FAQs
At First Christian Church we have ministries for people of all ages, from the littlest child to the wisest adult. We have opportunities for people with all types of gifts and talents to serve the church, from music, to teaching, to visitation, to administration. We have worship services that can appeal to those who prefer contemporary services or to those who prefer traditional worship. First Christian Church is the place where you will learn what you can BELIEVE… know that you BELONG… and BECOME all that God desires for you!
Foundation Stones:
1. We believe in the unity of all who confess Christ as their Lord and Savior (we are not the only Christians—we are Christians only!)
2. We believe that unity does not mean uniformity. In essentials unity; in nonessentials diversity; in all things love.
3. Jesus Christ alone is the Rock of our Faith.
4. The Bible is our sole authority for understanding the Word of God.
5. We believe that the cross of Christ is the ultimate revelation of God’s love.
6. We believe in believer’s baptism by immersion as a sacred act of repentance of sins and resurrection into new life through Christ.
7. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is the center of each Sunday’s worship service because we all are saved by grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
8. We believe that the resurrected Jesus Christ is with us always through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
9. We believe that we are called upon to follow Christ into the world through missions of compassion.
10. We believe that Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life, and all who believe in him, even though they die—yet will they live forever in heaven! If this is the foundation you want to build your life upon and if you are searching for a church that unites rather than divides, welcome home!
See the What We Believe page for more information.
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) believes in the unity of all who confess Jesus as Lord and Savior. Christians should not be competing with one another but cooperating. Our motto is: “In essentials unity; in non-essentials diversity; in all things love.” Visit www.disciples.org to further explore our caring and unifying denomination.
See the Who Are the Disciples? page for more information.
The Symbol of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a simple red chalice bearing the cross of St. Andrew across the left side of the bowl. The color red signifies vitality, spirit, and sacrifice. Long associated with the Disciples of Christ as a symbol, the chalice points to the centrality of the Lord’s supper in the life and worship of the Disciples who celebrate communion each Sunday. A Lord’s supper open to Christians of all persuasions has been characteristic of the church from its beginning in the early nineteenth century. The cross of St. Andrew, national cross of Scotland, focuses attention on the Presbyterian roots of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Our purpose is to glorify and celebrate God through worshiping God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We strive to develop a personal and maturing relationship with Jesus Christ through prayer, Bible study, and fellowship. This builds a family of believers who has the ability and desire to share Christ's message and love with others, both locally and globally.
Here at First Christian church we offer a contemporary and traditional church service. Our contemporary service begins at 8:30am and our traditional service starts at 10:45am every Sunday.
From June through August, since there is no Sunday School, our traditional service starts at 10:00am.
See the Worship Services page for more information.
Yes, child care is provided at both the 8:30am and 10:45am services, as well as during the Sunday School hour.
See the Child Care page for more information.
The First Christian Church buildings are handicap accessible.
The church parking lot is located on Boyer Street with entrances on Boyer and Lyman Streets. Our handicap accessible parking is located curb-side facing west in the church parking lot. We are fortunate to have ample additional parking in close proximity to the Church. Parking is permitted in the business lots west of the church on south side Boyer Street. A parking map is available at the Welcome Center in the Gathering Area.
See the Directions and Parking page for more information.
First Christian Church has a membership of nearly eleven hundred. Our contemporary service, at 8:30am, has an average attendance of one hundred and fifty, while the traditional service, at 10:45am, has an average attendance of two hundred and twenty five. Sunday School, which begins at 9:30am, has an average attendance of two hundred and seventy five. We are a larger congregation, but not so large that you become just a face in the pew. At First Christian Church, our size allows us to be effective in the ministries we do, while at the same time creating a family type environment for all who come through our doors.
We believe that the Lord’s Supper is the heart of worship and is to be celebrated whenever Christians gather to commune with the Lord and each other. The Lord’s Supper is offered every Sunday and on special days. The Lord is the host of the table, and it is open to all who confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Through the sharing of bread and wine, we meet and receive the living Christ and receive forgiveness for past sins, strength for today’s challenges, and hope for tomorrow. We affirm the presence of the living Lord and proclaim him to be the dominant power in our lives.
Baptism is both a personal and a social action in which an individual undertakes a new life of Christian discipleship within the fellowship of the whole people of God—Christ’s church. For Disciples, baptism is foremost the means of entry into the life of the church. The sins of the one baptized are not only forgiven, but God gives the Holy Spirit to live within the believer to strengthen, guide and comfort. The Holy Spirit is God’s continuing effective presence in one’s life. FCC practices baptism by immersion. Following a confession of faith, the candidate enters into the baptismal font. A prayer of blessing is offered, and the candidate is then lowered into the water by the minister, and then brought back out of the water after having been fully immersed. This practice reenacts the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Through this rite, the critical events of Christ’s life are incorporated into our own experience.
Sunday School is an important part of our First Christian Church culture. It is one hour set aside in our busy lives to focus on Christian Education. Learning is a lifetime activity and we are proud to offer classes for children, youth and adults. Classes are designed to develop faith, enrich our fellowship and share the joys of being a Christian. Sunday School meets at 9:30 AM each Sunday morning.
For more information, see the Adult Sunday School page, Youth Sunday School page, and/or Children's Sunday School page.
Here at First Christian Church we have a very dynamic Youth Program. For 6th thru 8th graders there is Chi Rho Youth Group and for 9th thru 12th graders there is Christian Youth Fellowship (CYF).
First Christian Church has music opportunities for all ages. Youth Choir is available for children in the first through eighth grades. High school youth and adults may be part of our Worship Team at our contemporary service or the Chancel Choir at our traditional service. We also have two Handbell Choirs, the Chalice Bells for 5th grade through high school and The Bells of First Christian for adults.
When a child is born into a family, the parents have a great and wonderful Christian responsibility. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me," and it is the parents' responsibility to raise their child(ren) up in the Christian faith. In a parent/child Dedication service (which takes place during Sunday worship), the parents dedicate themselves to raising their newborn child in the Christian faith, to bringing the child to church to be influenced by other Christians, and to witnessing through words and deeds that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. The immediate family and the congregation also dedicate themselves to helping the parents raise their child in the Christian faith. There is also a blessing upon the child and a prayer for the family.
Getting involved here at First Christian Church is easy. Just come! If there is an event or program that interests you, just come. You will be welcomed in Christian love and will be blessed by your attendance. You may also want to speak to one of our directors if you have a specific area of interest. All of our staff can be easily reached during regular business hours and by e-mail and look forward to hearing from you.
You can also complete the Ministry Interest Survey, which will show you places where you can use your special talents to enhance the ministries here at FCC. Just print the Survey, fill it out and bring it to the church office.
Becoming a member of First Christian Church is easy, and easier than you might think. First, prayerfully consider if this is the church that God has led you to be a part of. If it is, then all you have to do is come forward during the song/hymn of invitation near the end of the worship service. There one of our ministers will take your confession of faith or your reaffirmation and transfer of membership, by extending to you the right hand of Christian fellowship and asking you if you believe that Jesus is the son of the living God, if you accept him as your Lord and Savior. At that point, all you have to say is “I do.” If you would rather not come forward during a worship service, then our ministers would be more than happy to take your confession of faith or reaffirmation and transfer of membership at another time.
For more information, see our Become a Member page.
No! Each year our Official Church Board approves a budget that allows us to fulfill the ministries that God has given to First Christian Church. How do we meet our budget? We support our church ministries through a PRIVATE PROMISE. What is Private Promise? First of all, it is a Private PROMISE. Each of us makes a promise to God that we will support the Church through a planned and regular offering. Secondly, it is a PRIVATE Promise. Only you and God know what you promise to give for the coming year. We trust each other to give generously and faithfully. Money can deepen our spiritual life or become a hindrance to it. “Where your treasure is there will your heart be also,” Jesus said in Matthew 6:21. The love of Christ is our treasure—money is one important means we use to share our treasure with others.
You may call the church office at (330) 336-6697 or email secretary@fccwadsworth.org. If you'd like to stop by the church, see the Office Hours page for more information.
Our services are shown on WCTV and on WCTV's website. The recordings alternate between the Traditional and Contemporary services.
On TV, they are broadcast on Channel 17, Tuesdays at 1pm, 6pm and 9pm, as well as Wednesdays at 7:30am. On TV, only the past week's service is shown. Online, there are services from the past few months available to view.
Rev. Jim Singleton | Rev. Nancy Dunn | Laura Thomas | Megan Kolesar | Andrea Orchard | Peggy Rowe |
Mary Rocha | Felicity Wilson | Jane Ross | Katie Krumreig | Mark & Andrea Orchard | Cathy Fix |
Susan Ritzman | Donna Kronander | Rod Livingston | Julie Gromofsky
Rev. Jim Singleton
Senior Pastor
Email: jsingleton@fccwadsworth.org
It has been my privilege to serve as the Senior Minister of First Christian Church in Wadsworth, Ohio since 1981. My passions in ministry are visionary leadership, providing pastoral care for those in spiritual need and preaching the Word of God. It is my goal to have a personal relationship with each of our members.
I am a graduate of The Ohio State University and The Methodist Theological School in Ohio where I received my Master’s of Divinity in 1977. Since coming to FCC Wadsworth I have been blessed with a congregation that is open to God’s vision. As a result, our church has doubled in size and undergone two major renovations. What I appreciate about the size of our congregation is that we are large enough to offer multiple ways to grow in the faith, but small enough to know your name.
I am married to my wife Jan and we have three grown sons. We are so grateful that our sons had such a loving and faithful congregation to grow up in where they learned the faith through good examples. Jan and I love to hike in the area parks, to go to the beach and spend time with our family.
It is my belief that God instills within everyone skills and gifts. It is our mission as a church to help you discover what those are and to guide you into ways to use them in ministry and mission. I look forward to getting to know you and helping you find your God-given gifts that you might fulfill God’s purpose for your life.
Rev. Nancy Dunn
Associate Pastor
Email: ndunn@fccwadsworth.org
It is a joy for me to serve as the Associate Pastor of First Christian Church, Wadsworth, Ohio. I began this journey as your Associate Pastor in June 2010. Walking with you on the journey of faith is my greatest privilege. I believe the church is called to partner with its members and visitors to help them discover how God is present in all aspects of their lives. My goal is to help families of all ages, sizes, and descriptions learn to interact with God and each other daily in all parts of their lives.
Yes, I’m a southerner who has followed God’s call to live in the north. I grew up in eastern North Carolina. I graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a BA in Religious Studies. Then, I traveled farther south to Fort Worth, TX where I received my Masters of Divinity from Brite Divinity School at TCU. After serving as Associate Pastor and Youth Minister at congregations in Texas, Kentucky, and Virginia, my family and I heard God’s call to move to the beautiful city of Wadsworth. We love it here!
My husband, Chris Helton and I have two little girls. We love to play in the parks, visit the zoo and museums, and attend baseball games. We are also big college sports fans. We root whole-heartedly for the UNC Tar Heels and TCU Horned Frogs. Wadsworth is a wonderful place to raise a family and we look forward to our girls growing up here and rooting for the Grizzlies.
We are so thankful that God has brought us to this wonderful congregation in Wadsworth. It is a great place to call home, raise a family and serve the Lord. Please introduce yourself to me so we can get to know each other as we walk this road of life together in faith and in service to the Lord.
Laura Thomas
Church Administration Manager
Email: lthomas@fccwadsworth.org
Laura began her career at First Christian Church in 2007 as the church secretary. In 2009 she was promoted to Church Administration Manager. Her office is responsible for keeping the staff and church informed and providing administrative support where it is needed. Laura work closely with the Building Operations Manager to make sure everyone has what they need, when they need it.
Laura is married to Donald and has two grown children, Jennifer and Eric.
Megan Kolesar
Director of Youth Ministries
Email: mkolesar@fccwadsworth.org
Megan is honored to be the Director of Youth Ministries here at First Christian Church. She joined the FCC staff in October of 2006. Megan graduated from Medina Senior High School in 1990 and received a BS in Comprehensive Communications and Secondary Education from Ashland University in 1994. She was an English/Drama Teacher at Buckeye High School in Medina from 1994-1997 and then moved to Los Angeles, California for 6 years until she returned to Ohio in 2003. Megan also works part-time as a licensed esthetician at VCS Salon and Spa in Medina and Studio V Salon and Spa at the Akron General Wellness Center in Montrose. She married her husband, Mark, in 2007 and they enjoy road trips, camping, watching movies, taking care of their many pets, and eating out together.
Megan has been a member of FCC all her life and is the fourth generation to attend this church. She was an active member of the youth group at FCC as a teenager and her faith and life’s path was inspired immensely by the experiences provided to her by this youth program. It is imperative to her that our youth continue to receive these opportunities for spiritual growth, fellowship, and self-discovery. She says that "it is a true joy to know these young people and be involved in their lives. I am very blessed to be able to serve as their youth director and I thank God everyday for this incredible gift in my life."
Andrea Orchard
Director of Children's Christian Education
Email: aorchard@fccwadsworth.org
Andrea began her ministry as the Director of Children’s Christian Education and ministries at FCC in 2004. Andrea’s passion is that every child knows the love of the Lord. To have the foundational faith and truth of His love in their lives is the rock upon which everything else can be built. This is the focus of her ministry.
Andrea graduated from Baldwin Wallace College with a Bachelor in Music Therapy with a concentration in preschool children. Working in the education of young children almost all of her adult life, it was a natural move to open FCC Christian Preschool in 2006, where Kingdom principles and Preschool learning go hand in hand in the curriculum. Andrea homeschooled her 3 daughters, has tutored and mentored young children and is now blessed to have over 195 children in the Children’s Department. Andrea and her husband Mark live in Wadsworth and have 3 adult daughters.
Peggy Rowe
Director of Adult Christian Education
Email: prowe@fccwadsworth.org
"Working for and serving with the people of this congregation makes each day a joy and a blessing." Peggy has been on staff here at FCC since 1989. She has served first as the Christian Education Director and currently serve as the Director of Adult Christian Education and Ministry. This role enables her to minister in HIS name through adult Sunday School, the adult fellowship groups, and in ministry development.
Peggy was drawn to FCC when their family moved to Wadsworth in 1984. Since this is the denomination in which she was raised, it was an easy fit – especially since her church family roots in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) go back 4 generations. Peggy and her husband, Blake made FCC their church home shortly after moving here and were blessed to have this church family in which their now adult children, Robert and Amanda were raised. "It does take a village, well in our case, a Christian community to raise children."
Peggy's background in elementary education from Bethany College provided the skills and knowledge needed for this ministry. But it was God’s real “call” that placed her in this position. "The challenges are many and interesting and it has been amazing to see God’s handiwork here at FCC."
Adult Christian education and ministry provides faith opportunities in which individual can gain a greater knowledge of God through studying the scripture, can responding as Christ would have us respond through ministry and be lead by the Holy Spirit. The opportunities are many and varied. Peggy says, "I love developing ministries and opportunities for YOU, so that YOU may grow in faith and relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ."
Mary Rocha
First Christian Church Preschool Director
Email: mrocha@fccwadsworth.org
Mary graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a degree in Elementary/Early Childhood Education. Mary has many years of experience teaching Pre-K and developed a Pre-K program for a school when she taught in Louisiana.
She and her husband, Kevin, have 4 college age children. Mary became the FCC Preschool Director in 2011.
Felicity Wilson
Operation Manager
Email: fwilson@fccwadsworth.org
Felicity Wilson became the Building Operations Manager at FCC in July of 2010. She's been a member since 1992 and has been involved in Women's and Children's ministries over the years. Felicity graduated from Wadsworth in 1989 and from Ohio University with her BA in English in 1994.
She married Ted Wilson the following year. Ted and Felicity have two children. Claire was born in 1999 and Colin was born in 2003.
Jane Ross
Director of Music Ministries
Email: jross@fccwadsworth.org
Jane Ross grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania and moved to the Cleveland area in 1967. She and her husband, Orval, moved to Wadsworth in 1971. Mrs. Ross holds BS and MM degrees plus postgraduate studies in Music Education. After 30 years of teaching music to young people, she retired from Medina City Schools in 2000. From 2001 to 2007, she taught music courses at Ashland University.
She has had a lifelong love of church music activities and has served in churches in Pennsylvania and Ohio as organist and choir director since she was 12 years old. In the mid-90’s she became the Assistant Organist at FCC, then in 2001 began as FCC’s Director of Music Ministries. Her duties include choosing music for the traditional services, directing the Chancel Choir and both handbell choirs, supervising several music staff, overseeing maintenance of the organ and pianos and occasionally playing keyboard instruments. She continues her education by participating annually in a weeklong church music conference sponsored by The National Association of Disciples Musicians.
In addition to her busy church schedule, Mrs. Ross has a studio of 24 private piano and voice students. She has one adult daughter who is married and lives in Wooster. When she isn’t busy with music activities, Mrs. Ross enjoys attending concerts, reading, needlework and traveling. A widow since 2003, she lives with her two cats in a condo in Wadsworth.
Katie Krumreig
Director of Youth Choir
Email: kkrumreig@fccwadsworth.org
Katie Krumreig is in her fifth year as Youth Choir Director at First Christian Church. A former member of the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and Cleveland Orchestra Chamber Chorus, Katie attended Baldwin-Wallace College and the University of Akron where received her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Music Education in 2005 and 2008, respectively. She is currently teaching Kindergarten through fourth grade general music in the Wadsworth City Schools and teaches private voice lessons from her home. She has been the director of multiple children's and youth choirs, both in churches and community programs, in the Cleveland area and is happy to currently be serving her church family at First Christian.
Katie also serves as a third grade Sunday School teacher, member of the children's Christian education committee, music leader for our summer Vacation Bible School program and keyboardist for our 8:30am Sunday service.
Mark & Andrea Orchard
Contemporary Worship Leaders
Email: aorchard@fccwadsworth.org
"Worshipping God is not only commanded of us to do…it is a delight for us to do! Our philosophy of Worship can be summed up as the out pouring of our hearts and souls to God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. We choose to sing and make music to and for Him as part of our Worship, offering ourselves wholly to His service in the Kingdom."
Both Mark and Andrea graduated from Baldwin Wallace College Conservatory of Music. Mark is an accomplished guitarist and singer, playing guitar since he was 15. Andrea has been singing as long as she can remember. Mark and Andrea have been playing music together since before they married in 1983. They began their ministry leading Contemporary Worship together in 1987 and have been leading worship here at FCC since 2007. They live in Wadsworth and have 3 adult daughters.
Cathy Fix
Treasurer
Email: cfix@fccwadsworth.org
Cathy is serving her eighth year as treasurer, following two years as the (volunteer) assistant treasurer. She grew up near Pittsburgh, in Plum, PA and went to college at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where she got her B.S. in accounting and became a CPA in 1985.
Cathy has been married to M.D. Fix for seventeen years. They have thirteen year old twin boys, Matt & Ty who keep them young and busy!
Susan Ritzman
Assistant Treasurer
Email: sritzman@fccwadsworth.org
Susan Ritzman has served as assistant treasurer since April of 2009. She also works as an accounting manager at a firm in Medina and is the fiscal officer in Wadsworth Township.
Susan is married to Jerry, has two children and three grandchildren. When she has some spare time, she loves to read, cross stitch, entertain, and spend time with her iPad.
Donna Kronander
Secretary
Email: dkronander@fccwadsworth.org
Donna was born and raised in Cleveland and has been a Medina resident since 1986. She is a graduate of Bowling Green State University. She has worked as an administrative secretary and substitute teacher.
Besides her current secretarial duties, she is the Organist at FCC, and also assists her husband in managing a small family-owned business by doing all of the bookkeeping. Her hobbies include walking, golf, playing the cello, and playing keyboard in pit orchestras for local musicals.
Rod Livingston
Assistant Organist
Rod has been fascinated with the organ since he was 3, when he would go with his mother, a church organist, to practice. Right away he decided he wanted to be a church organist himself. His mother told him he had to become an accomplished pianist before he could even touch an organ, so from age 5 through high school, he took piano lessons. As a sophomore in high school, Rod finally began organ lessons, studying with notable organ teachers in the area.
As a high school senior, Rod fulfilled his dream of becoming a church organist at Westlawn United Methodist Church, where he eventually became the organist and choir director. After graduate school, a stint in the Air Force and two years of substitute teaching, Rod accepted the organist position at Moore Memorial United Methodist Church - once again as an organist and director. Finally, Rod landed at First Christian Church in 1983 and has been here ever since!
Julie Gromofsky
Youth Choir Accompanist
Julie has a Bachelor of Science degree from Miami Of Ohio in Finance and HR Management. She works in the financial services industry.
She has been married her husband Mike for 11 years. They have two kids, Elisabeth and Noah. Julie has been playing piano since she was in second grade. She loves to play and enjoys spending time each week with the kids' choirs.
Sunday Morning Service Times
8:30am: Contemporary Worship Service
9:30am: Christian Education (Sunday School)
10:45am: Traditional Worship Service
116 E. Boyer Street
Wadsworth, OH 44281
Phone: (330) 336-6697
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