Who We Are:

FCoC is an independent, non-denominational church located in the heart of downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan right across the street from the War Memorial Hospital. We are a welcoming, friendly, and generous congregation whose purpose is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

There’s a place for everyone to get connected and involved.  We have Home Fellowships, Bible studies and classes, fellowship opportunities, community projects, and all kinds of ministry opportunities. From the moment you step through the door, you can be part of the vital, compassionate family at First Church of Christ.

Our History:

The word “church” in the New Testament literally means “called out ones.” As a result, it’s important to note that “the church” consists of people, not buildings. It’s an organism, not an organization.

We have been part of the “Soo” community for over 100 years! In the summer of 1906, a minister named R. Bruce Brown moved to the Sault and began locating other members of the Christian church in the area. Brown soon formed a church with fourteen members and met in the Reid Business College Building.

At about the same time, the minister and several members of the Baptist church left and rented the former Congregational church building on the corner of Spruce and Osborn. They started what was then known as the “People’s Church.” In December of 1906, the People’s Church invited the Christian church to meet with them. The invitation was accepted and resulted in the formation of the First Church of Christ. R. Bruce Brown became the new church’s first preacher.

On the morning of December 4, 1927, the building burned to the ground. In 1929 a new facility was completed, but continued growth over the years necessitated the building of an educational building in 1974, a second stage in 1977, and eventually the construction of our present worship facility in 1988. The church continues to be blessed with growth and has purchased property for future expansion.

First Church of Christ is part of a fellowship of churches committed to New Testament Christianity. There are about 5,000 congregations like us in the USA, with over a million members. We do not call ourselves a denomination because we believe there is only one body. We believe we aren’t the only Christians, but Christians only, in the spirit of Jesus’ prayer for unity in John 17:

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”