Who We Are

Community of Joy Church of the Brethren is a growing group of people who genuinely care about discovering and living the way Jesus together. We invite you to join us in the journey of discovery and living! We are interested in being a place where relationships matter… relationship with God and relationship with each other, our neighborhood, and our world.

We are real people who come from a variety of places and work experiences. We are all ages and have had varied life experiences. We welcome you to join us in the journey of discovery and living in the way of Jesus.

Our Values…

  • We believe that every person is valuable to and loved by God.
  • We believe that loving relationships should permeate every aspect of community life.
  • We believe that real joy is found in living in reconciled relationships with God and each other and we are committed to helping all people experience that joy.
  • We believe that spiritual, emotional and personal growth happens best in small groups.
  • We believe that the most effective evangelism happens through people inviting people.
  • We believe that every Christ-follower must discover, develop, and utilize their spiritual gifts in order to radically serve Christ with joy.
  • We believe in identifying and training emerging leaders who are fully committed to Jesus and who will reach their generation with the gospel of Christ.
  • We believe that serving others is an expression of our love for God and for God’s children.
  • We believe that biblically-based, relevant teaching will impact and transform lives.

Our Mission…

"Jesus Christ calls us to actively reach out with God's Love, Hospitality, Hope, Healing, and Peace so that ALL people may experience and share the JOY of being in RELATIONSHIP with him and with each other."
In short…. Loving God and Loving others! Being the hands and feet of Jesus in the world.

Our Pastors…

Pastors Martin and Sharon have led us since 1999. Martin grew up on the Eastern Shore near Easton and Sharon hails from the Shenandoah Valley of VA. They are the proud parents of two daughters, Caroline and Emma.

Their deepest desire is to see you discover who Jesus is and his desire for your life and then to watch you live in the Jesus way… Loving God and Loving Others. They feel that following Jesus should be a way of life, a relationship that impacts the way we live and interact with each other and our world.

Pastor Sharon works as a Pastoral Counselor for Coastal Hospice. 

Pastor Martin loves to blog at www.martinhutchison.blogspot.com. and serves on the board of directors of the Hazel Foundation which oversees
the Hazel Outdoor Discovery Center in Eden, MD
(www.hazeloutdoors.com) and the board of directors of Hope, Inc. (Help and Outreach Point of Entry), a ministry that seeks to meet the needs of Salisbury’s growing homeless population.

The Church of the Brethren

Community of Joy is part of a denominational family of churches known as the Church of the Brethren.  The CoB began in 1708 in Germany when 8 people who were part of the state church there (Lutheran) decided after a Bible study that they should be baptized as adults.  So they went to a nearby creek and baptized one another, which was a crime punishable by death at the time.  Due to that reality, they fled and eventually ended up in the Germantown/Philadelphia PA area and have spread throughout the United States and in various other countries like Nigeria, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.

We highly value: Bible Study, Community Life (being connected with each other), Simple Living, Peacemaking, Caring for our Environment, Serving God by Serving Others.  The CoB is congregational in organization, with an Annual Conference that gives guidance, but does not force itself on congregation.  For more information on the Church of the Brethren go to www.brethren.org.