Who We Are
Souhegan Valley Christian Church is a loving, non-denominational, Christ-centered community in Amherst, New Hampshire. We exist to help people discover new life in Jesus, build genuine connections, proclaim the saving power and love of God, and live out their faith in the everyday moments that matter most.
Senior Pastor
Gary Williams
Pastor Gary Williams has been serving the Lord in the Southern New Hampshire area for over 45 years since God transformed his life at 10 years old. His younger years were spent working in evangelism ministry, traveling as a musician, then eventually working as a volunteer youth pastor while he completed his formal education.
In 2000, the Holy Spirit, inspired him to start a Bible study in his home that grew into a thriving ministry. A year later, that home Bible study would became Burns Hill Christian Fellowship where Gary served as the lead pastor for over two decades. In the fall of 2024, together with Pastor Ron Tannariello, he helped guide the merger of Burns Hill Christian Fellowship and Amherst Christian Church where he now serves as senior pastor of Souhegan Valley Christian Church. He is committed to preaching God’s Word, equipping, encouraging, and empowering every believer to carry out the Great Commission, and working together with the greater body of Christ in the Souhegan Valley to proclaim the love and glory of God to this generation.
Gary and his wife, Stephanie, have been married for over 33 years and have been blessed with a large, loving family that includes nine children and eight grandchildren. Alongside ministry Gary has devoted his life to public service. He is a retired Captain with the Milford Fire Department and currently serves as the Chaplain for the Milford Fire, Police and EMS as will as providing services and support to the first responders in many surrounding towns.
He is part of the Granite State Support Team, providing critical incident stress debriefings for local emergency service departments in NH as well as organizing, guiding and performing department funerals. For over 15 years he volunteered in the Concord Sate Prison for Men, conducting chapel services, providing counsel to inmates and their family members. Gary is an executive member of several boards providing help and resources to the Southern NH area.
His desire is to live out his calling with integrity and compassion, having a heart completely devoted to serving Christ and His people, while encouraging everyone do the same. In the words of Charlie Kirk “Let’s make heaven crowded”
Team members
Our Leadership
Meet our elders and administrator who faithfully serve and guide the church, helping steward its mission and care for our community.
Conrad Gosselin
Elder
Wayland Foote
Elder
Gary Sullivan
Elder
Ben Harrington
Elder
Joanne Hinchliffe
Administrator
What We Believe
Statement Of Faith
1. The Bible is the only inspired and infallible Word of God, breathed out by the Holy Spirit, and is the basis for all Christian doctrine, life, and conduct.
2. There is one true God eternally existent in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
3. In the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of the Father, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, in His personal future return to the Earth in power and glory.
4. That all men have sinned and face judgment, eternal death, and punishment; unable to save themselves, they are in need of redemption. That the only way man can be cleansed from sin, restored to God, and receive eternal life is through the Salvation offered as a free gift from the Lord Jesus Christ by His redemptive work on Calvary, received by grace by faith into His atoning work.
5. Those who repent and receive this gift of salvation are washed clean, made new, become the dwelling place of God, and are promised an inheritance and home forever in Heaven. That through the indwelling Spirit of God, the believer undergoes a lifelong process of sanctification, becoming more like Jesus every day.
6. In the existence of a literal heaven and a literal hell.
7. In the blessed hope, the imminent return of Christ for overcoming believers.
8. In the baptism of the Holy Spirit with all the evidences recorded in the book of Acts. That the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a second experience subsequent to and following the new birth.
9. That the baptism of the Holy Spirit is given to believers who ask for it. That the ministry of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is to quicken the Word of God to the Christian, to lead them and empower them to live the Christian life.
10. That the baptism in the Holy Spirit will be evidenced by changes in the believer’s life including; gifts such as speaking in new tongues, an awareness of the presence and voice of God, perceiving His leading, experiencing His supernatural power, a deepened love for God and people, a commitment to the scriptures, and a desire for holy living.
11. The church of Jesus Christ is not a building or a place, but the universal, spiritual body of believers from every tribe, tongue, kindred, and race of peoples, is in dwelt by God through the Holy Spirit and divinely empowered to fulfill the great commission on Earth.
12. That every person in the church is essential and has been given gifts to use for the building up of the body of Christ.
13. That we are to love one another, help one another, prefer one another, and exhort one another.
14. In the resurrection and the final judgment of both the saved and the lost, the saved to everlasting life and the lost to everlasting damnation.
15. In the new heavens and the new Earth and the Holy Jerusalem, the City of God, descending out of heaven and filled with the glory of God.
16. Marriage is God-ordained. “The Creator made them male and female, and said, ‘for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’” (Matt. 19:4-5). That marriage is to be an exclusive relationship, a lifelong faithful union between a man and a woman. This relationship between a husband and a wife should parallel the relationship between Christ and the church.
17. We practice two ordinances: (1) Water baptism by immersion after repenting of one’s sins and receiving the gift of salvation. And (2) Communion (The Lord’s Supper) as a symbolic remembrance of Christ’s suffering and death for our salvation.
Water Baptism
Take The Next Step
a public declaration of our faith in Jesus Christ and the outward demonstration of the inward transformation
Water baptism is an outward expression of an inward transformation, it is a visual representation of our old self dying and a resurrection into a new life in Jesus Christ. It is a sacred and beautiful sacrament, uniting us with Christ’s death and resurrection, and demonstrating our desire to follow in His footsteps. “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:4
Whether you are a new believer or someone who has been walking with Christ for a long time, water baptism is a significant step in your spiritual journey. It is a powerful testimony before our church family, friends, and loved ones that you have chosen to surrender your life to Christ and embrace His teachings.
If you have put your faith in Jesus and would like to be baptized, we encourage you to reach out to our pastoral team who can answer any questions you may have and guide you throughout the baptism process.