About 150 years ago in 1850, this country was just being settled.
Country churches were scarce. Meetings were held in the area school-houses;
kerosene lamps were carried by church goers to light the building then taken
home again. Many times the meetings were disrupted by young people with the
intention of having fun. This was most upsetting to many. In September of 1884,
while under the leadership of Reverend August Sillers, Arthur Hull's family
went home from one of these meetings with a burden on their hearts. (Reverend
Sillers went home with them instead of traveling back to Oxford at 9:30 at
night.) That night they discussed the need for a church instead of the meetings
being held at the school. In those days it didn't take much to buy a thousand
feet of lumber but that little was very hard to get. Reverend Sillers decided
to take this idea to others. He visited the H. H .Hulls, McDowell's, and the
George Hulls. They all agreed and decided to fund the project.
Plans were soon underway to build a 26ft.X 36ft. church. One great testimony of
how our Lord provides is that of Addie McDowell. She desired to have green
shutters on the church; however the monies were used and everyone really wanted
to start the church debt free. Well, Addie McDowell went to her cache where she
kept her money laid up for taxes, and got the amount needed for the shutters.
The church got green shutters and yes, she did make her taxes! Dedication day
was September 20, 1889. Our first pastor was Reverend C. A. Adams. Every few
years we would lose our pastor to another church or the seminary. In the early
1930's, the church became very involved in camp programs for the youth.
Stemming from this evolved a youth outreach program where once a month they
would meet in the basement of the church. The youth came from Oxford, Dalton,
Douglas, Packwaukee, Montello, and other churches. The program for each monthly
meeting included recreation, music, and a message given by one of the youth.
Attendance flourished. Eventually it was decided that the young people should
no longer lead these sessions. That was a regrettable mistake as attendance
dropped dramatically. In 1940, Bruce Dunn, aged 21 years became the supply
pastor. He clicked with everyone; especially the young people and our numbers
grew. He stayed with us for 3 years. During the years since we have had many
supply pastors and many pastors. They have each left a definite impression on
our church. Our numbers have gone up and down over the years, but after 150
years we are still teaching His gospel and are strong in the Lord.