The History of the Church

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus promised to build a church. In Acts 2:47, Luke tells us that people were being added to that church. Thus, we can conclude that Jesus built His church sometime between His promise in Matthew 16 and Luke’s statement in Acts 2. Indeed, a closer study of the events in Acts 2 reveals that the Lord’s church was established on that first day of Pentecost following the Lord’s resurrection when Peter preached the first gospel sermon. That church is the church of Christ.

A common misconception about the church of Christ is that “The Church of Christ” is its name. The church of Christ is a descriptive phrase that declares its owner- Christ. The church of Christ is the church that belongs to Christ, that was established by Christ, that was built by Christ, and that was bought by Christ. It is not our church; it is His church, the Lord’s church. We are not voted into the church by men, and we do not join a church the way some might join a country club. Instead, God adds us to His church when we obey His gospel.

Are those in the church of Christ the only people who are going to be saved? Of course they are! God adds people to His church when they are saved. If you are not in the Lord’s church, then you are not saved. If you are saved, then you are in the Lord’s church. To be saved outside of the church of Christ is to be saved outside of the body of Christ – and that can never happen. Jesus is not just a way to the Father; he is the way to the Father. As Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Thus, the real question is not what is the church of Christ, but is rather how do you become a part of the church of Christ? That question was asked in the first century as it is asked today, and the answer remains the same. We are saved and added to the Lord’s church when we obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. Like the Apostle Paul, we are saved when our sins are washed away at our baptism.

There is one church of Christ. If you are a member of something else or something more or something less, then you are not serving God according to His plan or according to His will. He wants you to be a Christian and only a Christian, wearing only the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, who is the head and the savior of the church, His body.

The History of the Indianola congregation

The Indianola (Grand Avenue) church of Christ congregation was started on a Sunday in April of 1951 with 12 christians. The congregation began meeting at the Legion Hut and later changed to the Lions Hut until the first portion of the building, located on Grand Avenue and Highway 82, was built in 1954. Additions to the original building were conducted to add an auditorium for worship, educational complex, and a fellowship hall.

Ministers of the congregation have included: Rex Turner; Harold Latrell; Preston Porter; Merrill W. Mitchell; O.D. Hervey; Paul Sparks; Clovis Caudel; Charles Pugh; James Usrey; Jimmy Wisdom; Carol Gregory; Darrell Moore; David Lambert; David Pigg; Paul Sparks; Adam Miller; Carl E. “Gene” Hill, Jr; Jason Zuehlke

The congregation is, or has been, active in supporting the following programs: Roosevelt Street church in Indianola; Sunny Brook Children’s Home; Magnolia Bible College; Christian Student Center at DSU; Christian Student Center at MDCC; Prison Ministry; Stanley Williams, State Prison Chaplin; World Bible School Ministry; Justice Nwafor, Nigerian Evangelist; and Local Benevolent Programs.