A Brief History of First Christian Church

The Christian Church of Wagoner, Indian Territory was organized first as a Sunday School of twenty-five members. Mrs. J.R. Thomson, a prominent church worker from Texas, was chiefly responsible for this small beginning in 1896. When the decision was made to organize a church, Mrs. Thomson wrote Rev. Homer T. Wilson, pastor of the First Christian Church of Ft. Worth, Texas, who agreed to hold a revival. By his efforts the First Christian Church of Wagoner was officially organized August 16, 1896.

For two years, services were held at the Norville Institute (a private school located at 615 East Cherokee) and in the county courthouse. By the turn of the century a permanent location at the southwest corner of Cherokee and Jefferson was purchased. This was accomplished mainly by the women's group, called "Willing Workers." They began a building fund which made possible a low interest loan from the Christian Church's Board of Church Extension out of Indianapolis, Indiana.

The congregation elected to move to a larger facility in 1920. The present location was purchased at the time from the Methodist-Episcopal Church, North. This was accomplished a few months after Mrs. Virginia Brandt Berg accepted a call to be the first lady preacher of this or any Wagoner church. Her father, Rev. Brandt, was minister of First Christian Church in Muskogee at the time while her husband, H.E. Berg was pastor at the Christian church at Pryor.

A two story addition was built in 1955, housing a fellowship hall, kitchen, and classrooms. In 1977 a new sanctuary was constructed. The church now owns three adjacent lots: one to the southeast, one to the west, and one to the north. In June 2002, construction was completed on our new Family Life Center.

Ministers of First Christian Church

D. M. Harris Early 1904 to 1906
W. W. Gresham Resigned latter 1909
R. A. Blalock By 1912 to 1913
J. A. Deatherage By 1914 to June 1, 1914
M. S. Johnson By 1916 to ?
Mrs. Virginia Brandt Berg January 10, 1920 to
February 1, 1922
Mr. H. E. Berg February 1, 1922 to May 1, 1922
Thomas F. Shaw June 1, 1922 to August 13, 1923
E. R. Hall March 3, 1924 to July 9, 1924
J. W. Robbins April 13, 1925 to November 2, 1925
Virtes Williams March 1, 1926 to August 1929
W. R. Simpson December 1931 to August 1932
Dexter Strickler February 1934 to Spring 1937
Charles McMillan October 1937 to September 3, 1939
J. E. McCoy Winter 1939-1940 to
December 1942
Harry Anderson 1942 to 1943-1944
Wallace C. Seeds November 12, 1944 to
February 3, 1949
William E. Harris September 1, 1949 to June 3, 1954
R. T. Davies August 15, 1954 to
January 19, 1957
William T. Green May 12, 1957 to August 1, 1958
Dwight Tweedy April 1, 1959 to July 26, 1962
Travis C. Pugh October 2, 1962 to August 1, 1971
James P. Beck January 1, 1972 to March 1, 1981
Jeffery T. Moore August 26, 1981 to February 1984
Stephen E. Bridwell October 14, 1984 to October 1989
Clarence "Pete" Newby March 1990 to October 1994
Jay Hoyt June 1995 to November 2000
Jon Goeringer, Interim January 1, 2001 to July 28, 2001
Carl Tinnea, Jr. July 29, 2001 to May 31, 2009
Greg Smith, Interim June 1, 2009 to March 14, 2010
Loy Hoskins March 15, 2010

Timothys:
Church members we have encouraged
during their training for the ministry

Carl Covey Ordained:  1918  -  Date of Death:  1961
Bill McClarrinon Ordained:  1959  -  Date of Death:  1986
Jack Timmons Ordained:  1966  -  Date of Death:  1990
Dan French Ordained:  1990  -  Currently Residing in
     Wagoner, OK
Todd Foreman Began Journey:  2001  -  Currently Studies
     on Hold

 

This site is © 2010 by First Christian Church (DOC), Wagoner, Oklahoma, All Rights Reserved.
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