Community Timeline

1890 - Springfield Avenue Christian Church formally organized; Rev. Hiram S. Gilliam, pastor (25 charter members).

1894 - New building dedicated at Charlotte & 31st; church name changed to "Southside Christian Church" (127 members).

1896 - Rev. W. R. Jeanette minister for two years.

1898 - Dr. Thomas Preston Haley, former minister of First Christian and leader in the Disciples of Christ, becomes minister.

1903 - Growing church sells its property, purchases lot at Linwood & Forest, meets for four years in Isaac’s Hall (31st & Holmes.)

1907- Dr. Haley resigns & names his successor, Dr. Burris Atkins Jenkins, one of the original Sunday School boys, to become senior minister.

1908 - Church name changed to "Linwood Boulevard Christian Church."

1909 - New building with Spanish Renaissance architecture dedicated.

1917 - Stated "Open Membership" policy, accepting everyone regardless of manner of baptism.

1923 - Largest church in Missouri.

1925 - Service broadcast on radio; first pre-kindergarten school in the city begins; psychiatric clinic started.

1930 - Name changed to "Community Church" ("everybody’s church").

1939 - Night of Oct. 31 - building destroyed by fire.

1942 - New building dedicated at 46th & Main, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright as "The Church of the Future."

1944 - Chapel (named after the Bonfils family whose gift made the chapel possible) added and dedicated.

1945 - Dr. Jenkins dies.

1946 - Dr. Frank Johnson Pippin becomes senior minister; church name legally changed to "Community Christian Church."

1950 - Fellowship Hall addition dedicated.

1954 - New Activities Center dedicated at 46th & Walnut.

1950's - Time of unparalleled growth in the congregation.

1965 - Week-long 75th Anniversary celebration.

1966 - Dr. Pippin resigns, with the gift of a year-long sabbatical from the congregation. Dr. Harold Glen Brown becomes senior minister; Day Care Center established.

1968 - General Assembly in Kansas City; Dr. Pippin dies.

1969 - Sanctuary remodeled.

1970 - “Last Supper” wood carving sculpture by Ludwig Kraus, Oberammergau, Germany, received as gift.

1975 - Food pantry opens; New electronic organ; senior adult program begins.

1976 - "Community of Faith" steel cross sculpture erected, designed by Rev. Wayne Selsor.

1978 - Dr. Brown accepts call to faculty position at Brite Divinity School in Ft. Worth, Texas.

1979 - Dr. R. Michael Waco becomes senior minister.

1981 - Stephen Ministry begins.

1985 - Rev. Robert Lee Hill called to be associate minister

1986 - Building campaign commences for FLW building; first phase of FLW renovation work planned & directed; Dr. Waco accepts call to Dallas church.

1987 - Rev. Robert Lee Hill becomes senior minister.

1988 - Elevator installed, making FLW building handicap accessible; church signed installed; youth mission trips begin.

1989 - Sanctuary chancel area redesigned; new Lord’s Table, pulpit, lectern, & chairs; services broadcast again on KXTR radio; Koinonia Council offers programs for those struggling with addictions.

1990 - Centennial Celebration – year-long schedule of activities; Marilyn Maye Concert.

1991 - Adult mission trips begin; final completion of renovation work throughout FLW building.

1992 - Fellowship Hall renovated, rededicated as "Centennial Hall."

1993 - First Jazz Worship Service with Tim Whitmer Consort; "Religion on the Line" radio show begins on KCMO-810 AM.

1994 - Installation and Dedication of “Steeple of Light”; Bonfils Chapel stained glass dedication.

1996 - First Jazz Community Carol Fest; "A Time to Build" Campaign for renovation of Activities Center.

1997 - C.O.L.O.R.’s (Christians Offering Love to Overcome Racism) begins; Meditation Garden dedicated; first "Blessing of the Animals" Service.

1998 - V-21 ––"Vision for the 21st Century" created; Activities Center renovation, rededication.

1999 - Front Porch Alliance involvements begin; Choir Room renovated.

2000 - “Have A Seat!” Campaign for sanctuary seating renovation; "Good Morning, Kansas City!" established with Community, Temple B’nai Jehudah, and Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity as partners.

2001 - General Assembly meets in Kansas City; Dr. Hill and congregation receive National Clergy Renewal Program grant from Lilly Endowment; Activities Center Phase II renovation begins.

2003 - First “Spirit Fest” with Fred Craddock

2004 - Community helps to found MORE2 (Metropolitan Organization for Racial and Economic Equity).

2005 - Community members host Katrina evacuees from New Orleans and help with resettlement; 115th Anniversary “Steeple of Light” Gala celebration; Stephen Ministry re-established.

2006 - Community receives 5-year grant from The Lilly Endowment for the creation of Clergy Residency Program”

Some of the sterling speakers and personalities who have graced Community throughout our history: Jane Addams, Peter Ainslie, Ron Allen, Edward Scribner Ames, Marian Anderson, Lance Armstrong, Battlefield Band, Henry Bloch, Father Leo Booth, Thomas Cahill, The Chieftans, Forrest Church, Emanuel Cleaver II, William Sloane Coffin, Bob Costas, K. David Cole, Fred Craddock, Clarence Darrow, Iris DeMent, W.E.B. DuBois, Sherwood Eddy, Dale Eldred, Fannie Flagg, Harold Fey, A. Dale Fiers, Millard Fuller, David Glass, Sue Grafton, Mike Graves, Cynthia Hale, Samuel G. Inman, Alvin O. Jackson, Toyohiko Kagawa, Gordon Kingsley, Anne Lamott, Sinclair Lewis, Vachel Lindsay, Edwin Markham, Marilyn Maye, David McCullough, Karl Menninger, Robert H. Meneilly, Charles Clayton Morrison, Holly Near, Reinhold Niebuhr, Buck O’Neil, M. Scott Peck, The Platters, Denton L. Roberts, Bob Rogers, The Scamps, Scartaglen, Lyle Shaller, Charles Sheldon, Paul Stookey, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Alva Taylor, Doc Watson, Kirk Whalum, Bailey White, Frank Lloyd Wright, Johnny Ray Youngblood, Rabbi Michael Zedek.