The first worship service of the Church of Christ held in Miami was on December 3, 1911 at the W.A. Pringle home on NW 5th Street. This first gathering included eleven adults and children from three families: the Pringles, the DeVanes and the Hinelys. They were soon joined by the six members of the Dasher family who traveled every Sunday the ten miles from Larkin (now South Miami) in a horse-drawn surrey. As far as is known this was the first congregation of the Church of Christ established on the east coast of Florida, and came to be known as the Central Church of Christ.

The Church continued to meet in homes, shops, and the school house until about 1914 when they acquired a lot on NW 4th Street. The little frame building had no classrooms, baptistry, or plumbing, but they were proud of it! Baptisms were done in the Miami River at the foot of NW 4th Street. By 1921, they had outgrown the little frame building and constructed a larger building on the same site.

During that time of growth at the Central Church of Christ, a tent meeting was conducted in March, 1926. From this meeting came another congregation known as the South Miami Church of Christ.

In the 1950's, both congregations outgrew their facilities and moved. The Central congregation moved to NW 27th Ave. in June, 1959 ... the South Miami congregation moved to Sunset Drive in 1960. Other congregations were also begun in the area as South Florida during this population explosion.

The South Miami congregation started a kindergarten in 1960. In 1968, the various congregations came together and operated elementary schools in the church buildings of Homestead, South Miami, Hialeah, Andrews Avenue (Ft. Lauderdale), and Westwood Lake ... forming Atlantic Christian Schools. The Central congregation began Spanish language worship services in May, 1968, as the neighborhood gradually evolved into a predominantly Spanish-speaking area.

In the early 1980’s, both congregations looked toward moving farther west to serve the growing population of young families. It was learned that both Central and South Miami were looking at the same piece of property in the western suburbs. This information led to merging the congregations, and on October 14, 1984, the elders of both congregations announced that the Central and South Miami churches would merge to become the Sunset Church of Christ.

Fifteen acres (later expanded to twenty acres) were purchased in "Horse Country" at 12001 SW 72nd St. (Sunset Drive), and facilities constructed to accommodate the merged congregation, Spanish language worship, and Tropical Christian School. The building was finished and the first service was conducted on August 11 1991. Tropical Christian School re-opened with pre-kindergarten through third grade, and then annually added grades to its present Pre-K through 8th grade.

Following Hurricane Andrew in August 24, 1992, and the Sunset facilities were converted into a food and building materials distribution center thanks to the generous response of congregations of the Church of Christ throughout the United States. Volunteer repair crews worked throughout the area, concentrating on those who were uninsured or underinsured for the storm damage.

In 2009, as economic stresses have grown, we have temporarily closed Tropical Christian School, but Sunset strives to remain aware of needs and opportunities for service in this area as we attempt to bring Christ's message to the world.

The focus of our faith is upon the person of Jesus Christ. He is our Savior and our Lord. Only through His sacrificial death on the cross are we able to live in relationship with our Holy God. And that, incidentally, is why we wear His name. The "Church of Christ" is not a title used in a sectarian sense, but is intended to communicate our desire to belong fully to Christ.

Spiritual growth and development are difficult in a world that has too many answers to the same question. It would help to understand the question rather than just be told the answer. We have in-depth discussions of Scripture and life and how the two fit together. To be effective, the Bible must be practical and to be meaningful, life must have a spiritual element. We are not afraid to ask tough questions and find real answers.