About us

Our Mission

To be and to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, witnessing, loving and serving from our doorsteps “to the ends of the earth.” – Acts 1:8

History of the movement

A movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. As part of the one body of Christ, we welcome all to the table as Christ has welcomed us.

Two groups of frontier Christians came together in 1832 to form the foundation of today's Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). They shared the view that people should not be excluded from fellowship in the church because they didn't adhere to a particular human-made creed. They used to say there is "no creed but Christ."

Today's Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) still thinks that way. We study the Bible to deepen our connection to God through Jesus Christ and to discover what God wants us to do.

Disciples congregations emphasize communion and baptism by immersion, but we accept into membership persons baptized by other means and recognize their existing baptism as valid. We celebrate communion, or the Lord's Supper, each time we get together. Our communion is open to all believers.

To be a faithful, growing church, that demonstrates true community, deep Christian spirituality and a passion for justice. – Micah 6:8

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History of the Ashland Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

In the mid-1880s a group of seven people felt called to build a Disciples of Christ Church in Ashland. The seven people who stepped out in faith were Dr. and Mrs. Callom Bohannan Jones, Mrs. Indiana W. Carpenter, Miss Josephine T. Wingfield, Mrs. Nannie Cross Delarue, Miss Sallie C. Tinsley and Mr. James W. Taylor. The church grew from the original seven to 18 or 20 by November 11, 1887.
In January 1887, the general superintendent of the Richmond Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad wrote to one group of seven persons who were anxious to establish a Disciples Church in Ashland that “the company will give the Disciples Church at Ashland half an acre of ground provided they will build within a reasonable time a proper church building thereupon.”
Thus the Ashland Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) had its beginnings. With help from neighboring Independence Christian Church, the Virginia Christian Missionary Society, the Tidewater Association and other churches of the denomination, to which an appeal for funds was sent out, the “proper church building” was erected and was dedicated in August 1890.
In August of 1925, the church decided to remodel and add additional Sunday school rooms. The little wooden structure was covered with stucco, and a vestibule and a steeple were added at the front. Eleven stained glass windows, arched on the outside of the building, were installed. These windows still grace the present church.
Once again, in 1957, the members of Ashland Christian Church moved forward in faith. The church dedicated the new education building on June 2, 1957. “The cinder block structure, attached to the back of the church, where the old Sunday school rooms had been, contains the present Fellowship Hall, kitchen, three classrooms, the minister’s study and the secretary’s office and two rest rooms.”
It became apparent that the church would have to be replaced. In faith the congregation voted on May 11, 1980, to build a new sanctuary on the present site. (301 South James St.) Dr. Jones, the interim minister, preached the sermon on Sunday, July 21, 1985, at the last service in the old church before it was torn down. “This was an emotional service, half sad, half glad, a time of transition for the little church that had harbored the faith and love of the members of the congregation and their ancestors for 95 years, a move toward a new and expanded era.”
It has been by faith that Ashland Christian Church has reached out into the community. Ashland Christian Church, along with other area churches, started “Meals and Wheels” and the “Ashland Christian Emergency Services” (ACES). Kiddie Kingdom was started at Ashland Christian Church.
It was by faith the congregation voted to add new Sunday school rooms and a gym. On May 5, 2002, the church broke ground. By faith Ashland Christian Church continues to do the work God calls us to do in the community.

Quotes taken from Ashland Christian Church, The First Hundred Years by Louisa D. Duls Above text by Kathy Reinger, Sarah Wright and Sandra Lynne. From: Ashland, Virginia, 150 Years, 1858-2008, Ashland Sesquicentennial Committee, 2009, p. 22-23.

Our vision and what we practice...

We practice unity and inclusion at the Lord’s Table for the sake of mission and for the sake of the world as the one family of God. Most congregations do this by celebrating communion every Sunday. That’s why we use a chalice as our logo.
We baptize by Immersion – that a person makes the choice to follow God’s call rather than the choice being made for them as an infant. Baptism is the basis of membership in the Church and also a mark that every person is called to serve God – the idea of the “priesthood of all believers.”
We honor our heritage as a movement for Christian unity by cooperating and partnering with other faith communities to work for bringing about wholeness – healing and justice – in the world. This is what it means to be “ecumenical.” One example is our cooperative work with the United Church of Christ in Global Ministries for the past 25 years and our newer effort to share staff in the area of family ministries.
We study and read scripture for ourselves. Rather than having tests of faith and creedal statements, we critically and thoughtfully study scripture, taking into account the history and background – the context – in which it was written.
We honor the heritage of Christian unity by staying together in covenant as a witness to the world that even when we disagree we can still make room, welcoming all to the table as Christ has welcomed us. Our spiritual ancestors were fond of saying, “unity, not uniformity.”
We move to answer God’s call for justice particularly in the areas of care for the earth, the challenges for women and children, poverty and hunger and immigration. We seek to do this work in cooperation with other people of faith. Some say we “get dirty for Jesus” as a way of conveying the hands-on mission orientation of many of our faith communities.