From a quiet dead end street in Brockport, Christ Community Church has been reaching out to the campus, the local community and the world for 25 years. Hidden at the end of Coleman Creek Road, yet in bold view on the Brockport School drive - barn turned into a sanctuary - the church's building represents its simple beginnings and gigantic growth. On July 4, 1976, the church started as the "Founders Club," ten college students meeting in the home of Gary Pfeiffer, the original pastor. Within a year, John M. Benedetti, current senior pastor, joined Pfeiffer in a team ministry. The church continued to draw students from the SUNY Brockport campus and Roberts Weselyan College. Soon the church occupied the downstairs of its present barn building with community residents starting to attend. The church changed to its present name. The church now numbers 450, a figure Benedetti takes from the total attendance at worship services on both Saturday night and Sunday morning. "We do have membership, but we look at what our service contains every week," Benedetti says. "These are the people we are serving." The number includes college students who can't be members because of their transient status. Church membership would be even greater if its leaders had not chosen to branch out by establishing other churches in the community. "We had a vision to start churches in local communities and not be a mega-church where people drive in," Benedetti said. Large clusters of people attending from outlying towns were trained and supported for a year to start their own church. These include: The New Testament Church in Greece, New Hope Community Church in North Chili, and Hamlin's New Testament Church. Many college students attending Christ Community Church have married and remained in the church, creating a major core of the membership. "This is a unique situation with us," Benedetti said. "These people say, 'I love this church, I love what God is doing here,' and they did not want to leave." One example is Glenn Kaiser who grew up in Spencerport and attended Christ Community Church all his life. In 1993, he graduated from SUNY College at Brockport with a degree in hydrology. He had opportunities for employment elsewhere, "but the Lord kept leading me back to this area for which I am very thankful because I met my fiancee here," Kaiser said. He and Susan DiTullio, of Greece, NY, met two years ago as youth group leaders in the church. They were married there on September 22. Kaiser also started with the Division of Pure Waters in the Monroe County Department of Environmental Services in that same time. Finally settling into the community and his work, Kaiser gives the source of his determination and patience: "It is very important in my faith to be grounded in a good local church." Benedetti is part of a team of pastors who share most of the traditional pastoral duties plus a special focus for each. Benedetti works primarily with the church's leadership as senior pastor and travels about half-time to other countries. Bruce N. Plummer, on staff for 15 years, does family and personal counseling, and overseas the campus ministry. Mark W. DuPré, with over 16 years at the church, does counseling and leads the music program which is a major part of the church's life and outreach. James M. Hinman has been youth pastor for eight years. The church's international outreach stems from Benedetti's spreading reputation as an inspirational teacher in church leadership and ministry. Over 11 years ago, after Benedetti preached at a conference in North Carolina, a Romanian said to him, "I want you to come to my country and minister in my church." The invitation began a series of consultant missionary visits by Benedetti to churches in Italy, Africa (Cameroon), Argentina, Haiti, Guatemala, Mexico, and Spain. In every case, Benedetti was funded by his own church. In 1985, after Benedetti's initial visit to Haiti, a couple from the Christ Community Church congregation took up the missionary work with a church there. That was the beginning of lay missionaries from the church going to various countries. Soon after the first outreach to Haiti, the church's youth group began planning and raising funds for their own missionary visits overseas which now have included England, Balize, Granada (twice), Mexico, Romania, Moldova, Guatemala, as well as New York City and Pittsburgh. "These countries, who have tried Communism for years, love our kids coming and witnessing about Christ," Benedetti said. This summer the youth group and other parishioners raised funds for 13 Romanian teens to visit this area as guests of the church. The three pastors now divide their missionary work into different parts of the globe: Benedetti in Romania, Italy and Spanish speaking countries, DuPré in France, and Plummer in China. At home, the church's study program takes place on Saturday evening, Sunday morning during worship and on Tuesday evenings. On Tuesdays, study groups for women, men and youth meet. Those interested in becoming members must attend 27 sessions of the "foundation class" which are concurrent with the Saturday and Sunday worship services. The church also has its own day school with 61 enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade. Saturday evening and Sunday morning services have songs, announcements, and a sermon. After about a 15 minute intermission, most of the congregation stays for an informal worship that includes songs and prayers with more participation from the congregation. When asked for his reflections on twenty-five years of growth and the impact of Christ Community Church here and around the world, Benedetti referred to a scriptural motto which is used on stationery and elsewhere in the church: "In all things that Christ may have preeminence." |
