The church came into existence on the Day of Pentecost as described in Acts 2. From the inception of the church, Jesus intended that his followers be a living symbol and present reality of the Kingdom of God (John 17:20-23; Ephesians 3:7-13). Following the leadership and teachings of the earliest apostles, the church continued to develop and share the message and ministry of Jesus as described in the New Testament.
The Christian Churches began in the United States with ministers from several different denominations desiring to bring unity among the many divisions experienced by the church over the centuries. Thomas and Alexander Campbell, Presbyterian ministers in Pennsylvania, along with Barton Stone were central in establishing a movement in the early 1800s with the intention of restoring the church as described in the New Testament. Foundational to their quest for unity and restoration of the earliest church was the authority and centrality of the Christian Scriptures. As a result, the Christian Churches continue to find study of the Scriptures to be an essential component to discernment both of orthodoxy (belief) and orthopraxy (action). As best as we are able, we seek to live by the early maxim, “In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; in all things, love.”1 As the Christian Churches grew, the organizational development continued to be shaped by the patterns established in the New Testament writings. Therefore, each congregation in the Restoration Movement remains independent, governed by elected leaders in each congregation. Despite the lack of formal national or international governance, the Churches collaborate to establish, support and direct seminaries, mission organizations and conventions on a voluntary basis. Chaparral Christian Church continues to support a community of some 5,000 similar congregations in the U.S. and around the world.
Chaparral Christian Church came into existence on Sunday, January 8, 1978. Founding Minister, Dr. Larry Hostetler, and his wife, Marion, had been ministering with the First Christian Church of Phoenix. They felt a call to start the new congregation in Scottsdale with worship services being held in Chaparral High School. Larry was the Senior Minister and Marion led the music ministry.
The present property was purchased in June of 1978, and the first worship service was held in 1981 in what is now our East Hall. Additional property has been purchased through the years, with a total of thirteen acres now included in the Church campus. The present sanctuary
was completed in 2003.
Chaparral has always been a community-minded church seeking to be the “presence of Christ in the world,” beginning in Scottsdale and extending throughout the world. We seek to show our neighbors (Luke 10:25-37) the love of Jesus while working alongside other faith traditions to promote justice, compassion and peace in our world. Together, we seek to follow the Scriptures in our doctrine, the love of Jesus in our practice and the high calling of God in our mission.
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1 According to recent scholarship this maxim appears for the first time in Germany, c. 1600 among Lutheran and German Reformed churches.
