Even in elementary school, the Rev. Erin Dickey knew she wanted to be a pastor.

“I used to baptize my stuffed animals and give them communion. I’d read my Bible to them,” she said. “I mean it was like the way that other kids played school. I played church.”

Erin, who will join Kingwood Christian Church in May as associate pastor for youth and community engagement, grew up in Lake Charles, La., attending a Disciples church. She’s at least the third generation of her family who have belonged to Disciples congregations.

When Carolyn and Les King visited Kingwood Christian Church in late 1997, they were welcomed by an exuberant Karen Cueni Tillett, who greeted them after the service.

That afternoon, Al Bilderback stopped by their house with a loaf of bread to welcome them. 

They had visited a few other churches in Kingwood, but none offered that kind of extravagant welcome.

“Our church has always - in the 25 years we’ve been going -  been a welcome and friendly church,” Carolyn said. “Much more so than any of the other churches we visited.”

Now, new members of the church are often welcomed in that same friendly way by Carolyn and Les. 

Volunteer work led Anne Amis and Jaime Retamales to each other.

Years later, being neighborly led them to Kingwood Christian Church.

Anne was a Jesuit Volunteer Corps member working as a social worker at a shelter in Arica, Chile, when she met Jaime in 1998.

Jaime, a native of Arica, was working for a non-profit when he started volunteering at the shelter, Hogar de Christo (House of Christ). He had a bachelor’s degree in Spanish education and wanted to write the stories of the elderly people at the shelter.  Jaime led workshops on poetry and drama and encouraged the shelter’s clients to tell their stories.

Dennis and Peggy Cook have belonged to Kingwood Christian Church since the church began on May 1, 1977, with a meeting at Frank and Joyce Coupal’s home.

When the Coupals advertised the idea of starting a Disciples church in Kingwood, it made sense for the Cooks to get involved. Dennis was raised in a Disciples church, but the closest congregations were in Cypress Creek or downtown Houston.

Twelve families at that first meeting agreed to form a new Disciples of Christ Church.

Tiffany and Rogji Setia joined Kingwood Christian Church in November of 2018, shortly after The Table service began.

Rogji, who owns an air conditioning business, heard about the church’s new contemporary service from Belinda Walls and Marianne Creveling, who were his customers.

Although Rogji had grown up going to church, he hadn’t been to one in years. Growing up In the Internet age, he said, his two older sons hadn’t really seen him interacting with a lot of other adults.

“I realized it was part of parenting. They gain the most from watching what you do, not really what you tell them,” he said. “I thought it was important to get back into a church with my two younger sons while I still had a chance.”

Ray and Sue Diehl moved to Texas to be closer to their daughter’s family. They left most of their extended family in New Jersey, where they’d spent much of their lives.

​Little did they know they’d find a church that feels like family when they were introduced to Kingwood Christian Church in 2017.

Kathy and Dennis Moody were searching for a church home that was welcoming and inclusive when an online post brought them to Kingwood Christian Church about a year and a half ago.

“In the beginning we were just trying it out, we were leery,” Kathy said. “We were looking for like-minded people. We had gone to many churches, and gotten involved. We’re used to being way involved in our church. Then we would find out things that we didn’t agree with - like racial discrimination.”

When Kathy Johnson joined Kingwood Christian Church in 2001, she was returning to her roots.

Both she and her husband, Dave, were raised and married in a Disciples Church in Speedway, Ind., home of the Indy 500 just outside of Indianapolis.

They met in high school. Although Dave went to Purdue and Kathy went to Indiana University,  they stayed together and have been married 55 years. “We were big rivals but got married anyway,” Dave laughed.

Church has always been part of Wendy Hampton’s life.

“I grew up in church, from birth to the time I left home,” she said. “It’s always been a part of who I am.”

When she and her wife, Brenda, had twin boys, she wanted church to be part of their lives too.

But until a friend told her about Kingwood Christian Church in 2019, they had a hard time finding a church in Kingwood that was welcoming for their family.

When Ryan Nelson Paryag was growing up in Grenada, he saw many examples of people who gave of themselves without asking anything in return. 

“That’s what I decided I want to do,” he said.

His long history of volunteer work at Kingwood Christian Church is proof that he’s meeting that goal.

Dozens of children who have grown up in Kingwood Christian Church have been lucky to hear Bible stories from Betty Garber.

She helps kids relate to Bible characters as real people.

“When I was growing up, some of the Bible stories were taught in a fantastical way. But these people were supposed to be real people, so I teach them as real people. If they’re having political problems, I say they’re having problems with the government. Those Romans!”

Betty is a natural storyteller.