How we started.

The original congregation began meeting about 1913 in the old Union Church building located in the Amanda’s Community, named after an elderly lady who was an early settler of the area. The building also served as a one-room schoolhouse, thus the church was named Amanda’s Chapel Church of Christ.

The church met there for approximately two years. In that day the law stated that as long as a church met in a building the church had rights to the building and the surrounding land until they ceased to meet in that particular location, in which case the land rights went back to the original landowner. The owner of the church building, in need of his land, began tearing down the building. The salvaged lumber was used in the construction of a nearby house.

The church then started meeting in a brush arbor at the foot of the hill where the church presently meets. During this time, Brother Hardy Johnson and others worked very hard to collect money to construct a new building.

In 1915, the building was completed atop a high hill on a tract of land purchased from Mrs. Lucy Clark. Brother Hardy Johnson thought it appropriate to change the name to Chapel Hill Church of Christ.

The original building was a 40 x 40 weatherboard building with a steeple housing a huge clear ringing bell. The bell was rung regularly for over twenty-five years by Brother Hubert Corlew. It was rung first at 9:00 a.m. each Sunday morning as a signal for the farmers, busy with their morning chores, to stop working and start getting ready for worship. At 9:30 a.m. it was rung again to signal them to leave home. It was lightly tapped again three to five minutes before 10:00 a.m. telling everyone to assemble inside for worship.

The church membership grew with the passing years, requiring many additions to the building. Three classrooms were added across the back of the building and a gas furnace replaced the wood stoves that had been used to heat the building. Later, three more classrooms were added and still later, the building was remodeled adding a nursery, two restrooms and central heat and air. Several years later the men of the congregation built the pavilion next to the church building to be used for fellowship meals. By 1996, the church had outgrown the building again, so a major remodeling was undertaken, resulting in the present structure.

The first leaders of the congregation were Hardy Johnson, John Curfman, Tillman Hale, King Griffin and Hubert Corlew. One of the first gospel meetings was held by Brother L.L. Jones, in a tent, in 1913. At the time, gospel meetings were held once a year and lasted two weeks or longer. Preaching was held about once a month.

Many different preachers passed through until February 1949 when brother Hubert Lawing became the first regular preacher. Those who followed were John Butts, Wayne Hammontree, Clarence Deloach, Jr., Gene Overton, Jesse Toothman, Robert Dilgard, Ralph Taylor, Kenneth Gossett, Larry Spicer, Bill Proctor, John Beckloff (first full-time preacher, 1985), Garvis Semore, Eric Yow, and Mike Tucker.

In 1967, Brother Fred Gibbs and Brother Guy Corlew were the first appointed elders at Chapel Hill. Others who have served as elders with Brother Fred Gibbs since the passing of Brother Guy Corlew in 1983 are Brother Harry England, and Brother Wade Reed. The church was under the eldership of Brother Guy Spann, Brother Bernice Potts, Brother Lee Corlew and Brother Greg Hawkins until 2022 when Brother Potts stepped down for health reasons and Brother Spann died. In September 2022 Brother Todd Hamilton and Brother Jon Southerland were appointed elders. Currently Brother Lee Corlew, Greg Hawkins, Todd Hamilton, and Jon Southerland serve the congregation as elders.

Currently the church at Chapel Hill supports mission work throughout the world, including India, The Pacific Islands, South America, Albania, China, Greece and many works in the United States.

It is our prayer that the church at Chapel Hill will continue to grow and that our faith in Christ Jesus and our love for each other will continue to grow each day. May we look to the Lord for guidance in all that we do.