Who Are We?

The Whitmore church of Christ is an undenominational body of Christians who seek to follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

In saying we are “undenominational,” we are simply saying that we wish to be identified only with the church Jesus built (Matthew 16:18Matthew 16:18
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.), for which He shed His blood on the cross (Acts 20:28Acts 20:28
28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.), and therefore do not conceive of ourselves as a denomination. The church belongs to, and is identified with, Christ alone (Ephesians 1:22-23Ephesians 1:22-23
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.; Colossians 1:18Colossians 1:18
18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.).

What is Our Message?

The early church boldly presented the message of Jesus Christ crucified (I Corinthians 1:23I Corinthians 1:23
23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,). The fact that Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected three days later is the good news we proclaim (I Corinthians 15:1-4I Corinthians 15:1-4
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,). Salvation is in His name (Acts 4:12Acts 4:12
12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.). Christ and His teaching, presented personally by Him in the gospels and through the apostles in the New Testament writings (Acts 2:42Acts 2:42
42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.), forms the body of our preaching and teaching. We believe the Bible to be God's inspired word and the basis for what we preach, teach and practice (II Timothy 3:16-17II Timothy 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.).

How Do We Worship?

You will find simplicity to our worship. We celebrate the Lord's Supper (communion) every Sunday, seeing this memorial as an integral part of the early Christian's gatherings as Jesus instructed (Luke 22:19-23Luke 22:19-23
19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. 21 But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. 22 And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” 23 Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.; Acts 20:7Acts 20:7
7 Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.; I Corinthians 11:23-28I Corinthians 11:23-28
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.). We sing praises and spiritual songs a cappella - that is, without the accompaniment of musical instruments (Colossians 3:16-17Colossians 3:16-17
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.; Ephesians 5:19Ephesians 5:19
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,). Scripture is read from and preached (I Timothy 4:13I Timothy 4:13
13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.; II Timothy 4:2II Timothy 4:2
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.). Heart-felt prayers are led in each assembly. And, we take a free will offering from our members to support our ministry (I Corinthians 16:1-2I Corinthians 16:1-2
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: 2 On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.; II Corinthians 9:6-7II Corinthians 9:6-7
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.).

How Does One Become a Member?

When we speak of being a member of the church, we use this term in the New Testament sense that Christians are members of Christ's body which is His church (Romans 12:4-5Romans 12:4-5
4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.; I Corinthians 12:13-14I Corinthians 12:13-14
13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one member but many.). In the New Testament we learn that when people were saved, the Lord added them to His people (Acts 2:47Acts 2:47
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.). When a person is united with Christ in baptism, they are “baptized into one body” (I Corinthians 12:13I Corinthians 12:13
13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.).

In the book of Acts, people who believed in Jesus and wished to follow Him were called to repent of sin and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins (Acts 2:38Acts 2:38
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”; Acts 8:35-39Acts 8:35-39
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” 37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.; Acts 16:23-34Acts 16:23-34
23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” 29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.; Acts 22:16Acts 22:16
16 And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.). Repentance and baptism were decisions and acts done in the Bible by those who came to believe personally in Jesus (Mark 16:15-16Mark 16:15-16
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”).

These were added to Christ's church without any condition other than their desire to faithfully serve Him throughout their life. Salvation then belongs to:

One Who:

  1. Believes that Jesus is the Son of God and the only hope for salvation.
  2. Repents of sins by exhibiting godly sorrow for what he/she has done against God, recognizing that there is not any power to remove sins from oneself, and that one must be forgiven by God, ready to seek God's help, and will strive not to sin.
  3. Asserts the belief that Jesus is God's Son who can remove sins.
  4. Is buried with Christ to rise again with new hope. The engagement of this burial is immersion baptism which is the apparent evidence of one's duty to God and submission to His will. At the time of his/her commitment through baptism, God will wash away sins and help in fulfilling their obligation to Him by giving them His Holy Spirit to dwell in them. The Spirit will guide and protect the believer through the Word. In baptism you not only die to your old sinful self, but you also undertake a new life of hope and reliance in Christ.