Decatur Church of the Brethren

Who Is the Church of the Brethren?
Actually, that's a good question. We are a group of Christians meeting together – Listening to one another, Learning together and from each other, and Loving one another dearly. We believe that every person is a person of worth and that, whether we agree or disagree with that individual, he or she is worthy of being treated with the respect due a fellow human being.

That being said, the Church of the Brethren was organized in the Fall of 1708 when 8 people, including their leader Alexander Mack, were baptized in the Eder River in Schwarzenau, Germany. There were 5 men and 3 women who set aside creedal differences and accepted the New Testament as their only rule of faith and practice. This does not imply a lack of belief in the Old Testament, but that the Old must be understood in the light revealed by the New. The Old showed signs, shadows, and pictures of things to Come – namely the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

From this humble beginning and the following persecution that ensued, the Church of the Brethren spread to America. Since that time, many congregations of the Church of the Brethren have sprung up across the United States and in other parts of the World.

The Decatur Church of the Brethren officially began in 1908 and worshiped for over 100 years at the corner of Grand and Warren Streets. Then in June of 2012 – Father's Day to be exact – we moved to the Crestview Worship Center to share a building with 2 other congregations to try to be financially responsible. This opened up completely new possibilities for ministry since we are no longer wholly responsible for a building.

We meet at 9:00 AM every Sunday for worship and usually end at 10:15 – 10:20. Afterward, we have a time of fellowship with coffee, tea, etc. and possibly some refreshments brought in by one of the members. This is family time.
We know this is only a brief summary of who we are, but we hope it is enough to spark a desire within you to come and worship with us. You are welcome any time. May God richly bless you.

Pastor Steve Needham.

We Believe...
...that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life as taught in the New Testament.
...that Jesus taught us to be peacemakers, to seek peace with both God and man, friend and foe.
...that we are expected to continue the work of Jesus here on Earth by not only proclaiming the message of salvation through Jesus Christ (the Gospel), but also seeing to the needs of our fellow man.
...Christianity is a life of faith and is to be lived out daily in trying to follow the example Christ set before us.