Our History
The charter partners of the Cordova Community Church were people dedicated to non-denominational Christianity. They desired to follow the spirit, teachings, and mission of the early days of Christianity. We have always tried to seek unity and fellowship based upon the core teachings of the Bible.
We have roots in the “Stone-Campbell Movement” or the “Restoration Movement,” a movement that encouraged greater unity among Christians through a return to the simple message of Scripture. CCC has connections to this movement, especially Churches of Christ but also independent Christian Churches. Where you come from says a lot about you, but it doesn’t say everything. We value how our heritage and associations have shaped our identity, but we are not bound by traditions or our affiliations. We want to be defined by our on-going desire to love God fully and to love our neighbors as ourselves as we seek to express the gospel in ways that embrace the challenges presented by our ever-changing culture. Like the Apostle Paul, for the sake of the Gospel, we will “become all things to all people so that by all possible means we might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22-23).
This church is non-denominational, self-governed and thus does not answer to any church governing body. We answer only to God and his Son, Jesus Christ, who is the head of the Church.
In the fall of 1997, God used Gary Ealy and John Mark Hicks to bring together a group of Christians to meet and pray about beginning the Cordova Community Church. As a result, an initial small group began to meet.
On Easter Sunday of 1998, with additional small groups and a ministry staff in place, this community “went public” and began to meet on Sunday mornings.
In October of 2014, Gary Ealy stepped aside as Lead Minister. Barry Fowler, our long time Youth Minister and Worship Leader was ordained as our new Lead Minister.
In 2018, Cordova Community Church entered into a partnership with The Cordova Family YMCA, allowing us to use the facility for Sunday morning worship and Bible classes as well many special events. We cooperate with the Y to provide services and programs to our community, providing many opportunities to build relationships. We count this partnership as a great blessing and want to continue calling the Y our “home”.
In January of 2023 we started exploring a partnership with Journey Christian Church. We now share our worship and office space at the Cordova Family YMCA. We share teaching, preaching, worship leadership and more! Two times each month we have a combined worship gathering. We do not know what God will do with this new partnership between a predominantly Black church and a predominantly White church, but we know for sure that God is up to something BIG! Racial reconciliation is Kingdom business and we are experiencing God’s Kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven!