Who are we?
Chester Christian Church began in September 1975 under the direction of Ron Whisman, the first minister of the congregation. After a three year ministry, Ron moved as a missionary to Johannesburg, South Africa. Meeting for four years in rented facilities, the first church building, located on Happy Hill Road, was constructed using volunteer labor in one week’s time during the fall of 1979.
Neil Wheeler became minister of the church in February 1980 and continues to serve the congregation as lead minister. In 1992, the congregation purchased eight acres of land at eh corner of Harrowgate Road & Curtis Street. In 1993 the church sold their Happy Hill Road building and began meeting at C.C. Wells Elementary school. In 1997, CCC began holding services at the new Carver Middle School.
In the summer of 2005, construction began on a 12,000 foot first phase building which will house worship/multi-use and temporary classroom space. We will be moving into that facility summer of 2006 and plans on the second phase building are already well underway.
What kind of Church is this?
Our Roots: The Christian Church trace her modern roots to the early 19 th-century American frontier, a period of great division and strife among the denominations of the day. America’s pioneers brought their deeply rooted religious convictions to their new nation and with them brought deeply rooted animosities.
It was in that venue that several independently developing unity movements came together to form what would later be called the Restoration Movement. Using the Bible as their only guide, they sought to restore the pattern of faith and practice found in the pages of the New Testament in their own time. On every question they asked, how did the early church do this? Their goal was simple – To be Christians only!
Our Position: Today the goal of the Christian Church is still the same – To be Christians only. We still hold the Bible as our only guide. And our purpose is still to restore New Testament Christianity in our day.
As much as possible, we imitate the pattern found in the New Testament. That is why our baptism is by immersion, our Communion is every Lord’s Day, our preaching is Christ-centered, our prayers are in Christ’s name, and even our name is one found in the book of Acts, the early history book of the Church.
God’s Blessing: Is God blessing? The answer is a resounding yes! All across America and our world new Christian Churches are being started and are flourishing. Recently none national publication identified the Christian Churches as the fastest growing church brotherhood in the United States. Certainly the message of Christians Only is bringing thousands into relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church.