by Russell M. Kline

 

The church of Christ was founded by Jesus Christ, in the first century, A.D. (Matthew 16:18, et. al.). It was brought to the continent of North America by European settlers in the eighteenth century. Kentucky was one of the frontier states, where the Lord's church enjoyed considerable growth in the early history of the United States of America. But, the church arrived in Madisonville, Kentucky much more recently than in other cities of our commonweath. The following chronicle of the history of the Madisonville Church of Christ was prepared using many sources of information, including both written and oral accounts. Readers are invited to check the records presented here, and notify the author of any mistakes or inaccuracies.

 

In 1935, the W.B. McPherson family moved to Madisonville and found that there was no church of Christ there, at the time. The McPhersons, with their three children, two of which were already Christians, began to hold worship services and Bible studies in their house. Mr. McPherson put a notice in the local newspaper, The Messenger, about when and where the services were being held, and soon his family was joined by a handful of others who were of like precious faith.

 

In 1937, enough Christian families had moved to Madisonville and joined the McPhersons that the Long and Fulkerson families took turns hosting the services in their homes, as well. For a brief period of time, the church met in a building on the corner of Seminary Street and McLaughlin Avenue, where a laundry had been.

 

In 1940, the church began to meet in the Hopkins County courthouse, in downtown Madisonville. L.K. Harding came from Hopkinsville, Kentucky to preach there once a month. It was he who encouraged the brethren to start a building fund, and he contributed the $5.00 he was paid each month for preaching. At about that same time, the McPhersons moved away, but other Christian families began moving to Madisonville, and they would have a profound impact upon the progress of the local church.

 

In the early 1940s, the church left the courthouse, and moved to the Madisonville City Hall, and then to a mine rescue building on South Main Street. Later, they worshipped in a vacant grocery store on Grapevine Road. J.W. Hatchel was doing most of the preaching by this time.

 

In the mid 1940s, the church had finally saved enough money to buy some property, at the intertion of Grapevine Road and McLaughlin Avenue, on which they built their first permanent meetinghouse. Members of the church toiled for weeks, using every resource at their disposal to build it with their own hands. When construction was finished, in 1946, the property was debt free. Many individual Christians and other congregations made financial contributions to help with the costs. Harold Watson, came from Princeton, Kentucky to preach there once a month. Records show that there were 17 people present for worship on the last Sunday of 1947.

 

By the end of 1948, the church had grown to 24 members. O.B. Perkins was hired as the first full-time gospel preacher the congregation ever had. A residence for the preacher and his family was built next to the new building. The next full-time preacher to serve the Lord's church in Madisonville was Wallace Maxwell, who was hired in April of 1956. During his tenure, the church continued to grow, and in May&