First Christian Church of North Kansas City
You are warmly invited to help us celebrate our 100th Anniversary as we gather together to praise God for all the work He has done through the ministry of the First Christian Church, North Kansas City, Missouri.
The schedule of events is enclosed, concluding with a special service on the anniversary date of May 10, 2023.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever.
Hebrews 13:8
Sunday School – 9:00 am
Praise & Worship Service – 10:00 am
Our Services are Online via Facebook – Please visit us there at 10:00 am
Sunday School – 9:00 am
Praise & Worship Service – 10:00 am
Our Services are Online via Facebook – Please visit us there at 10:00 am
* As a Denomination
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a community of nearly one million Christians in about 3,700 congregations in the United States and Canada. Approximately 94 CC (DOC) churches worship in the Greater Kansas City Area today.
Two groups of frontier Christians came together in 1832 to form the foundation of today’s Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). They shared the view that people should not be excluded from fellowship in the church or from the Lord’s Supper because they did not adhere to human-made creeds or catechisms. Even today, in our effort to reclaim the essentials upheld by the 1st century churches, we hold onto statements such as, No creed, but Christ, and Where Scripture speaks, we speak; where Scripture is silent, we are silent, and In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, charity.
Today’s Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) still thinks that way. We study the Bible to deepen our connection with God through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit in order to discover what God desires to do in us and through us. We believe that God is calling us to be a faithful, compassionate and growing community of believers who demonstrate a passion for restoring justice, loving God and neighbor and proclaiming the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Christian Church is a mainline Protestant church founded in the United States. Like America, one of our core beliefs is to be inclusive. We welcome all people into our fellowship and into the embrace of Christ’s loving grace and forgiveness. We are particularly passionate about sharing the Lord’s Supper and working toward a greater degree of unity among Christian communities around the world.
While we confirm and accept the affirmations of faith made in the traditional creeds of the church (i.e. the Nicene and Apostle’s Creeds), we do not believe in using such statements of faith as a means of division or divisiveness.
* As a Congregation
First Christian Church of North Kansas City was founded in 1923 by a group of families who completely trusted and believed in their calling to establish a body of believers in our community. In fact, they believed in this calling so much that they mortgaged their own homes in order to purchase a portion of the land on which our church has been worshipping and ministering for the last 83 years!
A basement structure was eventually constructed on the property that these families obtained and, after worshipping in this underground place for a period of more than five years, a sanctuary was finally erected above the basement area. This worship space, now utilized as a fellowship hall, still stands on the corner of Gentry and 21st Street.
In 1952, nearly thirty years later, adjacent homes were purchased, removed and converted into our current educational wing.
Fifteen years after that, in 1967, our modern sanctuary was completed and dedicated. This was one of the first sanctuaries in the United States to be constructed in the round, as opposed to the typical rectangle shaped worship structure. People traveled from all corners of the States to view this new and cutting-edge worship structure.
Our story, of course, continues. In 2002, this worship space was completely renovated. In the years following, we were able to acquire additional parking space, as well as the building and property that currently occupy Armour Road immediately to our South. While we do not have immediate plans for this property, we believe that numerous and exciting potential exists for future development.
The history of our church serves as a testimony to the continued expansion and growth of God’s kingdom in our church and in our community. As such, we are convinced that God will guide and lead and grow our fellowship of faith as long as we continue to place our trust in his provision and his promises.
As we recall the history of our church, it is most important to state that it is not a history of physical acquisition or expansion that we choose to celebrate. We choose, instead, to remember the lives that have been touched and changed on this Holy Ground.
At First Christian Church of North Kansas City, we celebrate the new spaces and places that He has entrusted into our care, and we are grateful for the numerous and continued opportunities He has given to us to perpetuate the proclamation of His Word and His Will.
God has not led us this far to abandon us now. We believe that. Furthermore, we believe that the best is yet to come.
Welcome to a small portion of God’s story. Welcome to our story. We hope that you will consider playing a part in this divine drama. The casting call is open and every person has a part to play. Response and receptiveness are all that are required.
Our church vision is to Celebrate and Share the Grace of God, the Love of Christ and the Power of the Holy Spirit.
Express Yourself!
One of the unique and treasured aspects of our community of faith is the variety of worship opportunities that we offer on a weekly basis, ranging from the dynamic and expressive to the traditional. We realize that every individual, for varied and valuable reasons, tends to prefer one style of worship to another. First Christian Church of North Kansas City celebrates the importance of the more liturgical and traditional approaches to worship, but we also offer more contemporary and multi-media worship experiences as well. From time to time we gather together as an entire community of faith to worship through tasteful combinations of these varied approaches, but our typical weekly worship schedule follows this format.
Please visit us by coming to our Praise and Worship (contemporary) service at 10:00am.
We have Sunday school classes at 9am and offer a variety of social and ministry programs for the community, which are listed on the calendar.
AS MEMBERS OF THE FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH, we confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and proclaim Him Lord and Savior of the world.
In Christ’s name and by His grace we accept our mission of witness and service to all people. We rejoice in God, Maker of heaven and earth, and in the covenant of love, which binds us to God and one another.
Through baptism into Christ we enter into newness of life and are made one with the whole people of God.
In the communion of the Holy Spirit we are joined together in discipleship and in obedience to Christ.
At the table of the Lord we celebrate with thanksgiving the saving acts and presence of Christ.
Within the universal church we receive the gift of ministry and the light of Scripture.
In the bonds of Christian faith we yield ourselves to God, that we may serve the One whose kingdom has no end.
Blessing, glory, and honor be to God forever, Amen.
(From the Preamble to the Design for the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ)
8:30 am Every Sunday
10:00 am Every Sunday