Our Mission

Reach the Community, Raise the Called, Ready the Commissioned

Our Vision 

We envision a church that is a loving community of believers that is biblically literate, committed to godly living, and actively reaching the lost.

Our Beliefs

We believe the Bible and do not subscribe to any formal human creed. There are, however, core beliefs that we hold as foundational to our faith.

Statement of Faith -
We believe the Bible and do not subscribe to any formal human creed. These are some core beliefs that we hold as foundational to our faith:

1. God - God exists in three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. God is the all-powerful Creator, loving Sustainer, and righteous Judge of the universe.

2. Jesus - Jesus is God, the Father’s one and only Son, born to Mary, a virgin. Jesus lived a sinless life, was crucified, died, was buried, resurrected, and ascended to heaven so that we might accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Jesus will return to earth again as He promised.

3. Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit guides and gifts believers for life and service in the Church.

4. Scripture - The Bible is God’s inspired and authoritative Word. It is our guide for the pattern of the Church and Christian life, as well as God’s revelation of saving Truth.

5. The Church - The worldwide and local Church includes all who live in a covenant relationship with God through Jesus. The Church is the Body of Christ on earth today for the purpose of reconciling the world to God.

6. Salvation - Because of Jesus’ sinless life, sacrificial death, and powerful resurrection, those who believe in Him will not receive the punishment deserved because of their sin, but they will receive God’s gracious gift of eternal life.

7. Rightly Becoming a Christian - A person becomes a Christian by entering into a Covenant Relationship with Jesus by believing, repenting, confessing, being baptized, being forgiven, receiving the Holy Spirit, and striving to obey God’s commands. <See below>

8. Growing in Christ - The local church provides a nurturing environment in which every Christian can be encouraged in godliness, can grow in faith and knowledge of God, and can be equipped to serve God. We elect our own leaders, the elders, and we believe that they have been ordained by God to direct the affairs of the Church and to provide for that environment under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and in accordance with God’s will.

The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. For purposes of Countryside Christian Church’s faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, the eldership is Countryside Christian Church’s final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.

To rightly be called a Christian

     The term that Scripture uses for being right with God is being “in covenant” with Him. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses & David all had covenants with God. A Covenant is a binding relationship between persons with mutual expectations and blessings for those involved. It is both a formal relationship and a personal relationship, like a marriage. So when we talk about being right with God, we talk about being in “Covenant Relationship” with Him.

     Our Covenant Relationship, however, is much different from the Covenants of the Old Testament. Our Covenant is a Covenant of Grace. We do nothing to earn this acceptance and right relationship with God. Jesus has done all the work required by his sinless life, sacrificial death, and resurrection. By entering into a Covenant Relationship, we accept Jesus’ gift of Grace.

Just as there are parts of creating and maintaining a marriage (vows, rings, pronouncement, kiss, consummation), there are parts of creating and maintaining a Covenant Relationship with God. Scripture teaches the necessity of each part of the Covenant.

  1. BELIEVE. To believe means to trust in the power and the promises of God and Jesus. We trust that Jesus is who He says He is, and that He does everything He says He does. (John 3:16; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8)

  2.  REPENT. To repent means to make a U-turn in life – to stop living our sinful way and start living God’s righteous way. (Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19; Acts 20:21)

  3. CONFESS. To confess means to publicly acknowledge our faith in Jesus’ power and promises. (Romans 10:9; 2 Timothy 2:19)

  4. BE BAPTIZED. To be baptized means to be immersed in water in Jesus’ name, uniting us to Jesus’ death, burial, & resurrection so that we can live a new life for God. (Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12; 1 Peter 3:21)

  5. OBEY. To obey means to follow God’s commands everyday. We live each day in Covenant Relationship with God as we are being transformed into Christlikeness for God’s glory. (John 8:51; Hebrews 5:9; 1 John 3:24)

By entering into a covenant relationship, Scripture tells us that we specifically receive two things that allow us to have a right standing before God:

  1. FORGIVENESS. Forgiveness means that God lets go of the sins that have separated us from Him, and God expects us to let go of the sins that separate others from us. (Matthew 6:14-15; Colossians 3:13)

  2. The HOLY SPIRIT. We receive Jesus’ Spirit to guide us in our new life and to gift us for service in His Church. (Galatians 5:22-25; 1 Corinthians 12:7)

It is through these parts that we enter in and live in a Covenant Relationship with God through Jesus’ Grace.

Our History

Prior to 1965, the need for a New Testament church in Pittsburg, Kansas, had been recognized independently by several individuals. Preliminary surveys conducted at the initiative of some of those individuals, among whom were B. A. Austin, Sr., Chester Williamson, and B. A. Austin, Jr., indicated that there was a strong potential nucleus for the new church. During the spring and summer of 1965, various area ministers and Orville Brill contacted a number of prospective members to form a nucleus to begin the new church. With the support and encouragement of the Four State Christian Men's Fellowship, an organizational meeting was held on October 24, 1965, at the Pittsburg YMCA. Sixteen Pittsburg residents, along with several representatives of the Four state Christian Men's Fellowship, attended the meeting. As a result of that meeting, 15 of the group decided to begin meeting weekly for Bible study until plans could be completed for a full-time activity. Initially, the meetings were held in the Orville Brill Home, and the original participants consisted of the Wayne Hays Family, Mrs. Atha Barker, and the Orville Brill family.

Beginning in March 1966, Sunday evening services began at the Schlanger Park Community Center with part-time minister Gerald Sappington, a student at Ozark Bible College. With the financial support of the Men's Fellowship and several area churches and individuals, the church was able to hire Leroy Knight as it first full-time minister in July 1966.

The church rented the Seventh Day Adventist Church building at 21st and Grand on Sundays, and the first full day of services was held on August 7, 1966, with 50 present and 21 placing their memberships. Of the 21 placing membership on that Sunday, Orville and Elizabeth Brill, Celia Good, Elinor Hays, and Betty Wilson remain active in the congregation today. The congregation, which was called Central Christian Church, began at that time to plan for the construction of its own building. During the fall of 1967, Central Christian Church began meeting regularly at the YMCA when the building at 21st and Grand was no longer available.

In the fall of 1967, Central Christian Church purchased 3.5 acres of land in the new Countryside Addition on East Fourth Street for $3,500. Ground breaking services were held at the site on April 28, 1968. Construction began immediately afterward, with the members of the church contributing heavily in time, labor, and money. The first services were held in the new building on September 22, 1968, with an attendance of 185. On October 13, 1968, the name of the church was changed to Countryside Christian Church. An educational wing was added to the church building in February 1975, and a new auditorium and classroom addition was completed in June 1980. In 2001, continuing growth made it necessary to add a second worship service to accommodate the congregation. This growth also prompted the construction of a new facility, completed in May 2002, containing several classrooms, a large kitchen, fellowship hall/gymnasium, restrooms/showers, and a small group dining room. In 2003 the original building and the educational wing were remodeled and updated to better serve the current needs.

Countryside Christian Church was instrumental in the establishment of Campus Christians at Pittsburg State University. Many of the students have been active in the congregation, and some of them have remained as permanent residents of Pittsburg, serving in many capacities in the church. Many others have gone to other places and are actively involved in Christian churches in their communities.