Hello and Welcome

We are so glad that you have taken the time to stop and browse our website.  Allow me to tell you a little bit about the congregation of Christ in Pana, Illinois.

Many consider the Lord's prayer to be the prayer that he used to teach his disciples how to pray. But our Lord not only taught us how to pray, He taught us to pray often through example. One prayer that stands out to us is found in the book of John. Jesus while praying for the welfare of his disciples asked, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." (John 17:20-22)

This prayer is also our prayer! We, the congregation of Christ in Pana, are just Christians, disciples of Jesus Christ, that have bound together for the purpose of worship, exhortation, edification, and spreading the pure gospel of Christ. We have no creed other than God's word; we have no headquarters other than in Heaven, and we have no head other than Jesus Christ. We are non-denominational, as we see denominations as being one of the very human innovations that promotes division. While others want to promote unity while ignoring division, we are interested in doing Bible things in Bible ways and calling Bible things by Bible names. By doing this, we can all become united.

Amos asks the logical question, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" (Amos 3:3) In order for there to be unity, we must agree. The only way for us to agree is for us to build upon a single standard. With no creed other than the Bible can we accomplish this feat. This is what we promote.

Our Founder

When Jesus was on this earth he promised to build his Church. (Matt 16:15) He did just that on the day of Pentecost. The scriptures proclaim that Christ only built one church. (Col 1:18) "He is the head of the body, the church..." (Eph 4:4) "There is one body..." Jesus only built one church. How can we know which church is his? (Matt 7:20-21) "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." We can be a member of his church today if we follow the blueprint that he left for us - The Word of God.

Our Mission

The mission of our church is to save and protect precious souls. We are not the preserver or interpreter of the apostolic teaching, but we are the result of their teachings when we believe and obey them. (1 Cor 15:1-4) (Acts 2:41,47) Our mission is not to be the best social club in town (many in the name of growing religion have went this route), but our mission is to teach the pure gospel of Christ. Jesus gave us our mission in Matthew 28:18 and in Mark 16:15-16. Our mission is to preach the Gospel, (2 Tim 4:2) and to strive to do all things by the authority of Christ. (Col 3:17)

Our Worship

If you decide to come and visit with us, you will find our worship to be simple, comfortable, and refreshing from this complex world.  We sing praises to God,unaccompanied by instrumental music, as a congregation in hopes to edify and exhort each other to walk another mile. (Col 3:16) We pray to God for the welfare of church, state, friends, loved ones, enemies, and fellow members, while thanking Him for the wonderful blessings of life, both the spiritual and the physical. We commune with Jesus Christ with the Lord's Supper, and we do this upon the first day of the week. We give back to God, in accordance to how we have prospered and out of a willingly heart (of course, we do not expect any contributions from our guests), and we preach and listen to sermons that are for the purpose of teaching and instructing us to walk with God.

We do all these things, not because we particularly prefer a certain way over another, but because these practices are the same as those found in the Scriptures and the same as those found in the early church.

Meet the Preacher

This writer, Gary Shawn Daniels, is the full-time preacher for the church in Pana. I received my training as a preacher of God's word from my dad, Jessie Daniels who has been preaching over 30 years now and is currently preaching in Wellsburg, WV. Pana has been my home now since 2007, and I enjoy working with my brothers and sisters in this area.  If you would like to discuss any of the information that you have read on this website or any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via our contact page.