Here we remain.
Our fourth year as a church is built on one word from John 15:
Remain.
In Christ,
In His love,
Until our fruit remains.
The word
Menō · to remain
The passage
John 15
The year
August 2026 to July 2027
Sundays
8:30 & 10:30 · Excel Academy
Why a theme
Prayed for, not brainstormed.
Every year, Pastor Justin gets away to pray and ask God for one thing: a direction for Valor's next year. Not a slogan. Not a campaign. A direction.
This year the answer was John 15. A church-wide pursuit of remaining in Jesus, living out one chapter together until it lives in us.
That is what a theme is at Valor. It shapes our direction. It shapes every sermon series. It settles what we are doing and who we must become together.
The verb
One word governs our whole year.
The Greek word is menō. To remain. To abide. To stay. To dwell. To continue. It appears ten times in one chapter of John, and it governs our whole year.
Our next year will be a steady and certain resolve that Christ is our all in all and we will remain in Him.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.”John 15:5, CSB
The sentence
Here we remain in Christ.
Here we remain in His love.
Here our fruit remains.
The three movements
The whole preaching year lands on three movements.
One word, menō, runs through all of John 15 in three movements. Every series lands on one.
We Remain in Christ
We are disciples.
The branch draws everything from the vine. Before we do anything for Jesus, we stay connected to Him. Apart from Him we can do nothing.
John 15:1-8We Remain in His Love
We love one another.
What holds us to Christ holds us to each other. His command is not complicated: love one another as He has loved us. This is the year we go deeper together.
John 15:9-17Our Fruit Remains
We leave eternal impact.
A branch that remains bears fruit, and the fruit lasts. We were chosen and appointed to go and bear fruit that remains, in our homes, our city, and in the years after us.
John 15:16The fifth pillar
Uncommon Community.
For four years we have had four pillars. This year we add a fifth and final pillar: Uncommon Community. We treat each other and gather differently because the gospel compels us to. We have all been redeemed by the same cross, so ordinary relationships are off the table. The blood of Christ does not just save us one by one. It makes us a family.
A family to belong to, not a church to attend.
This is also why we moved to two services. We are not getting bigger. We are getting smaller. The multiplication is us making room to actually know each other. The hour in between the services is not dead space. It is the point. It is us slowing down. It is margin to be a family instead of a crowd.
Unapologetic Preaching · Unashamed Worship · Unafraid Witness · Unceasing Prayer · Uncommon Community
The year of the one anothers
You cannot obey a single one of them alone.
We can remain in Christ on our own. We cannot remain in His love on our own. This is the year we stop attending near each other and start belonging to each other. The New Testament is full of one another commands. Love one another. Forgive one another. Bear with one another. Encourage one another. Confess to one another. Pray for one another. So this year, get in a room.
Join a Group
Meet in homes through the week. Discuss Sunday's text and practice remaining together.
Join a Bible Study
Men's and women's studies walking a book of the Bible alongside Sunday.
Spiritual Disciplines Class
Learn the practices that keep us rooted in Christ: prayer, Scripture, silence, sabbath.
The John 15 Challenge
Seventeen verses. Hidden in our hearts.
Together, as a church, we are going to memorize John 15:1-17 by the end of the year. The vine and the love. The spine of our whole theme. One passage, one finish line, one pace we can all keep.
One verse a week, together, from now through December 31. The week-by-week plan, how to memorize, and free phone and desktop wallpapers are all on one page.
The wallpaper covers John 15:1-5, the verses we are carrying right now.
The covenant prayer
A prayer of total surrender.
From the Puritan Richard Alleine in 1663, later carried by Wesley. We prayed it together on Vision Night. Keep praying it this year.
I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt;
put me to doing, put me to suffering;
let me be employed for thee, or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee, or brought low for thee;
let me be full, let me be empty;
let me have all things, let me have nothing:
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.
The preaching year, series by series
Ten months of Scripture, walked mostly book by book.
Here is where we are going and how each stretch serves the year.
Aug 2 - 30, 2026
Remain.
Vision & Pillars
The onramp. Four weeks to plant the verb and name what God gave on Pastor Justin's retreat: we are a church that will not drift. The theme was unveiled August 23, and two Sunday services launched August 30.
Sept 6
A Standalone on Discipleship
Guest · Scott Doust
One Sunday before the year begins in earnest. Scott Doust preaches a standalone message on discipleship: what it means to follow Jesus and be formed into His likeness.
Sept 13 - Oct 4
The True Vine
We Remain in Christ · John 15
Four weeks in the chapter that names our year. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches, and apart from Him we can do nothing. Everything this year ladders back here.
Oct 11 - Nov 15
The Gospel That Holds Us
We Remain in Christ · Galatians
Six weeks in Galatians. Paul's fight for grace over performance. The gospel is not what we did for God; it is what God did for us. This is the grip that holds when we cannot.
Nov 29 - Dec 20
Deep Wells
Advent · Love & Fruit
Four weeks of Advent. The world digs broken wells that hold no water. We come to the deep well of Christ for hope, peace, joy, and love. Christmas Eve, December 24.
Jan 10 - Feb 21
Love One Another
We Remain in His Love · 1 John
Seven weeks in 1 John. How you know you belong to God: you love one another. The year turns from remaining in Christ to remaining in His love.
Feb 28 - Mar 28
David: Rise, Fall, Restored
The Bridge · 1 & 2 Samuel, Psalms
Five weeks in the life of David. A man after God's heart who rose, fell hard, and was restored. Remaining is not the absence of failure. It is returning every single time.
Apr 4 - May 2
BUT GOD.
Easter · Fruit & Cornerstone · Ephesians 2
Five weeks launched on Easter. Dead in our sins... but God, being rich in mercy, made us alive. Two words that change everything.
May 9 - June 28
Doers of the Word
Our Fruit Remains · James
James through May and June. Faith that remains is faith that works. Do not merely hear the word. Do it. The year lands where it began, in fruit that remains.
July 2027
Summer Guest Series
Trusted Voices
Four Sundays with guest preachers we trust. The theme rests; the family keeps gathering.
Mark your calendar
Love Where You Live.
Saturday, September 26. One day, the whole church out in Arvada, loving our city with our hands. Remaining in Christ bears fruit that remains where we live. Clear your Saturday. Details to come.
Come and see
Remain with us this year.
The best way into this year is a Sunday. No pressure, no performance. Come see for yourself.
Sundays at 8:30 & 10:30 · Excel Academy · 11500 W 84th Ave, Arvada
Common questions
Questions people actually ask.
What is Here We Remain?
Here We Remain is Valor Church's theme for our fourth year as a church, August 2026 through July 2027. The whole year is built on John 15 and the Greek word meno, which means to remain or abide. Every sermon series, group, and gathering this year ladders back to one sentence: here we remain in Christ, here we remain in His love, here our fruit remains.
What does meno mean?
Meno is the Greek word translated remain or abide. It means to stay, to dwell, to continue. It appears ten times in John 15, the chapter where Jesus calls Himself the true vine and His people the branches.
What is the John 15 Challenge?
Together as a church we are memorizing John 15:1-17, one verse a week, finishing by December 31. The weekly plan, memorization helps, and free phone and desktop wallpapers are on the John 15 Challenge page.
When does the sermon series start?
The True Vine, four weeks in John 15, begins Sunday, September 13, 2026. Valor gathers Sundays at 8:30 and 10:30 at Excel Academy, 11500 W 84th Ave, Arvada.