Our History

A group of Christians met in June 1964 to discuss the founding of an independent, non-denominational Christian church in Fort Smith. The first service was held on August 16, 1964 in the Larsen & Wear Construction building. Thereafter, the church met in the Creekmore Park Community Building.

On September 18, 1964 the church purchased 6 acres of land at 400 North Waldron Road, and one year later groundbreaking was held for its first facility. A significant photograph was taken at the groundbreaking where the congregation stood on the lawn and pulled a plow by hand. When the photograph was developed, a white “funnel” was in the background that could not be explained. It clearly is not a flaw in the film; otherwise it would have blotted out the images of the people. Evidently, the Holy Spirit had his mark on Central from the very beginning.

The first service was held in its new building on March 6, 1966. The church has gone through three building additions since that time: an educational wing and fellowship hall was added in 1977, the Family Life Center and office/classroom space was added in 1989, and a worship center was added in 2009.

Created for the Grand Opening of the Worship Center on April 5, 2009, you can find a tribute video to those who took a step of faith to begin the congregation by clicking here.

Central groundbreaking ceremony

Central groundbreaking ceremony