Wheatland Church of Christ

Wheatland Church of Christ, also known as the Cross Church, is the oldest Disciples of Christ church built mainly for and by blacks in western Michigan. Thomas Cross (1826-1897), who with five other members founded the church in 1870, was its first elder. Early services were held in the Gingrich and Cross schoolhouses. When the congregation decided to build a church in 1883, Cross donated the land and loaned it the funds. In 1968 the church became an independent nondenominational organization.