Our History
The church in Columbus was established through the ministries of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. Through a conference given by Witness Lee in the summer of 1977 on the matter of the gospel, the Lord stirred up a strong desire among a number of believers from different cities in Ohio to move to Columbus to experience the real Christian church life and to preach the gospel of the kingdom. Together, they pursued the truth in the Bible and learned to live by their regenerated spirit. Thus, the church in Columbus, Ohio was established in the fall of 1977.
The majority of these Christians were college students attending The Ohio State University. Each week they would meet in homes on the campus to dive into the Word of God and to fellowship with one another the light that they had received. This kind of endeavoring strengthened the desire of many young believers for more truth and encouraged them to practically apply the truth to their daily living.
They began to pick up a burden for their school mates, their neighbors, and their relatives to be brought into the same enjoyment. Through the preaching of the gospel, many have been brought to the Lord over the years. Many of these believers have even been sent by the Lord to various cities in the U.S., as well as to other countries (Russia, Lebanon, China, the Czech Republic, Mexico, etc.) to spread the gospel of God’s kingdom and to practice the church life in oneness as revealed in the Bible.
As the church in Columbus, our vision is to continue to pursue and to speak the truth revealed in the Bible, to enter into the reality of the Body of Christ though a mutual living and shepherding of one another, and to stand for the oneness of the Body of Christ both locally and universally so that the Lord Jesus can come back.
We are Believers
We are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who have personally received Him as our Savior. He is the most excellent and enjoyable Person. We love Him and endeavor to give Him the first place in all things. We rejoice to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, born again of the Father’s divine life, and filled with the Holy Spirit. We highly treasure the Holy Bible as God’s revelation of Himself and of His eternal purpose. We hold the common faith revealed in the Bible which is common to all genuine believers.
Body of Christ
As is true of all believers in Christ, we are members of His one Body, the church. In order to practice the oneness of the Body with all the Christians in Columbus, we meet as the church in Columbus. We are in fellowship with over 2,000 local churches worldwide to express the one Body of Christ.
An Open Letter
Over the past nine decades the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee has edified believers in Christ and produced local churches on all six inhabited continents. The ministry of these two servants of God, which is published by Living Stream Ministry (LSM), stands upon the shoulders of the many great Christian teachers of the past to present both the broad span and the spiritual depths of the New Testament truths… (continue reading)