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Connect Christian Church is a Christian Church (non-denominational) that will launch on April 7, 2013 at the Holiday Inn Eastgate on the east side of Cincinnati, OH. Connect Christian Church began as Amelia Church of Christ in the early 1950's.

== Beginnings as Amelia Church of Christ == In the early 50's, a group of men met together and decided that God was leading them to plant a church in Amelia, OH. Walter Bolender, who moved from Moscow, OH, met with Roland Gray, Delbert Wilson, Virgil Wood, Charles Vickers and Duke Galloway, and they decided to plant the Amelia Church of Christ.

First Services
The first ever meeting of the church was on August 31, 1952 in the Amelia High School auditorium. The launch service had 62 people in attendance. This new church was planted with support from the Churches of Christ in Clermont County (a total of twelve).

Since they did not yet have a full time pastor, they were led first by James Johnson (New Richmond, OH), John Kinner (Mulberry, OH), Lowell Jackson (Delhi Church, Cincinnati) and Carl Wolf (Mt. Washington). On September 28, 1952, the church hired Lowell Jackson as their first pastor.

First Move
The first major hurdle Amelia Church of Christ experienced with their temporary facility came that winter. As it became colder and heating costs increased, rent at the high school doubled to $100 per month. The doubling of rent was a strain on the church financially, so they began looking for another solution for their meeting space.

Receiving some assistance from the Christian Restoration Associate (CRA) and other Christian Churches in the area, Amelia Church of Christ was able to raise enough money for a downpayment on a new space. The property was 85'x240' and was located right on the main four-lane highway that ran through Amelia. To give the church time to stabilize financially and focus on the cost of the new building, the CRA also temporary assisted with staff salary costs.

In November 1952, the church purchased their first building. It was a house located at 1690 State Route 125 in Amelia. This building was originally a garage, but it was converted to a house at a later time. The church began meeting on the second floor of the new building on December 14, 1952.

1953 Revival
A revival was held at the church in June 1953 in the CRA tent. The church grew by 30% during this revival. Harvey Bream, Jr. preached the revival (then a CRA evangelist), and Lowell Jackson, the church's pastor, led the worship.

Church Growth Continues
As the church continued to grow, their meeting space became too crowded. In 1955, the church built a new concrete block building on their property so they could address the expansion and prepare for future growth. This new building was dedicated at a service on June 3, 1956. The dedication address was given by Woodrow Perry, then President of Cincinnati Bible Seminary. There was also involvement by pastors from several nearby Christian Churches.

Because of the growth that the church had been experiencing, The Sunday Courier featured an article on the church in their December 21, 1958 edition. The church had grown to 92 members by this time.

The original block building that was started in 1955 was completed in the spring of 1961. The church renovated the entire building (inside and out) in colonial architecture. A new wing was also added, which included dressing rooms and restrooms, and a baptistery was also installed. The entire renovation cost around $25,000, and it also included a cry room, pastor's study and coat room.

New Building in 1973
With continued growth, the church was in need of yet another larger facility by the 70's. The groundbreaking ceremony for the new building was held on July 29, 1973. Art Merkle (Wilmington Church of Christ) spoke at the ceremony.

New Vision for the Church
In early 2006, Mike Edmisten was hired as the Senior Pastor of the church. Working side by side with the leadership of the church, in October 2009, a new vision was launched for the Amelia Church of Christ. The vision is Connecting, Growing, Serving.


 * Connecting: This is what happens on Sunday mornings, connecting with God and others
 * Growing: This is accomplished through small groups at the church, which were launched in 2009 with the new vision, where you connect with God and others
 * Serving: Serving is a major part of being a part of this church, whether it is at the church or in the community

Sports Camp
Starting in 2009, the church launched an annual free sports camp for community children in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade. This week-long event is held at the Batavia Township Park in Batavia, OH and draws well over 200 kids every year. It has become the largest outreach and service events the church participates in each year. In 2012, the event sold out in less than two weeks.

Continued Growth
In 2010 and 2011, it became obvious that the church was again outgrowing their facility, so the leadership set out to locate a new space for worship. Several options were considered over the span of two years in preparation for the move. As one option, the church seriously considered a local CVS Pharmacy turned mattress store, but the logistics were not favorable. In late 2011, it was announced to the congregation that the church would be relocating. The location was unknown (since the old pharmacy did not materialize), but the overall plans continued.

Relocation to Holiday Inn Eastgate
On Sunday, June 17, 2012, it was announced that Amelia Church of Christ would be returning to their portable roots and moving their services to the Holiday Inn hotel in Eastgate to allow for more growth.

On October 7, 2012, it was announced that the move would be slightly delayed due to the unexpected sale of the Holiday Inn Eastgate to another company. The move was originally slated to take place in November 2012, but it had been delayed to early 2013.

On February 10, 2013, it was announced that the Amelia Church of Christ would begin meeting at the Holiday Inn Eastgate on April 7, 2013 and would be relaunched under the name Connect Christian Church.