The United Church of Christ Family Fellowship was formally organized at a meeting attended by 19 people on Feb. 24, 2001. This group found a common ground in the desire to form a church that would be all inclusive and welcoming to all people who felt themselves to be disenfranchised or marginalized by other churches and  society. In that meeting, founding members elected officers, identified others by their talents to lead various ministries and accepted the voluntary offers of several to bring the message each Sunday. The group chose the name United Family Fellowship for this new endeavor.

For the next six weeks the group met in members’ homes on Sunday evening for worship services, on Wednesday evenings for Bible Study and on Friday evenings for Fellowship. During these early weeks a website was designed by and continues to be maintained by skilled volunteers. Also during this time the group collected $1000.00 for a struggling church in Monterey, Mexico.

In early April, 2001, the group began renting space in a brick warehouse which had a kitchen and bathroom facilities. Lots of volunteer “elbow grease” cleaned the rooms, refurbished folding chairs, built a raised platform for the pulpit and musicians and decorated the space to be more “sanctuary” like. Additional space in the building enabled the church to accept donated food items and to operate a food pantry for those in need.

In the Fall of 2001, church members began to look for a permanent building and on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2001, the church dedicated their new church home. In Joplin, MO, this is not just another building . . . It is a historical landmark built in 1911 as a Baptist Church. Since 1929 it had been a social gathering place owned by the Woman’s Club of Joplin. The church continues to rent the building for community events, providing additional revenue as well as promoting a good relationship with, and exposure of the church to the greater Joplin community.

From April to July of 2002, the church funded the services of Rev. Lisa London and Seminary graduate, Audrey Holman, of Dallas, TX, to provide leadership training and refine the organizational tools for the Board and Ministry directors two weekends a month. They also brought the Sunday message. Under their leadership, the group formalized their Core Values and Mission Statement, identified goals, and made several changes, the most striking being that of beginning Sunday morning worship service.

In November 2002, the church began exploring affiliation with the United Church of Christ denomination. After a year of participation in the Covenantal process, on Nov. 18, 2003, the United Family Fellowship Church was voted into affiliation with this denomination. The name of the church was formally changed to United Church of Christ Family Fellowship.

And so, the journey continues and the hopes and visions and excitement of the founding members are alive and well. Every step taken has required a leap of faith; every disheartening obstacle overcome has been proof of God’s sustaining grace and will for the success of this church. As stated in our purpose, we will     continue to “proclaim God’s love, to remove all barriers to faith, to empower all people to grow in grace toward wholeness and oneness with the Creator and to seek God’s will and bind its congregation together as faithful followers of the living spirit of Jesus Christ”.