What To Expect
Worship services are casual at LCC. Many people wear jeans, dress "business casual" or Sunday's best because it doesn't really matter as long as you are worshiping God. The pastor teaches a bible-based message with practical application to help you live out your faith during the week. All services we celebrate communion, but there’s no pressure to participate if you don’t want to because it's your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Services are usually a little over an hour, and then you’re welcome to hang out and talk with people afterwards.
If you have children under the age of 5, we have a team of loving volunteers in our nursery area. For children 5 years old through 5th grade, we have Children’s Church - a fun, up-beat service that includes music, games and a bible lesson taught at their level. We encourage middle school and high school students, to join their parents in adult service.
Our Beliefs
Bible We believe the Bible, consisting of 66 books, to be the inspired Word of God, without error, the revelation of His will for the salvation of men, and the divine and final authority for all Christian faith and life.
God We believe in one God existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God has always been and will always be the only God. There were none before Him and shall be none after him.
The Father We believe that the Father created all things in heaven and on earth. He created human beings out of a love for us and desires a personal relationship with each of us.
Jesus We believe that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life and died on the cross as the sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. Furthermore, He arose bodily from the dead and ascended into heaven.
Holy Spirit We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to convict men, making them aware of their sin and the salvation available through Jesus. He regenerates, guides, instructs, and empowers the believer for godly living and service.
Man We believe that man was created in the image of God and sinless, but fell into sin and is therefore lost and subject to judgment. There is nothing man can do to save himself from this judgment, but he can accept the death of Jesus as punishment in place of his own eternal death by acknowledging God and accepting the free gift of salvation.
Salvation We believe that the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ provides the only way of justification and salvation for all who believe. Any who attach additional works of man as a requirement for salvation are false in that they infer Jesus’ death is insufficient in and of itself to save and that human beings somehow have the capability to save themselves.
Accepting the Sinner-Denouncing the Sin We believe that no sin is too big for God to forgive. Therefore, as Christians we should be open and eager to share the Gospel with everyone regardless of their sin or affliction. However, making Jesus Lord of our lives means striving towards holiness and turning from our sinful ways. Therefore, while being open to all sinners, Christians ought not accept, ignore, or promote any sin as permissible.
Non-Essential Elements We believe the above tenets make up the basis of Christian faith on which all Christians believe and agree. We have intentionally omitted any statements regarding areas of legitimate disagreement (i.e., baptism, predestination, end times) on which agreement is not essential for salvation.
Our Story
In 1872, the pioneers settled around what would later be the town of Leon, felt the need for a place to worship. So they called a meeting at their schoolhouse. That was the Chenoweth schoolhouse and it was located at the West end of High Street. On that June day, they organized a Christian Union Church (the town of Leon had not been founded yet to name the church after), which was the forerunner of our present day Leon Christian Church (LCC). Elder John Ellis was instrumental in the organization of the church and Elder E. E. Harvey served as the very first pastor. According to records, he preached here 2 Sundays a month and received $10 per month.
In 1880, church meetings were held at Musselman's Hall. The membership was about 60 at that time. On January 2, 1882, E. E. Harvey held a meeting and a Sunday School program was organized with W. H. Wooden as Superintendent, R. B. Hathaway as Assistant, and Charles King as Secretary and Treasurer. In March 1882, it was decided a building of their own was needed for the growing membership. Jacob King donated a tract of land and a 30ft x 50ft building was built at a cost of $1,200. The new building was dedicated on November 19, 1882 and Elder Jr. Garrison, of St. Louis, preached the first sermon.
In 1889, the City of Leon was founded and was named by Charley Noe in honor of his wife, Leona, who was called Lana, as a nickname. Mr. Noe was one of the main supporters of the Leon Christian Church during his lifetime. As the many years passed, there were numerous members and families that would donate different items and monies to the church so that it could continue to serve the Lord and not have to worry about debt. There were also many different ministries and committees that members could serve on to not only strength their walk with Christ but to spread the Good News to the surrounding communities telling all what Jesus has done for them.
From about 1915 to 1963, there were many remodels, repairs, and additions to the original church building. At a congregational meeting on February 12, 1976, it was announced that a very generous monetary gift of $150,500 had been given by Mrs. Edna Losh (Edna and her late husband Ted, who passed away on January 2, 1974, were members of the church) to construct a new church building. At a meeting on April 27, 1976, it was officially voted by the church congregation to build a new church building. The last service in the 94 year old original church building was on June 20, 1976, with Pastor Art Wilson preaching the sermon. The new church building was dedicated to the Lord on June 5, 1977, with Vernon Frantz as pastor. Edna Losh fell ill and was unable to attend the dedication service. She went on to be with the Lord on June 18, 1977 and was the first funeral in the new church building that she gave to this local Body of Christ. Now 150 years later, we are still carrying on and fighting the Good Fight. We continue to stand in The Word of God and spread the Good News far and wide.
