An Introduction to the Contact Church

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen" (Ephesians 3:20-21).

I have the privilege of being a member of a special congregation, the Contact Church of Christ. We began nearly 10 years ago as the Park Plaza Church of Christ launched an effort to reach the inner city of Tulsa with the good news of Jesus Christ. Soon, other congregations joined the effort. (Janet and I started as volunteers from Jenks Church in January 2001.) On Easter Sunday of 2002, the Tulsa urban ministry launched the Contact Church of Christ.

The Contact Church has Bible classes each Sunday morning. We have several solid Bible teachers with years of experience at all levels of our Sunday school program.

Our worship services include singing praise to God (with a variety of traditional hymns, spirituals, and contemporary praise choruses), observing the Lord's Supper, a sermon, and an offering. We have a period for prayer requests and praise in which anyone in the congregation can share. This usually takes 10 to 15 minutes, and is a vital part of building a sense of community within the congregation. After worship services, we usually enjoy lunch together, with an area church usually providing the meal.

Our ministries include a food bank which serves thousands of Tulsans each year and a clothing room which serves hundreds. Our youth group (led by Bob and Sarah Logsdon--see their blog at http://urbanlogfamily.blogspot.com/) keeps our teens connected and into God's word. The church sponsors a Christian club at Clinton Middle School. Our members provide donuts, juice, Bible lessons, and listening ears to the students before classes start on Wednesday mornings. (It has become the most popular club on campus. The principal credits the Contact Church with changing the school's atmosphere and enabling it to be removed from the state's at-risk schools list.) Our Contact Recovery House provides housing, recovery groups, and Bible studies for men struggling with drug and alcohol addictions. Our ministry to new mothers provides prenatal and postnatal care, Bible lessons, lessons in parenting, and necessities like baby formula, baby clothing, maternity clothing, and cribs for young mothers and their children. We conduct Bible studies at several low-income housing projects. In addition, our members volunteer and reach out to people in need throughout the week in a variety of ways (from providing transportation to children and homeless people to visiting the local jail), without fanfare or organization.

If you would like to help our ministers or ministries, become involved in urban ministry, visit a worship service or prayer meeting, or receive help, you may find more information at http://www.contactchurch.net/. Thanks for reading!