Plano East Church of Christ
On August 3, 1980, twenty-nine Christians met to worship in an insurance office on the east side of Plano. One month later this dedicated group of Christians began meeting in rented facilities at the Park Mall shopping center. With Loyd Smith serving as its minister, the congregation prospered and grew and soon purchased five acres of land on Merriman Drive.
The beautiful church building in which the church now meets was constructed in 1984. With dedicated members such as I.E. Crane, Clarence Shockey, Zerrial Bass, Seth Abbott and Jack Bowling, the church continued to thrive. In 1988 Hal Smith became the second minister for the congregation, and in 1991 Ken Gardner became the third preacher and first full-time minister for the church.
The members of the Plano East Church of Christ look to the future with optimism. Our initial mortgage has been paid off, we've built a new fellowship hall and kitchen. The future is bright indeed!
As Members of the Plano East Church of Christ, we take very seriously our privilege and responsibility to "preach the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15). We consider ourselves nothing more nor less than simple New Testament Christians (Matthew 23:1-12), committed to doing what is right, and devoted to sincerely encouraging others to be faithful Christians also (Mark 16:15-16).
We recognize our debt to God for sending His son to die for our sins (John 3:16) and understand that God saves us by grace -- we do not earn our salvation (Ephesians 2:8-10). Salvation is a gift God gives us when we believe in Jesus (John 8:24), confess our faith (Romans 10:10), repent of our sins, and are immersed in water so that God will forgive and wash away our sins (Acts 2:38, 22:16).
We are convinced that God still speaks to us today through the pages of the Bible, and we insist on a "thus saith the Lord" for all we believe and practice. We know that God rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked, and we hope our efforts -- our exhortations and our example -- result in sinners being saved and saints being strengthened. We hope you will join us as we endeavor to love God with all of our heart and our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:36:40).