Crestview Church of Christ officially began in November 1954 with 75 people meeting at the Nurses’ Home at Hillcrest Hospital. In February 1956 the congregation was composed of 110 members and began meeting in the first section of a new facility at 816 New Road. In August of that year, additional classroom facilities were added and the membership totaled 190.
During the 1960s Crestview experienced steady growth and by 1965 membership totaled 390 with a weekly budget of $1,500. Crestview’s continual growth caused overcrowding and by the mid-1970s a new facility was planned. In 1981, a new facility at 7129 Delhi Rd. was completed, and 650 members began meeting and worshipping in this new location. Now Crestview has 702 members and an annual budget of over $1.4 million.
Over the years Crestview has developed a strong sense of commitment and passion for serving our community, especially the poor and marginalized. The majority of Crestview’s ministries are devoted to meeting the physical and spiritual needs of our neighbors in the community. Crestview routinely partners with local agencies and churches to provide clothing, food, money, and other needed items for a variety of people in need. Crestview has the largest church-operated food pantry in Waco and distributes food several times a week. Crestview has always been a church that loves and nurtures its children and teens. Our ministries to children and youth benefit our own families, while at the same time, providing help and encouragement to families in the community.
Crestview’s strong sense of community outreach led our elders to challenge the congregation to build a Community Center, which opened in 2004. The vision was to provide facilities, events, programs, and service activities to address the needs of our surrounding community. The Community Center represents our commitment to love our community. It is available free of charge to groups, churches, non-profit agencies, and individuals. Each month, 3,000—4,000 people from the local community use it. This 25,000 square foot facility has also blessed Crestview with additional classroom space to accommodate many more adult classes along with a hallway of classes dedicated to our Youth Group Program.
In 2015, Crestview renovated much of their main building. As part of the renovation, we were able to double the size of our food pantry, naming it the Liddicoat Family Food Pantry in honor of the family that began this outreach. The Food Pantry is staffed by volunteers twice a week and serves 150+ families a week.
Crestview traditionally has prioritized and focused on ministering to children, youth and parents. Our current Children’s, Youth, and Parents Day Out ministries continue that tradition and attract children and parents from all sections of the community. They are some of Crestview’s greatest strengths. Crestview fosters an environment that encourages and forms long-term relationships with ministers as well as the community, and is a great congregation in which to serve, minister, and grow in our faith.
As a church family, Crestview is committed to our mission: To glorify God by growing in Jesus, serving Jesus, and sharing Jesus with the world, through the power of the Holy Spirit. This mission statement was prayerfully written and implemented in 2004. The statement was reviewed by the Elders in 2007 and affirmed without changes. In 2013, during a Congregational assessment, the Elders once again reaffirmed and endorsed Crestview’s Mission Statement. This statement confirms Crestview’s mission to assist others in becoming disciples of Jesus and sharing His life through our words and actions.