History

The first meeting of the Church of Christ in Bartlesville was held in April of 1916 in the home of Barnabus B. and Lora L. Young, with their five sons and one daughter.  The following week four other families joined the Youngs and met in a vacant grocery store building, the Red Front, at Third (now Frank Phillips Boulevard ) and Inola Streets. The men took turns reading scripture, making short talks, leading prayers and songs, and serving communion. At some point, with a few additional families, the church began meeting at the Carpenter's Hall located at Dewey and Second Streets.

A lot was purchased in 1922 and a building raised at Santa Fe and Cudahy Streets. Four years later, in 1926, Will W. Slater became the first "located" preacher.

The congregation stayed at this location until a two-story residence was purchased in 1939 at the corner of 6th and Dewey. The downstairs was remodeled into an auditorium seating about 60 people, while upstairs four classrooms were created. In 1941 an extension was built on to increase the seating to 125.  All of the labor was done by members of the congregation.

The membership continued to grow, and in 1947 Charles Woodruff was commissioned to design a new building at Sixth and Dewey.  The original two-story building was moved to the back of the lot in 1948, and the new building was begun on that site with Ray Dunlap as general contractor.  On August 7, 1949 , 100 members attended services in the first church building in Bartlesville to have refrigerated air conditioning.

In 1950, Central Christian College was begun in Bartlesville and attendance at Sixth and Dewey grew dramatically.  In 1953, property at 1607 Southeast Swan Drive was purchased for an additional congregation. On the first Sunday in August, 1955, 136 members met in the newly completed building known as the Limestone Church, while some 300 members remained at Sixth and Dewey.

As families grow their needs change, so it was with God's family at 6th and Dewey.  To provide for the expanding needs of the congregation, a building committee was appointed in May, 1976.  In June, 1976 the church purchased approximately twelve acres of land at the intersection of Adams Boulevard and Highway 75.  Derry Ebert was selected to provide the architectural design and G.B. Williams was enlisted as the general contractor.

In February, 1977, the 6th and Dewey building was sold to the city of Bartlesville which necessitated the use of several temporary facilities while the Woodland building was being completed.  A ground breaking ceremony was conducted on May 1, 1977 and actual construction on the site began in the fall of that year.

'Come Worship With Woodland' read the December 31, 1978 church bulletin as the Sixth and Dewey members moved into their new building, renaming the congregation the Woodland Church of Christ.  After surviving weeks of snow and ice and then mud, the parking lots were finally laid, numerous finishing touches to the interior of the building were completed, and open house festivities were held on April 1, 1979.

Nine years later, in 1988, the Woodland and Limestone congregations merged to form the Adams Boulevard Church of Christ. 

In more recent history, the continued growth of the congregation and need for more space necessitated the addition of a two-story, 11-room education wing in 1998.  This new wing not only allowed room for more Bible and community classes, but also supplied the needed space to begin Sonshine School , a preschool and parent’s day out program, in 2001.

In the fall of 2003, groundbreaking and construction began on our new  Family Life Center, which was dedicated on Sunday, March 27, 2005.  The new center consists of a mutli-purpose room with a full-size gymnasium floor capable of seating approximately 500 people.  It also contains a new commercial kitchen, additional classrooms, conference room, offices, parlor, storage and more.

Today, attendance averages around 500 people consisting of approximately 350 family units, and continues to work toward the mission statement of Knowing Christ and Making Him Known.  If you are looking for a church home, we would love for you to become a part of our future.