Christ Church is a reconciling, justice-seeking community in the Coral Ridge neighborhood of Fort Lauderdale. Our journey to this point began in the late 1950s. While we celebrate our past, we don’t let it close us off to new things, ideas, people or ministries. We live into God's future with a sense of wonder and courage. We are open to the leadings of the Holy Spirit.

Here is a brief history of Christ Church.

In the late 1950’s, a group of people from Park Temple Methodist Church realized the opportunity for reaching new people for Christ in the rapidly developing Coral Ridge section of northeast Fort Lauderdale. They helped organize Christ Church, which held its first service on April 13, 1958, with the Reverend Lee Van Sickle as its new pastor. 

The present sanctuary, constructed at a cost of $150,000, was opened on February 21, 1960. The church experienced rapid growth and as the congregation grew, additional buildings to house developing ministries were built. In 1970, a two-story education building was constructed and became home to the newly organized Christ Church School.

A Sunday morning fire in that education building in 1991 inspired a new era of growth, physically and spiritually. That same year, the senior pastor, Dick Wills, experienced a powerful spiritual renewal while attending the World Methodist Conference in South Africa. He returned with a new passion to ensure that Christ Church would always be fully invested in God’s design to redeem the creation. Flowing out of that passion, the congregation named and embraced a clarifying new vision, formed dozens of small groups for spiritual growth and accountability, organized significant ministry with the poor and homeless, purchased a three-and-a-half-acre tract across the street for future growth and parking, and built the multi-purpose Life Enrichment Center to enable new kinds of ministry and worship.

In 2021, we merged with Parkway UMC in Deerfield Beach, where we serve our community through outreach ministries such as Love in Action shared meals and the Blessings Food Pantry.   

About the same time, under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Brett Opalinski,  Christ Church took steps to become active in social justice measures for all who have been marginalized by forming an active Anti-Racism Task Force and a Reconciling Group. In 2022, Christ Church became a Reconciling Congregation as part of the Reconciling Ministries Network, and also a part of the Methodist Federation for Social Action.

Christ Church is now led by Pastor Nathan Adams, who has a passion for urban ministry and helping all folks know and experience Jesus’ inclusive love and helping churches to serve and lead their community.

All of our history symbolizes a commitment, still in place among leaders today, to be not a fortress where people go and hide from the brokenness of the world, but instead to be a powerful force that God can use to transform the lives of people God made and loves more than we can even possibly imagine.

With that commitment, we believe Christ Church’s purpose is to reflect the love, hope and joy of Jesus Christ to our community. We’re convinced the best days for Christ Church are still ahead!

We’ve never been more committed to the assignment Jesus gave his church—to invite people into new-life relationship with him. We know this will not always be easy—it will require commitment of our time, energy, finances, and prayer—but the reward will be more than worth it as we participate in God's transformation of our own and other people's lives. It’s why Christ Church was organized in the first place; it’s why we’re still here today.