Frst Christian Church is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Our denomination, which was founded in 1832, is the oldest denomination to have originated on American soil. Today, the church has about one million members in over 40,000 churches across the United States and Canada.
No formal creeds define the theology of the Disciples or exclude anyone from our fellowship. There is vast freedom and diversity within our congregations, with only one primary requirement for membership – belief in Jesus Christ.
The Lord's Supper, which we observe each Sunday, is the central act of worship. We believe this is Christ's table, and therefore, all believers in Christ are invited to partake.
While we practice the rite of baptism by immersion for believers, we recognize the validity of all forms of baptism. Those who transfer their membership into our church from outside the Disciples of Christ need not be rebaptized.
The Bible is our primary witness to the presence and activity of the living God in the world. It is the responsibility of each Christian to bring the text into dialogue with Christian tradition, experience, and reason in understanding its authority for today.
Disciples tend to be very eccumenical, meaning we work cooperatively with Christians of other denominations, backgrounds, and practice, both in mission in Stillwater and around the globe.
December 5, 1897, is the birthday of First Christian Church in Stillwater. On that date, the church was formally organized with 27 charter members, under the leardship of the Reverend Virtes Williams, who had been sent to Oklahoma by the American Missionary Society to aid Stillwater residents in establishing a congregation. Reverend Williams would serve the church as pastor for the next twenty-nine years.
In the beginning, the congregation met in the Courthouse, but soon felt the need for their own church home. Late in December, 1897, they purchased a site on the northeast corner of Seventh and Husband Streets for the sum of $265, and with a $400 loan from the Board of Church Extension, we were able to begin construction of this first building, a frame structure measuring 32 by 46 feet. The new church was completed in the fall, and the dedication was held December, 1898.
The membership grew rapidly, and by 1902 it was necessary to build an addition onto the church building. Again, a $400 loan was obtained from the Board of Church Extension. The enlarged building was used until the summer of 1917, when the need for more space was so pressing that a new building campaign was begun. A site on the southwest corner of Seventh and Husband was purchased for $3500 and construction of the new brick house of worship was completed at a cost of $22,000. On the second Sunday in February, 1918, dedication services were held, and sufficient cash and pledges were obtained to clear the church indebtedness.
In 1932, the women of the church led the effort to purchase and install a Kilgen pipe organ. This instrument was moved to the present building in 1960. In 1991, it was replaced by our Dodson organ, the 37th ranked instrument currently in use, and one of the finest church organs in Oklahoma.
By December 1956, the congregation, having again outgrown its facilities, voted to purchase, for the sum of $40,000, lots on the corner of Duck and Mathews, adjacent to the Oklahoma State University campus. It was determined by the members that the most pressing need was to provide adequate classrooms for the church school, so plans were made to construct the educational wing, fellowship hall, and administrative offices immediately, leaving the sanctuary to be added as soon as the section was free of debt. Ground-breaking ceremonies were held December 13, 1959, and the building was formally dedicated November 20, 1960. Worship services were held in the new Fellowship Hall.
The Sanctuary was added in 1968.
Copyright © First Christian Church Stillwater 2003 - 2004