About Us

Disciples Christian Church invites you to discover more about us.
Please explore this page to learn about our congregational mission
and story as well as our denominational ties and history.

Located on the corner of Independence and Park, Disciples Christian Church is quite literally in the middle of Plano's life. This geographical reality mirrors our spiritual call to be a church for the community. Our mission statement reflects this:

In order to follow Jesus and worship God: we will serve our neighbors; we will minister to one another; we will live and tell the Good News of Jesus Christ in all we do.

As part of our on-going mission, we continue to explore the most pressing needs of our community to discern how God's spirit will lead us next.

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Disciples Christian Church delivers on our mission through the following groups of people:

Pastor and Staff - Provides spiritual leadership and supports the minister in the daily affairs of the church

Rev. David Nordyke, Senior Pastor
Laura Young, Music Director
Linda Gulick, Preschool Director
Julie Chen, Pianist
Jan Carter, Administrative Assistant
Dave Gillen, Webmaster

Ministries - Administer or support the programs of the church

Rebecca Nilsen, Community
Bob Knoll, Discipleship
Mike Bell, Evangelism
Barbara and Bill Ramsey, Outreach
Chuck & Nancy Bertschi, Property
Gary Boyd, Stewardship
Sandy Snyder, Worship

Officers of the Board - Manage the business of the church

Rick Boyer, Chairman
Mark Mueller, Vice Chair
Mike Bell, Secretary
Donna Clancy, Treasurer

Trustees - Act as the legal agents of the church under the direction of the Board

Dave Bell
Fred Hughey
Walt Nilsen

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Disciples Christian Church began its ministry as a congregation in 1971. With the city of Plano expanding westward, several active members of First Christian Church perceived the call to start a new church in this growing area. As with the early church, Disciples Christian Church first met in members' homes for worship and fellowship. When the gatherings outgrew individual homes, the congregation starting meeting at Wilson Middle School. In 1978, we moved to our current location on the corner of Independence and Park.

From the very beginning, Disciples Christian Church has been active in the community; we take seriously our call to serve our neighbors. In the early years, a number of local agencies operated in our facilities, including the Palmer Drug Abuse Program and the South Collin County Infant Program. Today, we are host to many community groups, such as the Boy Scouts, Narcotics Anonymous, Nar-Anon, and the Youth Mentor Network of Plano. In addition, we contribute regularly to many social service agencies through financial and volunteer support. If you would like to know more about our involvement in the community, please see the "Community Service" portion of our Ministries page.

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Disciples Christian Church is a member congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). This denomination has more than 800,000 members in 3,700 congregations across the United States and Canada, but our ministries extend throughout the world. Our mission comes straight out of the New Testament: just as the first disciples were commissioned by Christ to spread the Good News of the Gospel to all nations, we accept that same call to love, witness, and serve "from our doorsteps to the ends of the earth."

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was founded on several basic principles that continue to guide the church today.

"No creed but Christ"

These simple words express one of our most central convictions: Christ called us into being, and it is in Christ's name that we serve. Therefore no human creeds or "tests of faith" can be used to exclude anyone from the church. Our one confession is that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and our Savior."

"Where the scriptures speak we speak; where the scriptures are silent we are silent."

We are a people of the Bible. We read the scriptures weekly in worship, and we study them faithfully in Sunday School and in our private devotions. Emphasis is placed on each individual's responsibility to read, study, and know the scriptures for himself/herself. Yet we recognize that the scriptures can be interpreted in several ways. Rather than allow conflict to interfere with our community, we rely on this guiding principle.

"In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity."

As with the interpretation of scripture, we realize that there are many differing opinions about beliefs and practices in the church. In the essentials of faith, we strive for unity. However, we affirm everyone's right and responsibility to express his/her faith in unique but accountable ways. In these nonessentials, we allow for diversity and liberty. Yet despite our slight differences in beliefs, we are still able to gather around the Lord's Table each week as one community, bound together through the love of Christ. In all things, we live in charity and love.

If you would like to know more about the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), our beliefs, and our national and global ministries, please see the following websites: www.disciples.org  and www.ccsw.org 

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Born on the American frontier, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is one of the largest churches to be founded in the United States. From the beginning, our message has appealed to those with a pioneer spirit. It is a message of independence mixed with responsibility, freedom mixed with commitment.

In the rolling hills of nineteenth-century Kentucky, Presbyterian minister Barton W. Stone began to be disillusioned by the discord within and among the traditional Protestant churches. Because of his experience at the 1801 Cane Ridge Revival, Stone recognized that these denominational divisions detracted from the simple message of the Gospel. He and several colleagues formed an alliance whose sole purpose was to "enter into unity with the body of Christ at large." In keeping with this mission, they used the simple name "Christians" to describe their movement.

Meanwhile, another Presbyterian minister, Thomas Campbell was coming to the same conclusion in Washington, Pennsylvania. Looking toward the simplicity of the New Testament church, Thomas and his son Alexander aimed to recreate the early church by casting off denominational creeds and restrictions. They believed that all Christians, regardless of denominational labels, are simply "Disciples of Christ," and that the Church should be one. They called themselves "Disciples."

In 1832, the "Christians" and the "Disciples" joined together into one fellowship of believers, hence our name, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

For more information about the history of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), please visit the Disciples of Christ Historical Society at www.discipleshistory.org/index.htm.

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