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CHURCH HISTORY
First Christian Church of
Burkburnett (Disciples of Christ) was established early in the twentieth
century. About 1907 a small group of local families began meeting together at
the home of Bill and Bess Vann at 115 N. Ave. D for worship and prayer.
Sometime around 1920 some 24 charter members organized what was then called
Central Christian Church. This name was chosen because it stood at the center
of Burkburnett. It consisted of a small building referred to as the "little
white church."
About 1945 the congregation bought a small home from
Gulf Oil Company and moved it to the present site to serve as the parsonage. A
fellowship hall was added to the old church about 1953. In 1958, when Rev. Wayne
Black was the minister, the fellowship hall was expanded and connected to the
parsonage which was then used for Sunday school rooms.
When Rev. David Stout arrived in 1969, a number of
fundraisers were conducted to provide money to build a new annex (the present
education wing). It was completed in 1977. That same year, members of the
church believed Burkburnett was growing fast enough that it might one day
establish another Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), so the congregation
voted to change its name to the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
The church was able to burn the mortgage note for the
land where the present sanctuary sits early because of the efforts of
congregation members, Lewis and Myrtle Todd. For many years the Todds' held a
year-round rummage sale and donated all of the money they earned to the church.
The small white church served the congregation well for
many years until a snowstorm broke the main beam of the building and left the
ceiling on the brink of collapse. Thanks to the generosity of sister churches,
church members, and numerous other donors, a new fellowship hall rose like a
phoenix from the ashes. The present sanctuary was dedicated in March of
1990 under the leadership of the late Dr. Gerald Peters, minister.
The church recently completed
another addition to the church that contains five new classrooms, handicapped
accessible bathrooms, storage facilities, a large family life center, a new
nursery and toddler room and expanded kitchen facilities. The church
used a "pay-as-we-go" plan for th is addition and church members did much of the
work themselves, so no debt was incurred for this recent construction.
This addition will be dedicated in 2007 during the church's centennial
celebration.
Most of the 40 ministers who served First Christian in
the past were either student ministers or retired pastors. The current pastor,
Rev. Judy Brock, who graduated from Brite Divinity School in December, 1999 with
a Masters of Divinity, has served the church since November 1, 1999.
In recent years, the church experienced significant growth numerically and
spiritually. A new Children's Worship Program, called "Godly Play" is
under development and tentatively scheduled to start in September 2006.
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