When you visit the Central Church of Christ, what kind of people will you meet? How will the worship services be conducted? And what do members of Churches of Christ believe?
We can’t tell you everything about us in just a few words, but we would like to tell you why we exist and what we try to represent.
One visitor, after attending our church services several times, put it this way: “I like being here. It’s a back-to-basics kind of church.” He found it a refreshing change from the sensationalism typical of some religious groups.
Our emergence on the American scene in the nineteenth century was a movement to restore the central teachings of Christ as reflected by the writers of the New Testament. In this way, we would duplicate the church as designed by Christ and recapture the original plan and purpose of Christianity in our lives by being true to Biblical standards.
If you believe, as we do, that the church is a collection of people with diverse backgrounds who find a common bond in Christ and who wish to be faithful to the Bible, you will feel comfortable among us.
New Testament Christians trusting the authority of Scripture.Our emphasis on basics includes certain themes which have always been at the heart of the Christian faith: God’s love for all people, forgiveness through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, the authority of Scripture, the church as the spiritual body of Christ, and the call to a devout life.
Some time ago, a prominent bank in a major American city launched a campaign to attract new customers. They advertised it as the “un-bank.” Apparently, they believed that financial institutions had a negative image which needed changing. Something different from or other than a regular bank would correct that image. Reaction to the campaign was surprisingly unfavorable. Whereas improving bank services and offering a friendlier atmosphere would be welcomed, the public was not ready to abandon the idea of a genuine bank for something suspiciously called an “un-bank.” People wanted their bank to be exactly what a bank is meant to be — a trusted, dependable, and helpful financial institution.
When a religious group tries to create an “un-church” by abandoning the basic tenets of Christianity, they miss the real mission of the church. The Central Church of Christ offers no surprises or novelties. Our aim is to function as the church is meant to function.
As Baxter called it and C. S. Lewis wrote of it, we represent “Mere Christianity” — the dependable, dynamic message of Jesus Christ — and we warmly welcome you to this fellowship.