Our Beliefs

Like many Disciples churches, we hold this in common.

Following Peter’s confession (Matthew 16:16), we believe that Christians are ones who proclaim that “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God.”

We partake in the Lord’s Supper each week and practice baptism by immersion for believers (see Worship tab for additional information). 

We practice the “priesthood of all believers” and believe that all Christians are called to ministry in their own way, and are empowered to serve in the administration of the church and in worship.

We study scripture for ourselves and have a freedom of belief. We take the Bible seriously. We study it with care, thoughtfulness, and take into account the Bible’s history, background, and context. We have no tests of faith, and our views and theologies vary: as the saying goes, “if you have two Disciples, you’ll get three opinions.” We will not tell you what to believe.. In this church, we are on the journey of faith together.

We believe in Christian unity: that the church, despite its present divisions, is still fundamentally one. As early Disciples used to say, “We are Christians only, not the only Christians.”

Our Vision

Jesus created communities of purpose to pursue love and justice. Our vision is to build Christian community in El Reno for the world. We make this vision real through our three mission priorities:

• Building Disciples (Matthew 28:10; Acts 8:26-40). We welcome new members to the family of faith. Because following Jesus is a life long endeavor, we know we will need each other. As a community, we want to become stronger disciples of Jesus Christ, better equipped to love God and neighbor with our whole selves; our thoughts, deeds, and words.

• Building Relationships (1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ruth 1:6-8). We emphasize strong relationships across generations, life experiences, and individual identities. We care deeply about one another. It may be a cliche, but it’s true: we love one another like family.

• Building Compassion (Luke 10:25-37; Micah 6:8). We try to be a church that makes a real difference in the lives of others. We help one another and are changed when we serve. We “love mercy” and also want to “do justice,” so we work to change systems of oppression that prevent individuals and communities from experiencing wholeness of life.

Our Mission

For over 50 years, we have tried to be a “servant church” by expressing Christ’s love through real acts of love for our neighbors.

Some of this we do “in-house”, like Lunch Bunch, where High School students can come every Thursday for a hot meal. Much of this we do with our community partners, like Blessing Baskets and Mobile Meals (both organizations had founding members who were also FCC El Reno members!) because of how much more we can do together in community.

Some (but not all) of our favorite El Reno organizations include Blessing Baskets, Mobile Meals, The Lord’s Harvest, and the Ministerial Alliance.

We support our sibling congregation, Refuge Fellowship, an Oklahoma City Disciples church that primarily serves and is populated by individuals who are house-less or under-housed.

As a covenantal member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), we support Global Ministries, sending mission co-workers around the world to expand Christ’s love. As a congregation, we have a multi-year relationship with the community of St. Mary, Jamaica, through American-Caribbean Experience (ACE), a “Christ-based outreach ministry dedicated to community transformation.” We have participated with ACE since 2014.