About Us
The History of Countryside Community Church
In 1949, a young New England preacher, the Rev. Roger Manners, was called to “gather a church” in the Loveland area of west Omaha. Soon a parsonage was built for him and his new wife, Betsy, at 8787 Pacific Street. Surveys indicated that the area would grow in population, and these predictions proved to be true. A once rural countryside was soon transformed into a busy suburb. Families came from a variety of religious backgrounds. A small group of people gathered for worship, first at Loveland School, and later in the basement of the new parsonage. The church was chartered under the auspices of the Congregational Board of Home Missions. The Congregational affiliation emphasized the right of individual congregations to order their own life, call their own ministers, and establish their own covenants. The charter was not unlike the Mayflower compact, the covenant of the English Pilgrims who departed from Plymouth, England, and landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. These spiritual ancestors were seeking religious freedom and the right to worship as they pleased. Just as the Pilgrims sought freedom, so did early members of Countryside Community Church believed in a free society under God. They stood for the principle that all people are children of God and deserve to be free from fear and oppression.
A new denomination, the United Church of Christ, was formed in 1957 by the mergers of the Congregational and Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Churches. The blending of these important streams of American Protestantism was a step toward unity in the midst of diversity. The new united church chose as its Twentieth Century motto: “That They May All Be One.” In fact, at the time of the formation of this new ecclesiastical body, Countryside Community Church membership represented almost thirty different denominational backgrounds. “Ecumenical,” a Greek word meaning “The whole household of God,” well describes the composition of Countryside Community Church, both then and now. Families from more than 40 denominational backgrounds worship together today in one congregation.
As in the generations past, we are called to be Christ’s disciples. We strive to reach out to all people, working together to accomplish God’s purpose on earth. Our mission projects are a response to Christ’s teaching to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome strangers, and set the captives free.
Over the years, we have grown through dynamic music expressions, innovative youth ministries, and powerful worship experiences. We move into the twenty-first century with expectation and joy.
