Our History

 

The roots of our congregation in this country can be traced back to the Second Great Awakening of the early 1800s. During that time there were many men who became disillusioned with the denominational arrangement that churches identified with. These men took it upon themselves to break away from all denominational ties and denominational identities and restore in their heart and practice the simple New Testament Church that Jesus promised to build in Matthew 16:18.

 

They decided to call their fellowships the ‘church of Christ’. They did not use this term in any denominational sense. The very last thing they wanted to do was to build another denomination, (that was the thing that they were trying to escape). They used the term church of Christ in a way that could be restated ‘the church that belongs to Christ.’ It was not a proper name as much as it was a point of identification of possession and relationship.

 

The congregation here at Tracy is determined to do the same thing. It is our purpose to go back in our hearts and in our worship to the simple New Testament practices without any additions or subtractions.

 

Our congregation here began in the late 1960s with only a few people. There was steady growth in participation over the years to the point where in the early 2000s the congregation numbered about 150 members. The 2007 mortgage crisis affected the congregation significantly, as did the Covid 19 scare of 2020. Many congregations in California suffered greatly from these two events and Tracy was no exception.

 

While we are not nearly as large as we once were, Christ is still with us. He has blessed us significantly in so many different ways. We are deeply grateful for his love for us.

 

We invite you to come worship with us at any time, we would love to meet you.