Two local churches come together after 20 years apart

The First Church of the Nazarene, top, and the West Park Church of the Nazarene, bottom, will be hosting their first worship service Sunday together for the first time since separating 20 years ago. The two churches will operate as the Church of the Nazarene of Fort Scott and will worship at both locations temporarily until a location large enough to accommodate both congregations can be found. (Michael Pommier/Tribune)

Just in time for the Easter season, two local churches will put the past behind them and reunite after about 20 years apart.

The First Church of the Nazarene and the West Park Church of the Nazarene Church have spent the last two decades serving Fort Scott separately, according to First Church of the Nazarene Pastor Scott Moore.

However, beginning on Easter Sunday, the two churches will come together once again to serve the community as one.

"This is a good thing, the people in both congregations are excited about," Moore said. "We're better together than apart."

Moore said the churches separated in the same manner as many other churches have separated. However, the a new church will be formed in hopes of showing the community that differences can be set aside for the betterment of the town.

"I think the others brought up some issues that they had back then that they just decided it would be easier for them to serve the community separately," he said. "New churches are mostly born out of splits, but we'll be a new church, really, coming together as a merge instead of a split. We hope that it's a good thing for the community to show them that even though there may be issues that doesn't mean you can't work together for the good of the community."

Moore, who will be bringing the message at both locations, said that after three years of planning, the merger has come at a good time as the West Park Church of the Nazarene recently lost its pastor who decided to take an assignment at another church.

The church, now known as the Church of the Nazarene of Fort Scott will host its first service at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at the Danny and Willa Ellis Fine Arts Center on the campus of Fort Scott Community College, 2108 Horton, to accommodate both congregations, as well as any community members who wish to attend.

The two churches will continue to operate separately for now. At the West Park Church of the Nazarene, now called the West Campus, there will be a 9 a.m. worship service with children's church and children's Sunday school at the same time. At the First Church of the Nazarene, now called the East Campus, there will be an 11 a.m. worship service with children's church and children's Sunday school at the same time.

Moore said the separate operations will only be temporary as they evaluate which of the two locations could be expanded to accommodate both congregations.

"We'll still be too large of a group to meet in any of the one buildings right now," Moore said. "We hope to be under the same roof ... by September."