HISTORY

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada grew out of two movements seeking Christian unity that sprang up almost simultaneously in western Pennsylvania and  Cane Ridge, Kentucky (The Cane Ridge Meeting House is pictured on the left below). The Disciples have a long heritage of openness to other Christian traditions having come into existence as a 19th century protest movement against denominational exclusiveness. At the local level and beyond, Disciples are frequently involved in cooperative and ecumenical work. 

When the Christian Church in Neosho was established in 1878, the congregation of about 20 members secured the services of circuit riding preachers occasionally and first met in local hotels and opera houses.  When the first minister was hired, the group was able to secure their own building, in 1880.

A ladies aid society was formed in 1884, and the women earned money through serving church dinners to pay salaries for the minister and janitorial services along with other church debts.

The congregation continued to grow and became know as a progressive church in the 1890s.  By 1907, the congregation built their second building (middle picture below).

The current church building (pictured on the right below) was built in 1959.  During the Rocketdyne years in Neosho during the 1960s, the church experienced more growth.  The congregation opened a daycare in 1970 to serve the wider community.  They provided a food pantry and  convalescent equipment loans among other ministries.  

Five young men from the congregation have chosen to enter the ministry over the years, and many more members who have moved away have become active members in churches in their new hometowns.

Today the church continues to work as the hands and feet of Christ in Neosho in new and different ways, but always building on the works of those who have gone before .

Taken from:  First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Neosho, Missouri:  It's Past and It's People.  

By Helen Morse, Michelle Morse with Violet Mills Carrick and Marilyn Land Walker.  copyright 1985.  Christian Women's Fellowship, First Christian Church, Neosho, MO.

History of the Disciples.  https://disciples.org/our-identity/history-of-the-disciples/

The painting at the top of the page is from a mural in our building painted by Billie Gofourth Stewart.