Our Church Building Over The Years        

circa 1900

circa 1962

Today

From   the   beginning

Where   we   are   now

In 1885, just 4 years after the founding of the town of Zearing, a group of believers from the area gathered under the ministry of a Disciples of Christ pastor from Hubbard, IA to meet for worship. While records from these early years are scant, we know they met under the distinctives of Believers Baptism by Immersion, Scripture alone as the final rule of faith and practice, the regular celebration of the Lord's Supper in fellowship, and a desire for a thriving evangelistic ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They initially met in the local schoolhouse and in 1888 purchased the land on which the church building now resides. By 1891 the first part of the building was completed and in 1892 members of this group united to make a covenant with the Lord Jesus and one another to form Zearing Christian Church (ZCC) to "keep all the commandments of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, agreeing to be governed in our personal conduct and in our church relations and obligations by the Law of Christ, as taught in the New Testament and pledging each other to do all in our power to promote peace, unity,...and to extend the Kingdom of Christ in all the world." This document still hangs on our wall today as a reminder of the faithfulness of our forebears in Christ and the unceasing goals of our body. From those early days, ZCC was affiliated with the Disciples of Christ denomination and through the years, under the ministry leadership of several pastors, worked toward those ends in Zearing and the surrounding area. In 1960 the first addition was made to the building as the educational wing and in 2000 another addition was made for a covered ramp entrance to the sanctuary. In 2003, as the denomination had moved away from the teaching of Scripture in a direction that the body of ZCC was unwilling to follow, the church voted to withdraw its affiliation and set forth as an independent Christian Church. 

The Zearing Christian Church of today, like the one of our founders nearly 140 years ago, is a body of people who love the Lord & believe in the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. We strive to live under the authority of God's Word in all areas of our lives. We still practice Believers Baptism by immersion, celebrate the Lord's Supper each week in the memory & proclamation of our Savior's sacrifice for our sins, and strive to share the Gospel through evangelism and service. We oversee the local food pantry, we regularly hold worship at the local nursing home with the residents, and our members are active throughout various areas of the town and surrounding community. Our members come from as far as Cambridge, IA and from all different backgrounds. We have farmers and teachers and soldiers and sailors and health care professionals and bankers and on and on; all working together to share their spiritual gifts in fellowship and with those around them for the Kingdom of God. We have several opportunities throughout the week to gather and study God's word. We regularly join together to share a meal and our lives. And Sunday mornings we come together to worship the God who Saves (Psalm 68:20) by song, corporate prayer, and the expository preaching of His word.

What to Expect

 If you're joining us for the first time, what you can expect on a Sunday morning is warm fellowship, powerful singing of both hymns and contemporary songs, and bold preaching from the scriptures. There is no dress code (our pastor usually preaches in jeans) and 10:30am services usually run till about 11:45am. For more detail on what we believe you can find our full doctrinal statement here. You can also listen to examples of our sermons here. If you have any questions, we'd be happy to answer them; You can email us at info@zcciowa.org or call us at 641-487-7531. We'd love for you to join us for worship!

Our Elders

Zearing Christian Church is congregational in polity. Qualified men elected from within the body serve as Elders, in partnership with the Pastor, to lead the church and share the oversight of the various areas of ministry like teaching, preaching, evangelism, and worship. Meet our Elders below. Find out more about Pastor Tom here.

Pastor Tom Whiteman

Tommy Chance

Ricks Polk

Gary Shepley

Jim Chance

Bob Chance