Our Mission
The mission of Church of the Incarnation is to worship in the Great Tradition of the Church, to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ, to serve the poor, and to raise up godly leaders for the renewal of the Church.
Worship
That anchored by the Church’s historic liturgy, the Scriptures would be truly preached and the Sacraments faithfully administered, so that we may be ever replenished by the truth of the Apostolic Faith.
Grow
That our parish would always be zealous to bring people to a saving encounter with Jesus Christ and to equip and nurture every member for a life of full and deep communion with the Lord.
Serve
That this parish would never flag in humble care for the poor and love them for the sake of Jesus Christ.
Raise Up
That God might use this parish to call and raise up lay and ordained leaders for the renewal of the Church in our diocese, in our nation and throughout the Anglican Communion to the glory of his Name and the benefit of his holy Church.
What We Believe
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the revealed Word of God containing all things necessary to salvation.
We worship one God in three Persons, praying to the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit.
We take part in the Sacraments ordained by Christ himself, through the ministry of the apostolic orders.
We are an integral part of the one Body of Christ composed of Churches which, united under the headship of Jesus, are in the fellowship of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church throughout the ages.
We believe in the apostolic succession of bishops.
We hold the one Faith revealed in Holy Scripture, and defined in the creeds as maintained by the undivided primitive Church in the undisputed Ecumenical Councils.
We belong to the worldwide Anglican Communion under the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
We pray for the healing of the Church’s sad divisions and for the reunification of the Body of Christ.
History
The early story of Church of the Incarnation is in great part the history and ministry of Bishop Alexander Charles Garrett who arrived in Dallas on December 31, 1874. With his foresight and a financial gift of $350 to purchase a lot for the chapel, Church of the Incarnation was born.
It was originally located on the corner of McKinney and Harwood, far north of Dallas’ business and residential community, and in 1897, the Mission Church became a full-fledged parish of the Diocese of Dallas.
Under the leadership of its dedicated rectors and many devoted members, the church grew in size and service to the community. In 1902, Incarnation dedicated the first brick building that was used for the next 25 years until the church moved to a new building further north on McKinney called Memorial Chapel that is still in regular use. The church that stands today was dedicated in 1954.
The more than 130-year history of Church of the Incarnation is a remarkable record of faithful response to God’s call. Decade after decade, the people of Incarnation remained committed to serving God as a community of disciples by honoring the tradition of our worship, raising up leaders for the renewal of the Church, growing deeper in our relationship with Christ, and caring for the poor. One of the greatest tools for that mission is the physical space in which we worship and teach. It was evident that we needed to expand our campus to embrace our future.
In December 2015, we opened the doors to a welcome center, an education facility, and new contemporary worship space, Ascension Chapel. At the same time, we opened a two-story outreach center at 4061 Central Expressway, located at the far northeast end of the campus. The upstairs provides offices and much-needed work and storage space for our Mission & Outreach team. The bottom level, for several years, was utilized by Incarnation House—a drop-in center dedicated to serving the needs of high school students living in transition due to neglect, abuse, or homelessness for several years. Today, Incarnation House (now Incarnation Place) is independent of the church, continuing its mission with greater clarity and autonomy.
Because Incarnation’s contemporary service grew exponentially and reached capacity in the Ascension Chapel, Church of the Incarnation launched the North Campus at Hillcrest and 635 as its first satellite campus. Regrettably, this launch was attempted too close to the time that the COVID global pandemic caused sweeping shut-downs of homes, businesses, and churches. This resulted in a redirection of expansion efforts. When the church re-opened after the pandemic and took time to re-evaluated its priorities, the decision was made in 2024 to officially close the North Campus and focus on core ministries at the main campus.
In this new season, the Church of the Incarnation remains committed to its mission of worshiping God in the Great Tradition of the Church, to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ, to serve the poor, and to raise up godly leaders for the renewal of the Church. By God's grace, this we will do — this year and in the years ahead, as the Lord provides.
The modest brick chapel of 1897 has become a 7-acre campus dedicated to serving God’s people. We would love the opportunity to serve with you. Please join us for one of our six worship services on Sunday.