Rosemont Christian Church

Why did the Rosemont Christian Church, a once-thriving congregation, decide to close its doors? The answer, like the church’s history, is filled with both sadness and hope. Rosemont Christian Church, with its thousand-seat auditorium, once bustled with over 700 members. It was a missions-minded church, supporting efforts across the globe. However, by the mid-1980s, the surrounding neighborhood began to change. The church’s demographics shifted, and attendance dwindled as members moved away. Rosemont Christian Church tried numerous outreach programs. Gospel preaching, special events, and weekly visits to newcomers were all attempted. Yet, these efforts yielded little fruit. The few Hispanic families who joined indicated a deeper need. The community wanted to hear the Gospel in Spanish. The church recognized a painful truth. Working harder wasn’t enough. The community’s needs were changing, and the church, in its current form, couldn’t meet them. Instead of clinging to a dying congregation, the remaining 60 members, mostly in their seventies to nineties, made a bold decision. In late 2008, the Rosemont Christian Church voted to disband. They donated their building and remaining funds to Continent of Great Cities, a Dallas-based ministry. This ministry trains missionaries for Latin America. This act of selfless generosity was not a defeat, but a strategic repositioning. Rosemont Christian Church chose to keep the spirit of faith alive in their community, albeit in a new form. In the summer of 2009, Continent of Great Cities brought in a team of Latin American ministers. These ministers, graduates of the Baxter Institute in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, began to evangelize the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. The building underwent renovations. It reopened in January 2009 as the Iglesia de Christo (Church of Christ) Rosemont, with architectural changes to reflect the Hispanic culture. The Rosemont Christian Church’s legacy lives on. Not as a monument to the past, but as a vibrant center for a new generation of believers. A tearful ending became a joyous new beginning.