A
Partial History of
Midwest Boulevard Christian Church,
a Disciples of Christ Congregation
located in Midwest City, Oklahoma
Midwest Boulevard Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) was started with the cooperation and assistance of
several churches and organizations.
It was started due to the increase in
population of Midwest City and the need for another Christian Church.
Two members of Del City Christian Church,
Mrs Jess Lackey and Mrs Don Burner, were instrumental in the beginnings of the
congregation.
First Christian Church of Midwest City
endorsed the start of the new church and several members transferred to the new
congregation.
Among those most helpful and instrumental
in establishing our church were:
Rev George O Bell, Director of Town and Country Churches, Oklahoma Christian Missionary Society
Rev George O Bell, Director of Town and Country Churches, Oklahoma Christian Missionary Society
Rev M Leon Pigg, Minister, First Christian Church, Midwest City
Rev Robert A Fudge, Minister, Del City
Christian Church, Del City
Rev Norman R Stacey, Minister, First
Christian Church, Woodward, acting for the Christian Church Commission of
Oklahoma City
Rev Hugh Sinclair, Minister, Capitol Hill
Christian Church, Oklahoma City
William T Pearcy, Executive Secretary, Board
of Church Extension, Indianapolis
Mr and Mrs Jess Lackey, Mr and Mrs Don
Burner, Mr and Mrs Walter Robertson, Mr and Mrs Bruce Elkins.
When Midwest City was just eight years
old, on September 30, 1954, a meeting was held in the home of Mr and Mrs Jess
Lackey at 236 E Key Blvd, to discuss this new church. Present at that meeting were: Mr And Mrs
Lackey, Mr and Mrs Robertson, Mr and Mrs Elkins, Mr and Mrs Burner, Rev and Mrs
Norman Stacey, and Rev Pigg, who served as the chairman.
The committee decided the first worship
service would be October 17, 1954 and a group of the men would ask permission
to use the gym of Country Estates Elementary School. Mr Robertson was selected to be Sunday school
Superintendent and Bruce Elkins was Worship Chairman.
Ministers of the Oklahoma City area were
asked to preach until a regular minister could be called. Rev Stacey stated that the Christian Church
Commission of Oklahoma City would help in securing a building site. This was truly the beginning of a new venture
to further the kingdom of God in Jesus Christ.
Rev M Leon Pigg preached the first
service, in the gym of Country Estates Elementary School, on October 17,
1954. Rev Don M Sheridan preached October
24th and 31st.
However, November 7, 1954, is set as the
official beginning of the church as thirteen people were received as
"First Day Members." They
were: Rev and Mrs George Bell, Mr and Mrs Jess Lackey, Mr and Mrs Don Burner, Mrs
And Mrs Walter Robertson, Mrs Irene Burkhart, Mr and Mrs Bruce Elkins and their
daughters, Janice and Carol.
In 1994, reflecting back on this beginning, Mr Robertson remarked that "this church was founded on faith and
prayer."
In late November 1954 the church voted to
engage Rev George Bell, the Christian Church's state evangelist, for an
extended period of time to do intensive evangelistic calling for the
church. Rev Covey stated that he felt
sure the infant congregation could count on financial help for this effort from
the Oklahoma Christian Missionary Society.
Each of three local ministers would preach for each one of the next
three months. From our beginnings,
generous help was extended to our church from existing Christian Church
congregations and their ministers.
On December 13, 1954 Mr Elkins, treasurer,
reported the bank balance was $134.15. A
committee of four men and one woman, Montry Robertson, was appointed to view a
possible site for building. The church
board voted on January 10, 1955 to put "down up to $100" in earnest
money on property owned by Mr Poore near the corner of Reno and Midwest
Blvd.
On February 3, nineteen members voted to
accept the offer to purchase our property for us from the Board of Governors of
the Christian Churches. Our church would
receive the portion facing Midwest Boulevard and extending back 968 feet. The Board of Governors would hold title to
the remaining portion. The following
were elected to chair the various church committees: Worship, Bruce Elkins;
Stewardship, R E Honey; Membership, Don Burner; Missions, Rev George Bell;
Property, Aubery Crane; Education, Jess Lackey; Evangelism, E L Munson;
Congregational Chairman, Clyde Duncan; Church Clerk, Hazel Crane; Church
Treasurer, Joseph Hudson.
On February 7, 1955, a motion was made by
Mr Don Burner that the name of the church would be Midwest Boulevard Christian
Church. The motion was seconded by Mrs
Aubery Crane and passed. The church now
had a name and began planning for the church's first building on 7 1/2 acres of
land that had been purchased by the Christian Church Commission of Oklahoma
City.
From the beginning, our church was blessed
with the prayerful support and donations of Christians beyond our congregation
who desired to see another flourishing Disciples of Christ congregation in
Midwest City.
It was decided to purchase a parsonage at
what is now 805 South Midwest Boulevard in February 1955 at a cost of $8,860
with monthly payments to be $56.00. This
property was sold on September 13, 1962, when the parsonage at 3012 Edgewood was
purchased. At the February meeting a
committee was appointed to find a minister.
It included Mr and Mrs E L Munson, Mr and Mrs R E Honey, and Mr and Mrs
Don Burner.
The membership had grown to 47 by April
11, 1955, at which time Rev Jackson M Reed was called as our first full-time
minister. Rev Reed had just completed
his seminary work at Phillips University.
At this meeting, the Worship Committee chairman requested to know of ill
church members so that they might be brought communion. This act of Christian service continues today
as the Elders call on the sick and homebound each Sunday with the Lord's
Supper.
In May of 1955 a committee was appointed
to nominate church officers, elders, deacons, deaconesses, and a congregational
executive committee, to serve until a constitution was approved or for one
year. By June, we reported to the
Christian Church Yearbook our membership was 62, with two of those being by
baptism. Our first Vacation Bible
School, with a budget of $50, was offered in the summer of 1955 in cooperation
with Country Estates Methodist Church (later St Matthew United Methodist).
The July Board meeting approved the first
budget. Seven items were included, the
Pastor's salary, $3,800; Operating Expenses, $1,000; Pastor's Pension, $414.36;
Parsonage payments, $600; Pastor's car allowance, $300; Payments on loan,
$1,200; World Outreach $485.56, for a total of $7,800. Not yet a year old, the congregation was
willing to incur indebtedness to further the Lord's work, while also supporting
the mission work of the larger church.
The tangible support of Oklahoma Disciples for our church continued to
be strongly felt with a $600 donation toward the budget by the Oklahoma
Christian Missionary Society.
The church was incorporated December 16,
1955. The next month our first church
newsletter was published by Monte Jean Frame
By September 1956 the first six-session
pastor's class was planned and choir practice began on Wednesday nights, with
the exception of the fourth Wednesday.
The Board also voted to contribute to the purchase of property for a
Christian camp to be built near Guthrie.
On November 6, the board approved a motion that the church assist the
Christian Women's Fellowship and provide a food basket for a needy family
during Thanksgiving and Christmas, and assist the family throughout the year as
needed. In January of 1956 the church
took up a special offering to continue helping the needy family by making its
house payment. The help continued
through March of 1956 when the Christian Action Committee asked permission to
purchase some chickens for them. In May
the church took steps to help the father of the family find work.
By May of 1956, the church had so many in
the nursery that we needed to hire a second nursery attendant to care for all
of them. The church's commitment to
youth was demonstrated when the church agreed to pay for a portion of the
summer Conference fee for Christian Youth Fellowship members.
The congregation had grown to ninety-six
members by the spring of 1956 when William T Pearcy met with six church
men. Mr Pearcy was Executive Secretary
of the Board of Church Extension, the "church building" organization
within the Christian Church. The meeting
was held in the parsonage garage as it was serving temporarily as the church
office, and was the only meeting place the church possessed. The challenge of how to finance the first
unit of our church building was met with a generous interest-free loan from the
Board of Church Extension. In February
of 1956 a Building Committee had been appointed by the Board and was chaired by
Joseph Hudson. Mr Hudson was succeeded
in March of 1957 by Vernon Frame.
Rev Reed resigned in September 1956 to
begin training at Griffin Memorial Hospital in Norman to become an
institutional chaplain. Rev Harold Van
Cleave, then at Wewoka, was called and began his ministry November 1, 1956. At the November 11 board meeting he stated
"we need to revitalize the membership and warm up the prospects."
Mr John Reid of Reid Associates Architects was employed on
December 9, 1956, to draw plans for the church. Montry Robertson reports that
some members favored a more modern design, such as the building completed that
year by First Christian Church of Oklahoma City. However, a more traditional Colonial American
design was approved.
By January 1, 1957, Midwest City had grown
to 22,000 and our church had 140 members. By June of 1957 the Sunday school had
sixteen classes. Ground was broken July
7, 1957 for the first unit of what was planned to become a $150,000.00
three-unit building. This first unit of
3,850 square feet was completed at a cost of $47,500. A 3,116 square foot sanctuary, classrooms
totaling 3,702 square feet, and an attached fellowship hall of 2,810 square
feet were to complete the project. The
membership at that time included 62 families and was comprised of 153
individuals.
The first unit was a one-story structure
with a porch that resembled homes that were being built in the vicinity. It included a temporary sanctuary. As it did not include a baptistry, baptisms
were conducted at First Christian Church and the church donated First Christian
$5.00 each time the baptistry was filled expressly for our use.
Church offices, the Lackey Library, the
Nursery, and our pre-school and early elementary classes later occupied this
first unit. Evident in the plans is the
church's early commitment to the nurture of youth and children. The blueprints label one of the two largest
class rooms as set aside for youth meetings, although it later became the
pastor's study.
The first worship service in the new
building was on December 22, 1957, with the dedication set for January, pending
the completion of all interior finish work.
Membership had now reached 180.
Much of the painting and other work was accomplished by the members of
the church under the direction of Mr Vernon Frame, who had become Chairman of
the Building Committee the previous March.
Organizational and interpersonal growing
pains accompany the development of many churches and ours was no
exception. On May 18, 1957 the Elders
met to deal with matters of the church's internal life, specifically to
"discuss complaints, and ways to improve the Spiritual Life of the Church
and to find ways of solving any problem any Elder might bring up,"
according to the meeting's agenda. Also
discussed was the situation that "Many are willing to accept a job but few
carry through on the responsibility."
The Elders decided it would be helpful to see that all who accept a job
are fully aware of the duties and expectations involved.
The Elders also discussed some "flaws
and weaknesses" in the Constitution and Bylaws that were voted on at the
April Board meeting, and they suggested that changes be made before it was
presented to the congregation. At its
April meeting the Board had approved by a single vote a proposed constitution
to be recommended to the congregation.
Apparently some desired to continue discussing the Constitution during
the May 14 Board meeting. That meeting
seems to have been so confused and unhelpful that at a special called Board
meeting on May 28, the board voted that all minutes of the May 14 meeting be
officially stricken from the record.
At the Elders meeting called four days
following the May 14th Board meeting, the first item the Elders discussed was
"how to accomplish more business in a business-like manner at board meetings." It emphasized a pressing need for someone
versed in Robert's Rules of Order to be present and that all board members
should be familiar with them. This
procedural change seems to have been helpful.
In April of 1959, with no recorded discussion, the second proposed
Constitution was accepted for referral to the congregation.
The January 23, 1958 Oklahoma City Times reported the building "resembles many of
the expensive homes in the area, and will serve the section north of SE 15 east
and west of Midwest Blvd."
In February of 1958, less than two months
after moving into our new building, the church began having two Sunday morning
services. The church invited Rev Truce
Lewellyn, minister of University Place Christian Church in Oklahoma City to
hold a week-long evangelistic series March 23-28, 1958. Each evening began with a fifteen-minute song
service and Mrs Mary Hattendorf was organist.
The earliest church newsletter we still
have, dated October 30, 1958, reported that the Chi Rho (Junior High School)
Fellowship had elected Nancy Eaton, president; Carol Elkins, vice-president;
and Lois Collins, secretary. The first
youth Sunday was February 1, 1959. The
same newsletter included a request that everyone pay their building fund pledge,
as $1,829.75 was due on the note at the bank by December 1st. The church had launched a building fund
campaign to retire the indebtedness with a goal of $23,400 to be received over
two years. The State Missionary Society
made another donation to the church in September of 1958.
At the September 1958 Board meeting a
motion was passed "that announcements in the Sunday church services be
omitted when possible."
The next month Rev Van Cleave gave a
summary report on his ministry. Two
figures from it reflect the youthfulness of the community. In his first 23 months he conducted nine
weddings and but one funeral.
The church also placed a strong emphasis
on mission work. For six consecutive
Sunday evenings in the late fall of 1958, the church conducted a "School
of Missions" to help members understand the connection between "the
work of the Christian Church in other parts of the world as well as in Midwest
City." Mr Vernon Frame was the
school's director. Marion Reynolds,
Jocelyn Burnett, and others assisted him.
The attendance averaged 94.
On January 1, 1960, the resident members
numbered 272 with the Church School enrollment of 250. More room was needed and Mr Frame was again
selected to chair the building committee.
Mr Hugh Mullins presented the plan to the congregation. Because of the slope of the property, the
congregation decided to deviate from the original 1957 plan to go further east
and built instead on a north/south direction.
The second unit was dedicated October 15,
1961. This unit was to the east of the
first unit and was the new sanctuary, complete with our first baptistry. In later years this area became classrooms
and a choir room.
The Board voted in March 1960 to adopt an
extensive set of nursery rules and regulations, demonstrating its commitment to
the care and safety of infants and toddlers.
The nursery was to be staffed for all three Sunday services and
fellowship dinners, choir, and Board meetings.
Our Child Protection Policy is the latest demonstration of our church
family's continuing concern for the care and safety of infants, children, and
youth. The Board also voted to add a
paid nursery attendant.
A new parsonage was obtained on July 23,
1962, when Major Fran F Bear (not a member of the congregation) donated his
equity, rug, drapes, etc. at this home on 3012 Edgewood Drive, to the
church. In 1970 it was sold and the
minister now purchases his own home.
In the spring of 1963, the church led the
state of Oklahoma for additions when there were 112 added to the rolls of the
church as a result of an evangelism campaign led by Rev Bayne Driscoll of
Dallas, Texas.
After just over eight years as our pastor,
Rev Harold Van Cleave resigned, effective January 1, 1965, to accept a call
from the Sheridan Avenue Christian Church in Tulsa. Rev George O Bell, now retired, accepted the
responsibility of interim pastor.
Rev Arturo C Andrade, minister at First
Christian Church in Holdenville, accepted our call and came to Midwest
Boulevard on March 15, 1965. On January
15, 1967 Charles Hattendorf was hired as Youth Director. Mr Hattendorf later became the Administrator
of Oklahoma Christian Retirement Community in Edmond in 1974 and was ordained
to the Christian ministry in 1985. Charles
was succeeded by Eddie Correia, Jr as full-time Youth Director and Janitor for
the summer of 1968.
By 1965, Midwest City had a population of
over 50,000 and was the fourth largest city in the state. The resident membership of the church, which
was 11 years old, was 380. There was a
need for more room and a new sanctuary was planned. In early 1967, Jack Matherly and Aubrey Ned
were selected as co-chairmen of the building committee for the sanctuary.
The congregation went back to the original
plan for its placement but, deviating from that 1956 architect’s conception,
the Colonial style sanctuary would be connected to the existing building with
enclosed hallways covered by a flat roof.
An atrium garden and additional restrooms were also incorporated into
this design. Mrs Dorothy & Neil
McElroy were instrumental in the landscaping of the garden. Later Dorothy Hillmer saw to its tending.
Despite some conflict that resulted in
several families withdrawing from the congregation, the special building fund
campaign was very successful. Ground was
broken in 1968 and the $150,000 sanctuary was dedicated on May 11, 1969.
Rev Andrade moved to a new church at the
end of May 1970, and George O Bell again became the interim minister until Rev
Floyd Diehm was called to lead our church ministry in July 1970. Under the leadership of Dr Diehm, membership
grew rapidly. Continued growth dictated
a need for additional staff. Rev Carl
Gebhardt was called as Associate Minister in July 1972. He took a church call in Frederick, Oklahoma,
in February 1974. By June 1974, Rev
Johnny Loughridge was called as Associate Minister and Director of Youth
Activities.
In the fall of 1971, Mr and Mrs Harry Atha
and Mr and Mrs Clyde Edmundson were led to ask the Elders to sponsor an
outreach ministry. Christmas for Others
was born and has continued annually since.
In 1994, Del City Christian Church and First Christian Church of Midwest
City joined us in this ministry. First
Christian continues to share this ministry to the community and other
congregations have been added to the program volunteers. It is our largest community outreach ministry
and by 2003 had helped over 1,500 families with approximately eighty pounds of
food, new shoes for each child, good used clothing, and a gift for each child
and each caregiver.
We had a need for more classrooms, new
kitchen, fellowship hall and an area for special activities. In 1973, Jack Matherly was selected to again
chair a building committee for the Activities Center. The building was started at the end of
January 1974, and completed and dedicated in September of the same year at a
cost of approximately $175,000.
Membership was just over 400.
During Dr. Diehm's pastorate we had many
seminars and special interest groups.
During the week of June 7-11, 1976 we hosted more than 250 ministers of
the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) at the Midwest Evangelism Seminar.
Included among the speakers were
nationally known pastor, Dr. Lloyd Ogilvie and Dr. Fred Craddock, Professor of
New Testament and Preaching at Phillips Theological Seminary and a co-planner
of the Seminar. As he announced several
months earlier, immediately following the Seminar, Dr Diehm moved to Alhambra,
California, to pastor the largest Disciples of Christ church in that
state. In July Rev Loughridge took a
call from a church in Sand Springs, Oklahoma.
Dr J Clyde Wheeler was called to serve as interim minister.
In November of 1976, Rev Jim Carpenter became
senior pastor. Rev Alan Gatewood was
called as associate minister in September of 1977. Dr Carpenter, during his ten-year tenure,
brought new social and community awareness to the congregation, and the church
gained maturity under his guidance. In
September of 1986 he answered a call to Noblesville, Indiana. Rev Gatewood went to University Place
Christian Church in Oklahoma City in 1982 and James R "Woody" Wilson
became our associate minister. He served
until 1985 when he and his wife, Jayanthi, left to receive training as
missionaries. They continue to serve in
Maseru, Lesotho, Africa. Rev Wilson was
instrumental in helping the Mid-Del Food Pantry get started in our Activities
Center in 1984.
Penny Ross-Corona served as Associate
Minister for one year, then Paul Ragel became Associate Minister in 1986 and
served until 1989. Also during Dr
Carpenter's tenure our church was served by a Summer Ministry Intern from Yale
Divinity School named Serene Jones. Her
father, Dr Joe R Jones, was Dean of Phillips Theological Seminary. Serene became Assistant Professor of Theology
at Yale Divinity School.
In 1983 the
former sanctuary was partitioned to make the education wing, offices were
re-modeled and the nursery was remodeled.
The first Activities Center store-room was converted into a
kitchen. The choir loft in the present
sanctuary was modified so the choir faces the congregation. The Communion Table was brought forward from
the baptistery wall.
Late in Dr Carpenter's tenure the issue of
having women serve as elders and deacons was addressed. In September of 1985 after much discussion
and prayer the congregation amended the church’s constitution to allow women to
hold the church offices of deacon and elder.
The vote by secret ballot was 185 for and 80 against, with 177 needed
for approval. Many, not willing to
accept the idea withdrew their memberships, as will happen during a church
conflict. Approximately sixty families
left the church and the resulting drop in offerings resulted in necessary
reductions in spending. One year later,
Dr Carpenter answered a call to Noblesville, Indiana.
Average weekly worship attendance sharply
declined during 1985, the year of conflict over women’s roles in the
church. This general trend continued
during the two relatively short ministries that followed. Participating membership then stabilized at
approximately 270.
Dr J Clyde Wheeler was selected as interim
minister in 1986.
In 1987 Rev Kenneth Forshee became our
Senior Minister. In January of 1989 he
also encouraged the church to begin the process of making a long-range plan for
its life and ministry, which was done.
However, later that same year before that plan was completed and
presented to the congregation for approval and implementation, he took another
pastorate in Texas. The long range plan
was submitted to the church Board in April of 1990.
Charles Wilson served for six months as
our interim minister until Rev John R Johnson became our Senior Minister in
December of 1990. E Kim Engleking served
as Youth/Associate Minister from 1991-1993.
Rev Johnson left in 1992, after two and a half years, to take a
pastorate in Missouri. During his tenure
he endeavored to make us more aware of the traditions of the larger church. Rev
Robert Griffin was the interim minister until May of 1993 when Rev Charles
Ragland was called, having served for five years as Associate Pastor of First
Christian Church, Guthrie.
We had several youth ministers: Kate Kerlin in 1994, Chris Turner in 1995-6,
Sonya Irwin in 1998 and Cindy Terrill in 1999.
Rev Laurel Ragland became Youth Minister in 2000 and developed a very
successful program.
During the last decade of the twentieth
century the congregation launched a successful "Building for
Tomorrow" drive to improve the building and make it more accommodating for
the physically handicapped.
In 1997 Ford Audio was hired to improve
the sanctuary sound system with a professional amplifier, wired-in and wireless
microphones, and an assisted listening system for the hearing impaired. A trained sound operator would be on duty
during the service.
Don Hager built and installed the desk
that houses the professional sound operator's console and the recording and
playback equipment. The open floor space
created was made into an area for wheelchairs.
In 1998 Audio Video Designs completed the
sound system improvements with new speakers, choir microphones, and related
equipment.
Tom Webb oversaw the sound reinforcement
project, the purchase of additional wireless microphones, the amplification of
the piano for the choir's benefit; and he recruited and trained the sound
operators.
For the gym, Don Hager built wheeled
speaker cabinets that also contain the sound equipment used there.
Also in 1997, and at the same time as the
sound system was being improved, the church made restrooms accessible for
individuals in wheel chairs. Every area
of the main building was already accessible by one in a wheelchair, save chancel,
baptistery, and the restrooms. The
Activities Center restrooms were originally built as wheelchair
accessible. The men's and women's
restrooms that were nearest the sanctuary were re-plumbed and were combined and
tiled to create one spacious women's restroom.
The stalls sink stand, and framed mirror were designed and built by Jim
Simmons. The men began using both
restrooms nearest the office and a handicapped-accessible door was installed.
In March of 1999 Rev Ragland encouraged us
to have a Mission Identification Retreat chaired by Dr Coy Parsley, Deputy
Regional Pastor of the Christian Churches in Oklahoma. He helped us determine our core values and
write a mission statement. We also
decided on specific areas of ministry the church would make priorities for the
near future. Ministry Action Plans were
also drawn up and delivered to the departments and committees for
implementation.
Two other Mission Action Planning Days
were conducted in 2001 and 2004, led by Mrs Alex Moore. One of the outstanding results of our new
clarity of vision was the launch of the LOGOS Ministry in January of 2000, an
after school Vacation Bible School type program of a family-style meal, Bible
study, worship skills training, and recreation, which involves the whole church
family in the Christian education of our youth and children.
In August of 2000 we were made aware that
the medical group in the building south of the church was interested in
purchasing our property. At a special
congregational meeting that month, the church voted not to move from our
present central location but to put new energy into mission right here at 320
North Midwest Boulevard.
A result of this decision was a capital
improvement project. In May of 2000 we
had paid off all our church's indebtedness and we determined to proceed with
future capital improvements as we had cash or pledges on hand. In 2003 the original heating units in the gym
were declared unsafe and they were replaced with heating and air-conditioning units,
which allows events to be held in comfort there year-round. The choir loft received its own
air-conditioning unit. A lawn watering
system was installed. The final project
of building extra storage space for the Activities Center was completed in March
of 2004.
In July the congregation accepted a
proposal to re-roof the buildings due to extensive leaks in its flat
areas. This project was initiated by the
Property Department from a plan adopted at the 2004 Ministry Action Planning
Day. By August it was completed under
the watchful eyes of the Property Department with Bill Moss as chairman. Eventually costing $59,000, it was the most
expensive single improvement project undertaken since the remodeling of 1983.
The Activities Center, built in 1974, has
been crucial to many of our outreach ministries. The primary aim in building it was to serve
as a place for fellowship for teens and adults, and it has served many other
ways. The Mid-Del Food Pantry was housed
there temporarily in its first year, 1984.
By March of 2004 over twenty Habitat for Humanity groups had stayed
there while working on building projects in our area. The Red Cross knows it is available in times
of emergency. Following the disastrous
F-5 tornado of May 3, 1999 church members assisted by other Disciples from
across the city and state organized and turned the Activities Center into a
center for the distribution of tornado relief items. In a three-week period, tons of food, clothing,
furniture, toys, and other needed supplies--literally four semi-truckloads from
four different states-- were distributed to over 200 families. Our major outreach effort, Christmas for
Others, is housed in the Activities Center.
For one week in December it is filled with groceries, clothes and
household supplies which are given to needy families.
In 1999 and again in 2000, the Activities
Center was home to the Tinker Area YMCA’s youth summer camp. Their building had been heavily damaged by
the tornado.
By March 2004, 23 Habitat for Humanity
groups had stayed in our Activities Center while working on building projects
in our area.
Our major outreach effort, Christmas for
Others, is housed in the Activities Center.
For one week in December it is filled with groceries, clothes and
household supplies which bless needy families.
In 1999, we invited Boy Scout Troop 147 to
meet there. In 2003, the Girl Scouts also began meeting there, too.
Those who first saw the need and conceived
of the Activities Center could never have imagined the range of ministries, nor
the blessing, such a place has been.
And so it is that Midwest Boulevard
Christian Church, which held its first worship service on October 17, 1954,
celebrated its first fifty years of worship and ministry on October 17, 2004,
with a major celebration of this milestone.
Former pastors, Van Cleave, Andrade, Diehm and their wives were expected
to be present. Two Timothys of the church,
Dr Kenneth Diehm and Rev Charles Hattendorf also planned to attend with their
wives. Mary Hattendorf was also
expected.
As the population of the area changes, the
church is faced with new challenges to fulfill its mission to share the Gospel
with God’s world. God helping us, we
will meet these challenges to serve our Lord “with faith and prayer”. Midwest Boulevard Christian Church looks
forward to many more years of ministry as a Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) congregation in the Midwest City community.
2008 - Charles Ragland became senior
pastor in Claremore, OK and Kevin Crooks became interim, then senior pastor at
MBCC.
2010 - Richard Cox became senior
pastor at MBCC.
2013 - Gene Spillman became interim
pastor.
January 19, 2014 - The congregation
approved Rev Kathy Weaver as the new senior pastor with her first day in office
to be Feb 17, 2014.
History
compiled by Jim Simmons and Mildred Gee, Charles Ragland
Sources:
1965 Midwest Boulevard Christian Church Pictorial Directory
1954-1979
Silver Anniversary Pictorial Directory
Midwest
Boulevard Christian Church Newsletters
Midwest
Boulevard Christian Church Board Meeting Minutes
Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) Yearbooks and Directories