Church Overview
Learn more about Neighborhood Church

The History of Neighborhood Church

Neighborhood Church began in the 1940s when a young couple named Bob and Lucille Willems noticed kids walking past their home to school and decided to create a space where they felt seen and valued. What started with cupcakes, a volleyball net, and simple conversations about Jesus grew into a church that has been part of Visalia for generations.

In the early years, Neighborhood met wherever space was available, including a pub near the Patterson Tract. By the 1960s, the church had moved to Walnut and County Center, and in the 1990s the Visalia campus began to take shape on the land we still call home today–on the corner of Akers and Riggin in NW Visalia.

In 2006, a long-standing partnership with Houston School was formed which reflected the church’s heart for the community. That partnership eventually sparked the launch of Neighborhood Degree, a nonprofit dedicated building relationships that open doors and create new opportunities for kids, students, and families in Visalia. To expand that work, the new Neighborhood Community Center opened in August 2026 in the heart of the Houston neighborhood.

Today, Neighborhood Church continues to grow. In 2025, Neighborhood launched a new campus in Kingsburg to extend the same vision: a church that is FOR its community and where people are inspired to live like Jesus everyday.