier.
Sometimes cultures are different.
Sometimes we may not understand one another’s stories.
But love speaks a language everyone understands.
As one volunteer described it, there is simply “a love there” and “a need there.” That love has created relationships between children, families, volunteers, and the church. And those relationships are opening doors for the gospel.
Stories of Transformation
The impact of Clay Vessels is already reaching far beyond an after-school program. Last year, several students attended a camp through Hope Choice. Three of those students gave their lives to Christ and were baptized.
Families have also begun attending the Mesa Verde campus. One couple, Chris and Yarisa, found themselves walking through an incredibly difficult season. Chris was incarcerated and later spent time in rehabilitation in Dallas. But while he was away, something changed. He encountered Jesus. He called from the prison center and told Pastor Tiago that he wanted Jesus and could feel God working in his life. Pastor Thiago sent him the Following Jesus book used to help new believers at TCAB, and the two began walking through it together. Chris didn’t simply read the Gospel. He devoured it. He wept over it. He encountered the love of Jesus.
When he returned to Amarillo, his first request was simple: he wanted to go to church, and he wanted to be baptized. Soon after, Chris and Yarisa were baptized together. That is what mission looks like. It looks like meeting people in the middle of their mess and helping them discover that Jesus is still pursuing them.
When We Pray, We Believe God Can Move
Another story from Mesa Verde reminds us that God is still in the business of doing what only He can do. One of the Clay Vessels students has a father who had been blind since he was 16 years old. His eyesight had deteriorated to the point that he could barely walk without assistance. He repeatedly asked Pastor Tiago to pray for his eyes. So they prayed.
And prayed again.
And again.
Nothing seemed to happen.
But they kept praying.
During one of the monthly prayer gatherings at Mesa Verde, the man’s son gave his life to Christ. Later, his father was preparing to receive a new medical treatment and asked the church to pray with him. The church gathered around him. They prayed. They trusted God while also recognizing the role of the medical treatment and science God had made possible.
And then came the testimony: He could see again. He had his sight back.
Stories like this remind us why the church exists—not simply to gather inside a building, but to carry the presence, compassion, truth, and hope of Jesus into the places where people need it most.
This Is Our Mission Field
It can be easy to think of missions as something that happens somewhere else. We think about another country. Another city. Another culture. But missions can be 30 minutes from your front door. Mesa Verde is right here in Amarillo. It is a place where cultures meet. Where families are rebuilding their lives. Where children need safe places to learn and grow. Where people need practical help, genuine relationships, and the hope of the Gospel. And there is room for you to be part of it.
You don’t have to be a teacher. You don’t have to speak another language. You don’t have to know exactly what you’re doing. You simply have to be willing to show up and love people.
There Is a Place for You
There are many ways to get involved. You can serve at Clay Vessels Learning Center. You can volunteer your time each week. You can visit a Sunday service at the Mesa Verde campus. You can pray with the community. You can donate items to the Good Shop, TCAB’s community store, which distributed more than 5,000 items to families in the community last year. There is plenty of room to serve, and plenty of room for God to use you. Because this isn’t about building a bigger church. It’s about reaching more people. It’s about seeing families discover hope. It’s about children knowing they are loved. It’s about people encountering Jesus. And it’s about becoming the kind of church that goes wherever God sends us.
The future of Mesa Verde ultimately belongs to God. We don’t know exactly where He will take it. But we do know this:
We want to be part of it.
Because when the Spirit of the Lord is upon His church, we don’t just gather.
We go.
We love.
We serve.
We pray.
We proclaim good news.
And we believe that every person matters to God.
We love Mesa Verde—and we can’t wait to see what God does next.