First Christian Church was founded in 1843 as part of a movement to restore the church to the doctrines and practices of the New Testament. The churches established during this Restoration Movement believed that it was the responsibility of the church to uphold the authority of the Scriptures and the sole Lordship of Jesus Christ, and to follow the Scriptural blueprint of the church as laid out in the New Testament.
The First Christian congregation actually was formed around 1832 due to the preaching of Alexander Campbell, a traveling evangelist and a father of the Restoration Movement.
It was not until 1844 that the devoted group of believers erected their first building, a small brick establishment on a donated lot on West High Avenue (right and above).
Then, in 1897, the congregation acted on faith, and with only a few dollars in the treasury, tore down the small building and erected a larger one.