The church of Christ has its beginnings with Christ Himself. He is the Creator of the universe who came and lived in human form among His creation. (John 1:1-18) He was tempted but was victorious and sinless (Hebrews 4:14-16), and died to pay the penalty of sin once for all time, for all sinners. (Hebrews 10:10-18) The blood that He shed, then, saves us from our sins. (Romans 5:6-11) When people believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the world, they are commanded to turn from their sins, and be baptized in water for the forgiveness of sins. When they do, the Lord adds them to His church. (Acts 2:38, 40-41, 47) This is why the Scriptures speak of Jesus "purchasing" the church with His blood. (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; etc.) So, while all man-made churches (and even some major world religions!) have more modern beginnings, the church of Christ was started in the first century. The New Testament book of Acts tells of the beginnings and the spread of the gospel, as the apostles and other disciples of Jesus went everywhere spreading truth. People who responded well were saved, and formed local congregations of Christians.

Our congregation has its beginnings more recently, in the summer of 2006. Many who had responded well to the New Testament gospel message had formed a congregation which meets on Gooch Lane in Madison, AL. That congregation had reached the capacity of its meeting place, and the original plan had always been to start a new congregation when that occurred. The elders of the Gooch Lane church were fully supportive of the new work, as were the members. The new work conducted a number of planning meetings over a period of about 3 months. Much attention was given to following the New Testament pattern for Jesus' church. All decisions were made by the men who would be meeting with the new congregation. All finances were handled independently of Gooch Lane, and solely by the members of the new group. On April 6, 2008 we began meeting at our permanent location, 461 Kelly Spring Road, Harvest, AL 35749. Our aim is to be the church which Jesus purchased. As we realize that goal, we make every effort to glorify God by spreading His word in Madison County and wherever we may have opportunity. In the first year of our work together, the Lord has blessed us richly. We have appointed two elders and six deacons in order to "set in order the things that [were] lacking." (Titus 1:5; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3) We have added several new members, though two families have had to move away. We have been able to support the preaching in this congregation, as well as some in New York and Mexico. We are pressing forward in peace and unity, directing all of our questions to the Scriptures in order to understand the truth more accurately. We would value an opportunity to sit down with you and discuss God's will for our lives and for His church.