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Our history
Over a century of care & compassion
Churches of Christ was established in 1882 when a group of smaller Christian churches in the Brisbane area came together, not to establish another denomination but to unite around the mission of Jesus and His Church.
Similar Christian church unifications in the US had shown Queenslanders C M Fischer and T Geraghty how the now larger churches had been able to provide more care to the community, and more support for the vulnerable.
Fischer and Geraghty established a congregation at Zillman’s Watering Hole, and on 1 August 1882, the first Church of Christ in Queensland was born – now known as Zillmere Church of Christ, in Brisbane's north.
News of the new Churches of Christ in Queensland quickly spread, and on 22 October, 1882, 18 people gathered at the Temperance Hall in Toowoomba for its first service. They met each Sunday and by 1886 there were 52 members, 70 Bible School pupils and six teachers.
As the churches grew, leaders and congregations provided support and care to the community - particularly Queensland's vulnerable and disadvantaged.
Over the years, these support services became more formalised, and we began partnering with government to provide care to those who need it most.
In 1980, we first partnered with the Queensland Government to manage three houses for community housing tenants. Over the decades, as the need for social housing grew, we stepped up to provide homes to disadvantaged Queenslanders - especially those at risk of homelessness. This was the beginning of the large-scale social housing program we're running today.
We opened our first aged care home in 1950, and retirement village in 1966, and began our foster care program in 1970.
Throughout it all, our churches continued to grow, and we now have 68 affiliated churches across Queensland.
Our Churches of Christ Historical Research Centre at Mitchelton has many historical records, books and artefacts, providing a detailed documentation of our history.