History

A brief history of The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and its origin:

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was born in American in the early 1800s. This was the result of a movement opposing denominationalism.

The Church (Disciples of Christ) is one of the largest faith groups founded in America. It is a Protestant denomination of nearly a million members in the United States and Canada. Barton W. Stone, a Presbyterian minister was a key person in the development of the church. He and several others formed the Springfield Presbytery denouncing all human creeds. They did this appealing to the Bible as the only rule of faith and practice. The Springfield Presbytery was soon dissolved along with its denominational ties. They then entered into the unity with "the body of Christ at large." They called themselves, simply, "Christians."

Communion

"At the table of the Lord we celebrate with thanksgiving the saving acts and presence of Christ" -- From the Preamble of the Design for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Sharing in the Lord's Supper is at the core of what members of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) do when they gather to worship our Lord . Each week during our worship service there is the singing of hymns, prayers, the reading of scripture, and a sermon. But with just that, worship would be incomplete. The Lord's Supper (or communion, as it is often called) is an indispensable part of our worship. The importance of the Lord's Supper as a basic part of weekly worship is a marked characteristic of Disciples. We do this not because we feel we must but rather because we may. We believe the scriptures teach that the early first century Christians took the bread and the wine each time they gathered. So it is meaningful for us to do the same.

We believe the Lord Jesus, sets at Table with us and that he issues the invitation to commune. Therefore anyone is welcome at the table during any of our worship services. We bar no one from the Table of the Lord. We only ask what scripture asks, and that is that each person celebrating this holy meal examine himself or herself before eating the bread or drinking the wine. As we take the loaf and the cup, we believe we are in real communion with Jesus Christ.

Baptism

Baptism in First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a practice of "baptism by immersion." We believe baptism by immersion is symbolic and recalls Jesus's own baptism. It acts out dying with Christ and emerging to a new life with him. At the conclusion of a Disciples baptism, the congregation is asked to pledge support of the newly-baptized person in her or his faith journey.
Disciples are baptized when they can express as a personal choice their desire to become part of the Body of Christ. We have an invitation hymn each Sunday as an opportunity for anyone who would like to become a part of the family of God at First Christian Church. This can be done either by profession of faith in Jesus Christ or by transferring membership from another church.

First Christian Church recognizes other forms of baptism as valid. A person baptized in another Christian tradition wishing to join a Disciples congregation is simply asked: "Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and proclaim him Lord and Savior of your life?" The person who answers, "I do," is welcomed in our congregation.

The Chalice

The red chalice, bearing the "X-shaped" cross of St. Andrew was adopted as the symbol of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) by the denomination's General Assembly in 1971.
The chalice symbolizes the centrality of the Lord's Supper to Disciples life. We observe the Lord's Supper weekly. The St. Andrew's Cross reminds us of our church's roots which stem from Scotland.

The red color of the chalice signifies vitality, spirit and sacrifice.