Who We Are

 

MCN is simply a bunch of regular people who have messed up, blown it, failed, and missed the mark more times than we’d like to admit. But by the grace of Jesus Christ we’ve found forgiveness, meaning, and purpose for our lives. Because of this, our vision is to dedicate ourselves to Him and to passionately share our collective story with as many people as we can.

So that’s who we are, and we promise that our volunteers, the church staff, and all of us will do everything we can to help you on your journey of faith here at MCN.

---Our Core Beliefs

 
 We Are a Christian People
As members of the Church universal, we join with all true believers in proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ and in embracing the historic Trinitarian creedal statements of Christian faith. We value our Wesleyan-Holiness heritage and believe it to be a way of understanding the faith that is true to Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience. Read More.
 
  We Are a Holiness People
The God, who is holy, calls us to a life of holiness. We believe that the Holy Spirit seeks to do in us a second work of grace called by various terms including “entire sanctification” and “baptism with the Holy Spirit”-cleansing us from all sin, renewing us in the image of God, empowering us to love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves, and producing in us the character of Christ. Holiness in the life of believers is most clearly understood as Christ-likeness. Read More.
 
 We Are a Missional People
We are a sent people, responding to the call of Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to go into all the world, witnessing to the Lordship of Christ and participating with God in the building of the Church and the extension of His kingdom. Our mission: begins in worship, ministers to the world in evangelism and compassion, encourages believers toward Christian maturity through discipleship, and prepares men and women for Christian service through Christian higher education. Read More.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
---Our Leadership Team
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Left-to-right:  Jesse Campbell (Family & Worship Pastor), Jay Bessmer (Lead Pastor), Linda Johnson (Kingdom Kids Pastor),
Marc Frink (Senior Adult Pastor), Mark Thompson (Connections Pastor)
 

---Our Story 

Our local fellowship was organized with 13 charter members August 23, 1936.  The first meeting place was located at 708 Moro Street with Reverend Vernon Shetler as the first pastor.  It was a one room building in which all Sunday School classes and services were held. There were no conveniences except electricity .  A few years later the church board saw the need for adequate Sunday School rooms and voted to raise the church building and add a basement for Sunday School rooms as well as a furnace and a bathroom. This project was entitled “The Little Engine That Could.”

By 1960 the church had outgrown the building, so the District Superintendent, church board, and congregation voted to purchase a building at the corner of 10th and Fremont.  This location served the church well for more than 30 years. 

In 1978, the church purchased four acres of ground at the Intersection of Kimball Ave and Seth Child Blvd to build on in the future. 

In 1978, the church purchased four acres of ground at Kimball Ave and Seth Childs Blvd to build on in the future.

Pastor Ron Scarlett (1977-1980) recalled,

“During our ministry there you purchased the land where you now worship. That was such a miracle. First Christian church owned the property.  It was given to them for the purpose of building a church so they had to sell the property to a church. We had an inside track because Berris Gregg, who attended our church, was the secretary at their church. When Berris came to me and told me about the property, we called a church board meeting and the board voted to buy the property if we could raise the down payment in 30 days. The first Sunday after the board met we shared the vision with the church family. That Sunday morning with what we had already saved and the money that came in, we had $1,500.  We had a great start. That Sunday evening Mrs. S______, whose husband owned the auto parts store in town, came up to me and handed me an envelope and said, ‘My husband ask me to give this to you.’ I had visited with him at their home and had shared with them that we needed to relocate. He only came to church Christmas and  Easter. I opened the envelope before the service, I knew there just had to be a check, and sure enough there was a check for $2,000. The first Sunday we went over our goal. We knew that it was God’s will for us to purchase the property. Berris had said that we really needed to know before thirty days because there were several churches that wanted to purchase the property. Well God also knew that! “

A ground breaking service was held at the new church site, our current location, on September 9, 1990, and construction began in November. The church was completed in June of 1991 and a dedication service was held in October, 1991. The new building was paid off in 2003 several years ahead of schedule.

In November 2007 we added a Children & Family Pastor to help meet the needs in that area.  In June of 2009 we added a Youth Pastor to specifically minister to our teens. As a church, we have appreciated all our district superintendents and pastors these 80 years.  We also deeply appreciate our college students and military personnel, both present and past.

As the years rolled by, God worked with our lay folk as they prayed and believed and today many past congregational members are serving God across America and in foreign lands that came through the doors of our church.

May God bless the memory of our friends and loved ones who have gone to their eternal rest.  They have made the landing sure.  Only time and eternity will reveal the many who have found hope and rest in God’s saving grace these 80 years.