The Church of Christ in Haleyville
Submitted by Joann Holdbrooks
"The Church of Christ at Haleyville, Alabama is the outgrowth of the Mineral Springs congregation of Haleyville, which served its purpose well until 1913, when the congregation decided that the demands were sufficient to justify the erection of another house, and we blended our efforts and today we have a splendid house in the heart of town, with eight classrooms to accommodate our Bible classes."
This work was started by Brethren C. A. Wheeler, T. C. King, and E. G. Sewell, who are considered the pioneer preachers of this section. Since their day I. B. Bradley, John T. Smithson and B. F. Harding have labored with church as its ministers for a number of years."
"There have been quite a few evangelistic meetings conducted by such men as T. B. Larimore, G. A. Dunn, Sr., and others, which have meant a great ingathering for the church, until we have two hundred members at the present."
"The church is a perfect unity, working in harmony in all of its labors, and we are expecting great things in the future, by continuing in the doctrine of Christ and the Apostles." ********************
"The above was copied from a local church directory published in 1929. Then Brother W. Wilford Heflin was preaching for the church, Brethren W. W. Haley, Whitt Sparks, J. H. Holland, and T. R. Greenhaw were serving as elders, and Emmett Haley, A. J. Dillard, P. R. Cagle, and Wallace Haley were serving as deacons. The Haleyville Church then listed a membership of two hundred.
The Haleyville Church of Christ continued to meet in the "splendid house in the heart of town" until 1949, at which time, due to inadequate facilities the church purchased lots at the corners of 9th Avenue and 23rd Street and erected the present Church. This building has an auditorium which seats some five hundred people, fourteen class rooms, an office, and a large paved lot for off-street parking. In 1960, a lot just north of the church property was purchased and a nice home for the preacher was built on 10th Avenue.
A TRIBUTE TO THOSE WHO CONTRIBUTED
The church owes much of its progress to its leadership. under such capable elders as Filo Howell, R. D. Dobbs, Frank Burleson, Guy Williams, W. C. Evans, Paul McCrory, Earl West, and Lecil Barton the church has continued to operate since 1929. These have been assisted by congenial deacons and by such preachers as Jim Stone, A. C. Dreaden, Frank Van Dyke, and W. C. Quillen. Serving as assistant ministers have been H. P. Dodd, Don G. Moore, Robert Hendrix, Loyal McGuire, and Bryan Howell.
The church has also been aided immeasurably by gospel meetings, in which such outstanding preachers as Coleman Overby, N. B. Hardeman, C. M. Pullias, Waldrop Johnson, H. E. Patton, James D. Willeford, H. A. Dixon, Franklin T. Pucket, Wayne Coats, Charles E. Cobb, and Lamar Plunket have done the preaching
To God we are indebted for whatever may have been accomplished in the past, and we invoke His blessings in the future. We have the facilities, we have the motive, we have the time, we have the opportunity, and we have the TRUTH with which to accomplish the Lord's will.
The above article was copied from a 1962 History and Directory of the Ninth Avenue Church of Christ.
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The earliest memories that I have of attending church were at the Ninth Avenue church of Christ. To a small child the concrete steps seemed enormous. The stained glass windows presented a spectrum of colors when the sun filtered through. I can remember the town sparrows as they chirped and sang right with the songs inside. A white tablecloth with lace inserts covered the Communion Table at the front of the church and two Jacobean chairs sat behind the dark oak pulpit. The six ceiling fans whirled and turned during the summer months to stir the air and cool the congregation. Air conditioning was unheard of at this time.
Most of the old members have now gone on to their reward. The Ninth Avenue church has now built a new addition to the present building. A new Sanctuary has been added, along with office space and more classrooms. The church continues to grow with Andy Kiser serving as minister.
Joann Holdbrooks January 21, 2003
