A Bit About Us          

Our Mission and Vision
Our mission is to Worship God, to Seek God's will, to Learn about and Live by God's Word, and to Proclaim that Word to others, sharing the good news.

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Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. As part of the one body of Christ, we welcome all to the Lord’s Table as God has welcomed us.
                                                                        ~ Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) identity statement

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History of Pittsboro Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

In the fall of 1853, a crowd gathered in a grove of trees just south of the original town of Pittsboro, on what is now South Maple Street. The occasion was a visit from the popular circuit riding preacher, Thomas Lockhart, whose words on that occasion are said to have been the inspiration for the beginning of Pittsboro Christian Church. The church was officially formed in February of 1854, and by the fall of that year they had built their first church building on South Maple Street.

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By the 1870’s, the congregation had outgrown its building. In 1873, property was purchased and a new church built on North Maple Street where our present building stands. That 1873 building was enlarged and remodeled in 1899 and again in 1924.  Through the years, additional land was purchased, enabling the addition of an education building and parking lot in 1964. In 1979, the old building was demolished and a new sanctuary was attached to the education building.

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In the early years and into the 20th century a traveling minister was here once or twice a month, with communion services often held on the other Sundays. Sunday School was always popular. The Christian Church was said to be the first of the town’s churches to offer Sunday School, and attendance was high, sometimes surpassing church attendance, for many years. In 1928 the Indianapolis News printed a picture of 315 people standing in front of the church, with the headline, “More Than Half the Total Population of Pittsboro Attends Sunday School at the Christian Church”.

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Revival meetings were also popular during our first one-hundred plus years, and often drew large crowds. Mrs. Nelle Dillon Weaver wrote of her experience, “I was baptized into the membership of the Pittsboro Christian Church on January 4, 1891, during a revival meeting held by the Reverend T. H. Kuhn. It was a bitterly cold day, and the ice in White Lick Creek east of Pittsboro had to be broken before the services [baptisms] could be held.”

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Our commitment to outreach, both locally and globally, has always been important to us, and we have demonstrated this in many ways throughout the years. Our food pantry, now called Shepherd’s Shelves, began in the 1980’s, offering food to local families and travelers in times of crisis. In recent years it has grown into a true community project. With the help of our volunteers, church and community donations, and Gleaners Food Bank, we serve approximately fifty families on first and third Saturday of each month.

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Our founding statement, written in 1854, proclaims us to be the “Church of God in Christ in Pittsboro, taking the Bible as our rule of faith and practice”.  Through 165 years we have continued to explore what that means in our changing world.  Our story is the story of a family…loving and working together, overcoming challenges, often moving forward on faith, striving to spread God’s love to each other and to all of God’s children.  We value our heritage as we look toward our future.  We welcome you to join us on our journey.

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Partner / Affiliate Links
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Indiana
Christian Theological Seminary (CTS)
Camps and Conferences of the Christian Church in Indiana