Our Journey & Family
Any time you want to get to know a person more deeply, there are some critical areas to explore. You want to know something about their journey — in other words, where they’ve been and are today. You also want to know about their family -- the human relationships that are closest to them. And finally, you want to know about their culture/values and beliefs — what defines them and guides them in life.
We believe the same is true when you're getting to know a local church. So to help you out in becoming more familiar with us, we encourage you to read about our church's history to-date -- our journey -- followed by some information about our larger church family. When you're done taking this all in, we invite you to read on and learn about our church's culture/values and beliefs.
We look forward to getting to know you too, and hope you'll give us the chance to do so. For now, we're glad you're visiting us here!
Our Journey
During the late 1800's, a number of Scandinavian families moved to northern Colorado by horse and wagon with dreams of making a better life. Many were Christians who desired Bible study, prayer, and fellowship with other believers. Since these mostly Swedish families were spread out across the Greeley and Eaton area, the best way for them to get together was in each other's homes. So they began various Bible study groups in several areas. In 1899, a Sunday school was started in Greeley with preaching services on Sunday afternoons and evenings, all in Swedish.
As these services continued and attendance steadily increased, a more suitable building was needed. In the year 1900, a small brick church was built on 11th Street near 10th Avenue. On December 28, 1901, the eighteen members became known as the The Swedish Free Mission Church of Greeley, CO. Soon after realizing they needed a full-time pastor, the church hired Rev. A.A. Anderson to serve in that capacity.
Since the church's beginning, the Swedish language was used for all services and record keeping until the late 1920's, when it finally became necessary to switch to English. The vote was much debated, but it was agreed that since the young people didn't know Swedish, the English language should be used. The name of the church was changed to Evangelical Free Church in May of 1936.
During the 1930's and 1940's the church continued to grow and the need for a larger building was once again a necessity. In 1944, property was purchased at 13th Avenue and 15th Street with the congregation and church leaders unsure of when the building process could begin. Two years later, construction began on our current facility. Devoted members and friends of the congregation worked for three years to complete the construction by spring of 1949.
In the 1950's, the church heavily influenced the students at UNC by teaching on the relationship between athletics and Christianity. Mission conferences were especially important as they educated the congregation and students from Cameron Elementary about mission work that was happening around the world. During the 1970's, the choir performed many productions and even recorded two albums during this time. The next decade brought even more advances: a children's program that helped kids learn the Bible called Awana; free oil changes for single women; and establishing a clothing bank for those in need. But as the church entered the 1990's, and called Alan Kraft right out of seminary as its pastor, attendance had dropped to just under 100 people. But there was an enduring sense of commitment that God had something up His sleeve for our church's future in ministry.
The 1990's brought a new passion and spirit of renewal to this church as a result of listening to and following the Holy Spirit and God's Word. Within a few years, a new purpose statement was adopted, and in 1994 the name of the church was change to Christ Community Church. To facilitate the numerical growth, a second Sunday morning service was added in 1995, and two years later, a third service began on Thursday night.
The growth continued, and it soon became evident that our current facility was not large enough. After much prayer and discussion concerning various options, the elders sensed the Lord's clear leading that Christ Community Church should stay at the corner of 13th Avenue and 15th Street and expand from there. So in the fall of 1997, we began the process of purchasing the five homes north of our facility and in the fall of 2001, we began construction of an adjacent facility which includes a 900-seat Worship Center, a large lobby and a larger area for our Tiny Tots ministry. The new facility was opened February 23, 2003.
Reaching out to the community has always been a high priority over the hundred years of our church's ministry in Greeley. We continue this priority through many local and global outreach opportunities. Several practical ways of saying "God loves you with no strings attached" include the free Single Mom's Oil Changes, the annual free Gift Wrap at the Greeley Mall every December, our Jail Ministry, Community Connection Day, and Kid's Hope USA. In order to minister to the Hispanic community in Greeley, we have bridged cultures and developed relationships through ESL classes and Spanish ALPHA ministries.
We also minister to people around the world. We have adopted an unreachable people group in South Asia and have sent many prayer teams to pray on site. The church has also sponsored many short-term missionaries. Currently, 24 missionary families in the U.S. and around the world receive prayer and financial support from this congregation. Every year we also send 1-2 teams of people to Juarez, Mexico to construct homes and minister to the people there.
In 2005, a three-year, $4,000,000 stewardship journey entitled Project Beyond launched to release people and financial resources in our community and around the world. Half of the money is aiding in debt reduction, and half is being invested in various Kingdom initiatives. We follow the acronym, P.E.A.C.E., focusing on Planting Churches, Equipping Leaders, Assisting the Poor, Community Impact, and Educating the Next Generation.And in 2009, with 2500+ people regularly attending Christ Community, we launched Project Beyond Catalyst, a three-year, $3,000,000 stewardship journey that focused on continuing key initiatives both locally and around the world. The results are our first multi-site called Zoe's, broadening ministries aimed at multiple cultures in Greeley, building out a girl's rescue center in Kenya, planting churches in Peru and Syria, and working with HIV/AIDS orphans in Uganda. Specific details regarding each initiative can be found HERE.
There is no way of knowing exactly how many people have been touched as a result of the various ministries started by this church since 1901. But what we do know is God is faithful, and He has carried us through times of growth, challenge, weakness, and uncertainty over the last one hundred years. He has seen the church survive through national crises and wars and has seen it grow from eighteen people to over a thousand. He has seen a community of His people reaching out to serve one another. We give all glory to God for the work He has carried out through the generations past and present. We thank Him for our great heritage and praise Him for the lives that He has changed through this church. As we look ahead to the next one hundred years, may we never lose sight of the One who has brought us together to do His work.
Our Family
Christ Community's larger church family is known as The Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA). The EFCA is an association of some 1,500 autonomous and interd
ependent churches and church plants united by a mutual commitment to serve Jesus Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in obedience to the Word of God, the Bible. In our relationship with the EFCA we are committed to cooperating with one another in ministry and fellowship as we seek to fulfill the Great Commission together in Greeley and around the world. The EFCA is currently involved in some 50 countries of the world, multiplying healthy churches among all people.
The terms "Evangelical" and "Free" in our society have come to mean different things to different people. The term "Evangelical" refers to our faith, or our theology. The term "Free" refers to our our structure and organization. So put these things together and the following two paragraphs describe us.
We are committed to the proclamation of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, and to the Scriptures as being the inspired, inerrant, authoritative and sufficient Word of God. In sum, we are evangelical, which is an affirmation of our faith. The statement of faith of Christ Community is therefore identical to the Statement of Faith of the EFCA.
We are committed to a congregational form of government, meaning that the Partners of Christ Community vote annually on the budget and Elders who are the spiritual overseers of our church. When necessary, the congregation also votes on the call of the senior pastor, the purchase and sale of property, and any changes to our constitution. Apart from the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, we are free from any external control of our church's direction, appointment of pastoral staff or ownership of properties. We are autonomous in each of these areas.
And finally, as we celebrate our family connections with the EFCA, we also enjoy close relationships and ministry partnerships with others in the Gospel, both here in Greeley and around the world. In addition, we have a variety of church family backgrounds represented on our pastoral/ministry staff and within our congregation.