History

  The church began meeting in Manchester in 1939 when Dick and Sarah Morris moved here to work with the railroad.  They worhipped in LaGrange with the Park Avenue congregation for a while and then began meeting in their home.  From there they moved to a store front downtown and later moved to Second St.  There were several tent meetings at that location and in the 1950's the church built the current building.  In those early years the Eubanks' and the Ousley's obeyed the Gospel.  Not too many years later the congregation grew when the McCurdy,Ward, Patrick , and the Cook families were added to the church. 
   In those early years the congregation was supported by the Park Avenue congregation and many different preachers.  In the fall of 1943, A.C. Carpenter moved here as the first full-time preacher.  In 1991 the congregation appointed is first elders with the help of Forrest Chapman.  The men who were appointed were Oscar Ousley, James Gillespie, John Laschinski, and Lamar Ousley. 
   The church has grown a great deal in faith and in numbers over the years.  Many have moved on and some have passed on, but the work pressed on in the service of the Master in Manchester.  We are grateful to all those, both past and present, who loved the Lord and His church enough to start the work here and carry on till the present.
 
Full-Time Preachers:
 
A.C. Carpenter         1943-1946
W.H. Dorriety          1946-1947
James Shear              1952-1958
O.B. Perkins              1959-1975
Lowell Harris            1975-1978
Dennis Hines             1978-1979
Ray White                 1979-1982
Jeff Cozine                1982-1985
Jim Gillespie              1985-1992
Tom Boyette             1992-1994
Michael Wilkes         1994-1996
                 Garry Hill                  1996-2004                 
Ken Aspenwall          2004-2005
Steve Rogers             2005-2011
   James Sandusky         2011----