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THE HISTORY OF
CENTRAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Prepared by Dr. Robert Tuck for the 1980 pictorial directory, updated in
1996 by Dr. Win Logan and in 2003 by Rev. Kevin Phipps
 The introductory work
of preaching and teaching in preparation for the establishment of a Church
of Christ in Wooster began in 1834. The actual organization of the church
was on July 26, 1835. The following statement of the organization as found
in the old records of the church reads:
At a meeting on
Lord’s Day, July 26, 1835, the persons whose names appear below extended to
each other the hand of Christian fellowship, and organized themselves into a
worshipping assembly under the following pledge: We, the disciples of Jesus
Christ, living in and near Wooster, being desirous of attending to all the
ordinances of the Lord’s house, do unite ourselves together in a congregated
capacity, taking our guide or discipline the New Testament of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. And we propose, as soon as practical to appoint
bishops and deacons, whose duty it shall be to take charge of the temporal
and spiritual interests of the congregation, according to the Holy
Scriptures. And in order to protect ourselves from imposition, we further
agree not to receive any person claiming to be a Christian who is not known
to us, or who does not present a letter of recommendation from some
congregation. To the above we have authorized our several names to be
affixed: Wm. F. Pool; Peter Willis and Elizabeth, his wife; Frederick Kauke
and Elizabeth, his wife; Samuel Zimmerman and Mary, his wife; George K.
Zimmerman; Griffith L. Jones; Elizabeth Scott; Eleanor Jones; Mary McCurdy;
Elizabeth Hickman; Rebecca Hull; Sophia Zimmerman; Kimball Porter and
Susannah, his wife.
From the time of the
organization until May 1847 there is no definite record of the
congregation. It is presumed that this little band met from house to house
for communion, Bible study, and for preaching when a preacher was
available. The records show that this group, under their own leadership,
grew from 21 to 100 in the first twelve years of existence.
The first ‘called
pastor’ (1844-47) was Bro. J. Harrison Jones, an outstanding pulpit orator
and singer. At times, meetings were held in the court house, in a brick
school house in the southern part of town, in a Grant Street copper shop,
and in a large room in the J.S. Lake Building on West Liberty Street. In
1847, the church occupied its first ‘church owned’ building located at S.
Walnut and South Streets.
With an enrollment of
30 and an attendance of 18, a Bible School was organized on March 21, 1857.
Another historic event took place on May 12, 1852 when the Ohio Christian
Missionary Society was organized in Wooster, a forerunner of the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) in Ohio.
 Due to internal
problems and the weakening of the number of Disciples, the church building
was becoming badly in need of repair and was sold for $1,000 and the money
was applied to the purchase of a lot in the 400 block of N. Buckeye Street.
From 1885 to 1891 the group met in homes again, also meeting in 1888-9 in
Miller's Hall. Prominent in the leadership at that time was Mrs. Charlotte
Reid, through whose personal influence and labor a new building was
conceived as an imperative for growth and mission. In 1891, the building on
Buckeye Street was dedicated without indebtedness.
With a determination
to relocate to a larger facility the congregation bought a very
strategically and prominently located property on N. Market Street, just
back of the Buckeye Street property. In 1950 the church dedicated a new
brick colonial sanctuary, attached to an impressive, well preserved and
expanded brick house. The Buckeye property and an additional lot now serve
as excellent parking space.
From 1923 to 1967 the
church was capably served with the ministerial leadership of the Rev. Dr.
Robert S. Tuck. The Rev. Dr. Paul E. Kerr served as pastor from January
1967 until May 1984. Pastor Jerry L. Murphy was called in July 1985 and
served until 1998. Under the Rev. David Stout the church underwent a
program of revitalization. Rev. Kevin Phipps was called to serve as the
church’s twenty-fifth pastor in its 168-year history in July 2002. |
