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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 29, 2001 |
| Carl Tinnea, Jr. |
July 29, 2001 |
Timothys:
Church members we have encouraged
during their training for the ministry
| Carl Covey |
Ordained: 1918 - Date of Death: 1961
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| Bill McClarrinon |
Ordained: 1959 - Date of Death: 1986
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| Jack Timmons |
Ordained: 1966 - Date of Death: 1990 |
| Dan French |
Ordained: 1990 - Currently Serving:
Davis Street Christian Church, Ottumwa, Iowa |
| Todd Foreman |
Began Journey: 2001 - Currently:
Student at Phillips Theological Seminary, Tulsa,
Oklahoma |
This site is © 2008 by First Christian Church (DOC), Wagoner,
Oklahoma, All Rights Reserved.
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