Niagara Alliance History
The history of Niagara Alliance Church is really the history of two churches merging together as a new church in September of 2008 to form a stronger church family, better equipped to reach the greater Niagara region of New York with the love and hope of Jesus Christ. Those churches were Niagara Falls Alliance Church and Wheatfield Neighborhood Church.
Niagara Falls Alliance Church started as a home Bible study which grew into a neighborhood church, eventually building at the corner of 22nd St. and Linwood Ave. in the city of Niagara Falls, NY. Over the years though, as the population became more mobile, the congregation transitioned with many driving to church rather than walking. Eventually discussion of relocation arose. With prayer and faithfulness, the congregation launched into a time of waiting. Relocation does not always mean the finding of a vacant building in need of renovation or an empty field to build a new building. It may mean the joining of resources, in order to further the work of God's Kingdom.
Wheatfield Neighborhood Church also started as a home Bible study. The Bible study grew into a church family which gathered in a number of facilities before eventually purchasing a building on Oliver Street in North Tonawanda. After a period of time the congregation had grown to the place where it was realized that larger facilities would be needed which the Oliver Street property couldn't provide. Thus, a five acre parcel of land was purchased on Witmer Rd. in the Town of Wheatfield. A house for the pastor was constructed on the property followed by a church building. An addition to that building was later undertaken with the construction of a new worship center including a foyer, restrooms and sanctuary.
But churches are not bricks and mortar, they are people — people saved by the grace of God through the death and resurrection of Christ. Properties and buildings are merely resources made available by God to better enable the work of the church. With the Niagara Falls congregation sensing the need to relocate and the Wheatfield congregation's facilities providing ample room for growth, a merger was seen to be a provision of the Lord. Thus, after much prayer, discussion and planning, the two congregations merged in September of 2008 to become Niagara Alliance Church.
History of the Christian Church
The history of Christianity really goes back before the birth of Jesus into the Old Testament and ancient Jewish prophesies. Christians believe that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, a leader and savior whose coming was predicted by Jewish scriptures (the Christian Old Testament) centuries before His birth. "Christ" is the Greek word for Messiah, which is why Jesus is also called Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus or simply Christ. This is where the term "Christian" came from, to identify a person who followed Jesus.
Christianity began as an offshoot of Judaism for those Jewish believers who accepted Jesus Christ as the Messiah and their Savior. God's promise of the Messiah was always meant to be a blessing for the entire world and not just the Jewish people. In the same promise God made to Abraham, the father of the Jews, about creating a Jewish nation through him, God also states that the Jewish lineage would bring a blessing to the whole world. Christians believe that Jesus is that blessing that was promised to Abraham and everyone else. Jesus commanded that the good news of His sacrificial death, resurrection and redemption should be shared with the whole world. The early Christian church leaders soon realized that Christianity was not just for Jews and began spreading the word to Gentiles (non-Jews) as well.
The Good News Spreads Throughout the World
Because Jesus and His disciples lived in the Roman province of Palestine, the environment was just right to take advantage of the well-connected Roman communications networks and enabled Christianity to spread quickly throughout the Roman Empire and eventually to the rest of Europe, and finally throughout the entire globe.
Over the last 2,000 years, the message of Christianity has been spread through three major branches of the Christian Church. The Roman Catholic branch of Christianity is the successor of the church established in Rome and shares a history going back to the early church with the Eastern Orthodox branch. In 1054, the Eastern Orthodox Church separated itself from the Roman Catholic Church. Orthodox churches are largely national, each associated with a particular country. Orthodoxy is common in Russia, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, the Ukraine, and Armenia. The Protestant branch split from the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation, a sixteenth and seventeenth century series of church reforms in doctrine and practice. Protestantism eventually developed into many denominations with slight subtleties of doctrine, theology, or religious practice. However, despite differences in practice and style, all Christian churches agree that the essential Christian doctrine is a life-changing faith in Jesus Christ.
We see Christian church history not as the history of various and specific denominations, but as a history of the message of the gospel (which means good news), that Jesus commissioned believers in him to spread throughout the world. It is that connection to the original message of Jesus, which has been spread through various Christian groups throughout history, that we identify with. We desire to continue to pass on "HIS-Story" as we take part in God's history.
The history of Niagara Alliance Church is really the history of two churches merging together as a new church in September of 2008 to form a stronger church family, better equipped to reach the greater Niagara region of New York with the love and hope of Jesus Christ. Those churches were Niagara Falls Alliance Church and Wheatfield Neighborhood Church.
Niagara Falls Alliance Church started as a home Bible study which grew into a neighborhood church, eventually building at the corner of 22nd St. and Linwood Ave. in the city of Niagara Falls, NY. Over the years though, as the population became more mobile, the congregation transitioned with many driving to church rather than walking. Eventually discussion of relocation arose. With prayer and faithfulness, the congregation launched into a time of waiting. Relocation does not always mean the finding of a vacant building in need of renovation or an empty field to build a new building. It may mean the joining of resources, in order to further the work of God's Kingdom.
Wheatfield Neighborhood Church also started as a home Bible study. The Bible study grew into a church family which gathered in a number of facilities before eventually purchasing a building on Oliver Street in North Tonawanda. After a period of time the congregation had grown to the place where it was realized that larger facilities would be needed which the Oliver Street property couldn't provide. Thus, a five acre parcel of land was purchased on Witmer Rd. in the Town of Wheatfield. A house for the pastor was constructed on the property followed by a church building. An addition to that building was later undertaken with the construction of a new worship center including a foyer, restrooms and sanctuary.
But churches are not bricks and mortar, they are people — people saved by the grace of God through the death and resurrection of Christ. Properties and buildings are merely resources made available by God to better enable the work of the church. With the Niagara Falls congregation sensing the need to relocate and the Wheatfield congregation's facilities providing ample room for growth, a merger was seen to be a provision of the Lord. Thus, after much prayer, discussion and planning, the two congregations merged in September of 2008 to become Niagara Alliance Church.
History of the Christian Church
The history of Christianity really goes back before the birth of Jesus into the Old Testament and ancient Jewish prophesies. Christians believe that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, a leader and savior whose coming was predicted by Jewish scriptures (the Christian Old Testament) centuries before His birth. "Christ" is the Greek word for Messiah, which is why Jesus is also called Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus or simply Christ. This is where the term "Christian" came from, to identify a person who followed Jesus.
Christianity began as an offshoot of Judaism for those Jewish believers who accepted Jesus Christ as the Messiah and their Savior. God's promise of the Messiah was always meant to be a blessing for the entire world and not just the Jewish people. In the same promise God made to Abraham, the father of the Jews, about creating a Jewish nation through him, God also states that the Jewish lineage would bring a blessing to the whole world. Christians believe that Jesus is that blessing that was promised to Abraham and everyone else. Jesus commanded that the good news of His sacrificial death, resurrection and redemption should be shared with the whole world. The early Christian church leaders soon realized that Christianity was not just for Jews and began spreading the word to Gentiles (non-Jews) as well.
The Good News Spreads Throughout the World
Because Jesus and His disciples lived in the Roman province of Palestine, the environment was just right to take advantage of the well-connected Roman communications networks and enabled Christianity to spread quickly throughout the Roman Empire and eventually to the rest of Europe, and finally throughout the entire globe.
Over the last 2,000 years, the message of Christianity has been spread through three major branches of the Christian Church. The Roman Catholic branch of Christianity is the successor of the church established in Rome and shares a history going back to the early church with the Eastern Orthodox branch. In 1054, the Eastern Orthodox Church separated itself from the Roman Catholic Church. Orthodox churches are largely national, each associated with a particular country. Orthodoxy is common in Russia, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, the Ukraine, and Armenia. The Protestant branch split from the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation, a sixteenth and seventeenth century series of church reforms in doctrine and practice. Protestantism eventually developed into many denominations with slight subtleties of doctrine, theology, or religious practice. However, despite differences in practice and style, all Christian churches agree that the essential Christian doctrine is a life-changing faith in Jesus Christ.
We see Christian church history not as the history of various and specific denominations, but as a history of the message of the gospel (which means good news), that Jesus commissioned believers in him to spread throughout the world. It is that connection to the original message of Jesus, which has been spread through various Christian groups throughout history, that we identify with. We desire to continue to pass on "HIS-Story" as we take part in God's history.
