Mission Statement
To reach the unchurched in the Orcutt area
Mt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8
To mature into the image of Christ
Eph. 4:12-14
To serve our community so God is given the glory
Mt. 5:16
To spread the gospel beyond our community
Mt. 28:18-20
A Brief History of the Orcutt Christian Church
Our Roots
The North American Christian Convention states that in the 1998 Directory of the Ministry, “there were 5,488 churches in the U.S. with a membership of 1,142,539. Worldwide there are some 20,000 congregations of the independent Christian Churches / churches of Christ with a total of nearly 3 million individual members. The numbers and sizes of congregations vary geographically and they exist in every state of the union and in 109 other countries.
Our roots take us back to the Reformation spirit of the European Renaissance of the 14th and 15th centuries. Early leaders such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and William Tyndale lamented the fact that the established church had become burdened with tradition and hindered by hierarchy and abuses of power. They sought to reform the church and bring it closer to Christ’s intention.
The modern form of the American churches of Christ traces back to the Restoration Movement of the early 1800’s. Influential leaders at that time were Barton W. Stone of Kentucky and Alexander Campbell of Pennsylvania. Convicted by Christ’s prayer for unity in John 17:20-23, these individuals returned to the Scriptures to see what the church was in its beginning and moved to “restore” the essence of the early church in modern times. We are Believers ... in Unity ... Living under the Authority of The Bible.
Since God has vested all authority in Christ (Matthew 18:18), and since Christ serves as God’s representative today (Hebrews 1:1,2), it is our conviction that only Christ has the authority to say what the church is and what the church should teach. Because the New Testament sets forth Jesus’ instructions to His disciples and the apostles’ instructions to His church, it serves as the basis for our religious teaching and practice. The Old Testament should be a part of every Christian’s life. It sets forth many examples of who God is and how He relates to humanity, and it looks forward to the coming Savior. Nevertheless, it is the New Testament which gives instruction for living under the covenant of grace brought by Christ.
Our History
The Orcutt Christian Church congregation was established in November of 1958 or 1959 on a former chinchilla ranch to serve the southern Santa Maria community area. Robert Stockberger was the organizing minister. On August 7, 1962 the congregation went through the process of becoming a State of California 501.c.3 incorporation. The former chinchilla farm was reconstructed into our present Sanctuary. What had been the ranch house became the Parsonage,. Later a fellowship hall and office were constructed as an add-on to the parsonage. Then the parsonage became our kitchen and nursery.
The Orcutt Christian Church family has grown and shrunk and grown as the military situation ebbed and flowed, and the local economy changed. The congregation presently runs around 50+ worshippers per Lord’s Day.
Ministers of The Orcutt Christian Church
The following pastors have ministered to our congregation of believers:
Robert Stockberger 9/1959 - 5/1963
W.R. McDowell 8/1963 - 7/1964
Roland Bond 8/1964 - 4/1968
Richard Bloodworth 7/1968 - 10/1970
Herbert George Horton, Jr. 1/1971 - 10/1974
Kevin Don Levellee 8/1975 - 5/1977
Wayne McKellips 9/1978 - 7/1979
Rodger Elliott 8/1979 - 10/1981
James VanWormer 4/1982 - 1/1984
Charles Fairbrother 5/1984 - 6/1997
Archie Miller 6/1997 - Present
The congregation is shepherded by a team of Elders; and the minister is just one of that team.
