Disciples of Christ

The Disciples of Christ Church was the result of two movements seeking Christian unity due to denominations not being able to share communion together in the early 1800s. A few Presbyterian ministers from Pennsylvania and Kentucky were behind the merging and formation of the Disciples of Christ. 

The Disciples of Christ Church is a place to grow in FAITH in an Atmosphere of Freedom, with others that become your Family.

They celebrate Open Communion - All that believe in Jesus are welcome to partake in Communion. 

The Church is ONE - they believe that all Christians are called to be ONE in the Body of Christ and seek unity and fellowship with all denominations.

The Disciples have Freedom of Belief - they are called together around two essentials of faith: a believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God, our Lord and Savior, and a belief that Christians are free to follow their own consciences, guided by the Bible, the Holy Spirit, fellowship and study in community, and prayer. As Disciples we not only enjoy this Freedom in Christ, we respectfully extend that freedom to others.

They have Baptism by Immersion. They encourage both ministers and lay people to lead in the worship service and at the table. We are ALL called to minister and serve each other and are dedicated to spiritual growth. 

I visited Los Altos Christian Church at their 10:30 am service.

They had bags hanging on the back wall for children with coloring books and crayons. They started with the Call to Worship with hymns and prayers. Then members great each other. The pastor gave a children's lesson. They had a nice choir that sang many songs throughout the service, at times they also have a bell choir. The Pastor was Bill Harrold. He gave a sermon about Moses. 

The sermon was about God and the Mighty acts of God. He talked about Moses and the parting of the sea to save the Israelites. The Pastor talked about how we can walk together and we are here to tell God's story.  Christ died for our sins, so that we may live a life free of sins.  God gives us a new name and identity, so give God the credit. He told us God is with us and the Lord is good all of the time. He reminded us that our Lives are in the hands of God. Have Faith, Hope in Jesus. 

The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.   ~ Exodus 21-22

For communion, the Pastor broke the bread and prayed over it. Bread and cups of juice were passed out to the members in the congregation. The Pastor then prayed over the chalice and the members took the sacrament together. 

There was another hymn then the benediction prayer.

And All God's people said, "AMEN."

They have a Taize service at 5pm on Sunday evenings. 

THANK YOU Los Altos Christian Church for your beautiful service. 

Church of Christ Easter

Church of Christ came about in the early 1800’s. There was a father/son pair of Presbyterian ministers named Thomas and Alexander Campbell who were leaders in the Cane Ridge Revival, They left the Presbyterian Church because, "they believed that Christianity had become too institutionalized, divided, formalized, and denominational." They desired to bypass denominational differences and bring church worship back to basics of the New Testament and the teachings of Christ.  


What most people do not know is that Church of Christ is not actually a denomination. There is no central headquarters or national organization that serves as a form of leadership. Each congregation is autonomous, self-governed by a group of elders selected by the congregational members, "The only tie which binds the many congregations together is a common allegiance to Christ and the Bible." The churches do tend to be very similar in structure and core beliefs, with five basic principles of worship:

• Singing A Capella
• Praying
• Preaching
• Giving
• Weekly Partaking of The Lord's Supper

Easter is considered by most Christians, the most important observation of the religion and it is coincidentally also the most well attended service of the year for most churches. Easter is the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus, 3 days after his death on the cross. In Western Christianity it is celebrated on the Sunday after the Paschal Moon and marks the end of Lent ~ the 40 day period of fasting & spiritual discipline that starts on Ash Wednesday. 

I visited Netherwood Church of Christ's 8:30am Easter service. They had a second service at 11am, followed by an egg hunt. In the bulletin, there were many social and service opportunities for members with different needs. 

They began with the group singing hymns. Then there was prayer and people greeted each other. In most churches, the greeting is quick, this however was a good 10 minutes where people actually got caught up with one another. I felt very welcomed.  

There was a prayer for the Lord's Supper - it represents the Freedom and Salvation that Jesus left to us, the bread was passed around to the congregants, another prayer as said before the juice was served. 

Minister Walter Lane gave the sermon. It was part of a 7 week series and an interpretive sermon of the resurrection of Christ based on Luke Chapter 24. Come Follow Me ---> Every one will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. ~ John 13:35 He spoke of the encouragement that we all had being Christians and to be assured that we can always return to the Lord, even after times we have turned away. 

FEAR AND FAILURE OF THE CROSS AND DOUBT OF THE TOMB ARE REPLACED BY THE JOY OF THE RESURRECTION. 

THANK YOU Netherwood Church of Christ for sharing your worship service with me. 

NOTE: Church of Christ churches typically do not have women in leadership roles.