A Tale of Two Churches
Our story at Genesis Community Church actually started with two separate churches: Centennial Christian Center and The Branch. Centennial Christian Center was a Free Methodist Church with a presence in the Springfield, OR area for over 100 years. The Branch was a 7-year old non-denominational church plant by Jim and Karla Eschenbacher. Both churches had a heart to minister to their communities and help those within their churches discover a real relationship with God through Jesus Christ. In early 2015, God began to plant the seeds that would eventually cause us to become the family we now know as Genesis Community Church.
In February 2015, The Branch began renting space from Centennial Christian Center on Sunday mornings. Through this process, both churches and pastoral teams started to get to know each other and in May of 2017 the question was raised about whether we could do more work for the Kingdom of God together rather than apart. After a 4-month trial period, followed by a 2-month transition period, Genesis Community Church was born on January 1st, 2018.
Onward and Upward
The legacies of Centennial Christian Center and The Branch live on in the people who now make up our GCC family. We have a passion for introducing people to the life-changing impact a relationship with Jesus Christ can have. We have a desire to help people discover how to use their God-given gifts, abilities, and experiences to glorify God, and we have a deep need to be disciples of Jesus who produce other disciples of Jesus. We are excited to continue to find new ways to be present and active in our neighborhood and community and look forward to the many relationships that we will develop.