120 West
Morrell Street ~ P O Box 227 ~ Otsego, Michigan 49078-0227
PHONE: (269) 694-6085 | FAX: (269) 694-6525 | E-MAIL:
[email protected]
First Congregational Church of Otsego was established on 8 January 1837 in Gun Plain Township, MI, where worship services were held in a log schoolhouse there until a meeting place was procured in Otsego 6 weeks later. Our church has had 38 pastors in its 166-year history and now serves roughly 300 members. First Congregational Church of Otsego has played an integral role in the Otsego community almost since the town's inception, and strives to continue to be to the local community, as well as surrounding communities, a model of the love of Christ. Members of Otsego First Congregational Church, especially Sunday School Superintendent Samuel Drury, were instrumental in founding Olivet College in 1844. Our Purpose The purpose of this Church is to bind together those persons who acknowledge Jesus Christ to be their Savior and Lord; who accept the Holy Scripture as their rule of faith and practice; who recognize the privilege and duty of uniting themselves for Christian fellowship, encouragement and love, the enjoyment of Christian worship of God and the advancement of His Kingdom in the world. Also to provide a visible, tangible presence and witness for Jesus Christ for all. Our Faith We believe in God the Father, infinite in wisdom, goodness and love and in God the Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, who for us and our salvation lived and died and rose again and lives evermore and in God the Holy Spirit who takes the things of Christ and reveals them to us renewing, comforting, and inspiring the souls of men. We are united in striving to know the will of God as taught in the Holy Scriptures and in our purpose to walk in the ways of the Lord, made known or to be made known to us. We hold it to be the mission of the Church of Christ to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind, exalting the worship of the one true God and laboring for the progress of knowledge, the promotion of justice, the reign of peace and the realization of human brotherhood. Depending, as did our fathers, upon the continued guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth, we work and pray for the transformation of the world into the Kingdom of God and we look with faith for the triumph of righteousness and the life everlasting. We believe in the freedom and responsibility of the individual and the right of private judgment under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Our Church Polity This Church acknowledges Jesus Christ as its Head. It finds in the Holy Scriptures, interpreted by the Holy Spirit through reason, faith and conscience, its guidance in matters of faith and discipline. The governing of this Church is vested in its members, who exercise the right of control in all its affairs, subject in legal matters to the Articles of Incorporation granted it by the Secretary of State of the State of Michigan. This Church is subject to the controls of no other ecclesiastical body. It recognizes and sustains the obligation of mutual council and cooperation as commonly expressed by Congregational Churches through the fellowship of the local Associations and Conferences and National Association of Congregational Christian Churches. This Church works willingly with other Christian Churches and Christian organizations in striving to extend Christ's Kingdom on earth.
THE TRANSITION TO OUR CURRENT BUILDING |
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Last
Updated: 10 July 2003
http://www.fccotsego.org
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