A History of First Christian Church, Greeneville, Tennessee
By Harold Waddle, February 1998
The church in Greeneville was the outgrowth of a five-year Evangelistic Program of the First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. They moved into the courthouse where regular services began. Later they decided to build a permanent place of worship so a property on Summer Street was purchased. The basement was dug and used for a period of time as a place of worship. In 1924, the building was completed.
The first building was a beautiful structure of Gothic design with stained glass windows. The basement floor was filled with modern Sunday School rooms, kitchen and dining room, etc. The main auditorium was very effective with its gallery in the back and high-arched ceiling of stained wood. The effect is most roomy and pleasing and the church is one of the prettiest in the city.
A day of dedication was given with a most impressive sunrise service followed later in the day by regular services and a special prayer meeting held in the church. In the evening, the church keys were formally presented by J.R. Todd, a member of the Building Committee, to Dr. W.T. Mathes, one of the trustees. C.B. Livesay, minister of the congregation, led a service of dedication.
Some of the ministers serving the church in the following years were: Oscar Southerland, Bob Shannon, Glen Daugherty, Bob Cox, and Jeff McNabb.
The desire of the church has always been to serve Jesus Christ and the community and under the leadership of Bro. Glen Daugherty, things began to move in a positive direction. In 1964, construction began on a new church building on Temple Street.
As First Christian moved to Temple Street, it was decided to maintain a presence in the downtown area and a nucleus returned to the former church building at 118 West Summer Street. In April 1966, the dedication service was held for the Central Christian Church. Over the years, First Christian has continued its support of Central Christian Church.
A second phase of construction was completed in the early 1970s. In the middle 1980s, again the leadership of First Christian began construction of the third phase of the original plans, which was completed in 1987.
In 1992, a call came from people in Loudon County, Tennessee, wanting to start a new Christian church. First Christian donated $52,500, enough to purchase the land for construction of the church building. The church is located in Lenoir City, Tennessee. In 1995, a sister church, Mt. Bethel Christian Church located in Limestone, needed funds for their new sanctuary. First Christian responded with a generous donation of $10,000. Just a few years later, First Christian sent $30,000 to Lighthouse Christian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. We still see a vision of God's work in other places and continue to support them as we are able.
In March 1997, a new church started in Wilkesboro, North Carolina and First Christian responded by sharing a special Easter offering of $8,873 to help in this new work. In addition to local missions, the church has been involved in supporting missions all over the world.
In April 1996, the church was deeply saddened by the death of Bob Cox, long-time minister of First Christian, who lost his bout with cancer and went home to be with the Lord. On March 2, 1997, Jeff McNabb was called to be minister. The McNabbs provided consistent and loving leadership when the church needed it most.
In June of 2000, a fire gutted the inside of First Christian Church. While it was an unfortunate circumstance, the Lord has used it to help this church grow in faith and has provided us with a beautiful facility. In November of that same year, First Christian called Charles E. Reese as minister. After months of transition, the church moved back into a renovated building in February 2001.
Charles Reese retired from 47 years of faithful leadership in the ministry at the end of January 2008 and was succeeded by Scott Wakefield, who had been Associate Minister of Youth since March 2003.
First Christian Church is proud of what Christ has accomplished here in Greeneville. May God continue to bless His church because of our dedication to His work!
Updated February 2008 by Scott Wakefield