Christ’s Church at Tiffin began when a small group of people wanted to see an independent Church of Christ/Christian Church in the community. After having some preliminary meetings and Bible studies the decision was made to start a new church – with the first official service on September 28, 1980.
The church purchased its current land in 1982 and moved into its first building in 1985; prior to that they were meeting at Krout Elementary School. In 1990 the fellowship hall was added and the annex and office building were added at a later date.
In its 30 year history Christ’s Church has grown from the initial 2–5 families to now having a weekly attendance of 275–300 in its two Sunday morning worship services. Our desire now, just as it was when the church began, is to reach as many people as possible and to have a significant impact inTiffin and the surrounding communities.
Ib. Affiliation
Christ’s Church at Tiffin is an independent, non-denominational, self-governing Christian church affiliated with the Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. We are a loose fellowship of churches that trace their heritage to the Restoration Movement of the early 1800’s and consisting of more than 6000 churches around the world.
The Christian Churches and Churches of Christ began when a group of people wanted to see the church return to its original, New Testament inspired beliefs and practices. To this day our goal is to model and proclaim the gospel and to build our church on the teachings of the Bible. (One of the church’s position papers will clarify the history and affiliation of Christ’s Church in more detail. Please let us know if you’d like a copy.)
II. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Christ’s Church is an independent, self-governing congregation with elders, staff members, and church members that make up the primary organizational structure.
IIa. Elders
The congregationally approved elders serve as the primary caretakers and shepherds of the church. Their responsibility is to provide general oversight to the church and to protect the church from those sources, whether internally or externally, that would keep us from fulfilling our mission as a church.
Our current elders are: Doug Miller and Jim Steinmetz (Chairman).
IIb. Staff
Along with the elders, the church employs staff members who work with the elders to oversee the various programming and ministry activities that take place on a day-to-day basis.
The final link in the chain of church organization is the congregation as a whole (consisting of those people who have been immersed into Christ and have formally placed their membership with the church).
The congregation plays an important role when it comes to participating in, leading and supporting the various ministries within the church. They also approve the elders and the church budget at the annual meeting that takes place in November.
