History of the Congregation at Fountain Head

The Fountain Head Church of Christ dates back to February 23, 1930. E. Gaston Collins, preacher at Portland, preached the first sermon at the Fountain Head School building. He began a tent meeting on October 5, 1930, on a vacant lot in the village. The weather became so cold that the meeting moved to the school building. Four were baptized.

Twenty-six members of the Lord's church were found in the community and they agree to meet at Fountain Head. An old store building belonging to Charles Pond was bought and furnished. The church met for the first time in this building on October 26, 1930.

E. Gaston Collins served as the first minister, preaching one Sunday each month for the remainder of 1930 and all of 1931. Membership and financial records carefully recorded by Harold Roney, Treasurer, during the beginning years of this congregation indicate that the contribution on October 26, 1930 was $4.30. The average for most months in 1930- 1932 ranged from $5.73 – 11.40. Since the preacher only came once each month, other men were needed to carry on the work of the church on the remaining Sundays. Brethren Carlos Wattwood and Will Caudill came from Portland to do this work. Brother Caudill was a very good teacher and leader of the young people. It was under his direction the Thurman Brown, Charlie M. Groves and his brothers, Howard Deasy, and others were able to take over the work. After these took the lead, Caudill returned to Portland, but Wattwood remained as long as he was physically able.

Gaston Collins conducted the Gospel Meeting in 1931. Two were baptized. J. D. Boyd held a meeting in 1932. Thirty-one were baptized and four were restored, but all did not live in the Fountain Head community and did not continue to worship at Fountain Head. J. D. Boyd conducted another meeting in 1933. Twelve were baptized and four were restored.

Work began in February, 1944 on a new church building. An overseer was retained for the work, but the building was mainly constructed be the members of the congregation. During this period, the untiring efforts of Delmer Groves inspired others to greater zeal. The church was very grateful for the liberal contributions and encouragement made by Guy Comer of the Number One (now Nashville Road) congregation, and Harold Roney, former Fountain Head member.

A meeting began the first Sunday in July, 1944, in the new building. Charles Tidwell was the speaker. He had conducted the meeting the previous year in a tent. Progress had been made in the year. Three were baptized.

Winfred Claiborne and Paul Hodges, local young men who were students at the Freed-Hardemen, preached once a month for a period of time. Charles Scott began regular work in 1946, followed by Harold Savely, a student from David Lipscomb, in 1947. Students from David Lipscomb College preached regularly for the congregation for several years.

A dwelling for preachers was built in 1953. Johnny Sewell was the first to live in it and preach full-time. The dwelling remained until 1980, at which time it was sold and moved because it was in need of extensive repairs. Many good, hard working preachers and their families lived there over the years and faithfully served the church.

Early records indicate the E. Gaston Collins served in 1930- 1931. Frank Jernigan in 1932 and Adolphus Rollins in 1933. Twenty-one preachers have served since 1946. Their name and approximate dates are:

Charles Scott	1946-1947	Greer Hendon	1962-1964
Harold Savely	1947-1948	Bertram Shearer	1964-1968
R. V. Scott	1948-1950	Bill Gibson	1969-1971
Carl Matheny	1950-1951	Harold Knight	1971-1973
Paul Dobson	1951-1951	C. L. Powell	1973-1977
Johnny Sewell	1953-1955	Boyd Cribb	1977-1980
Jesse Condra	1955-1957	Robert Waller	1980-1989
C. L. Powell	1957-1958	Mark Hearn	1989-2008
Ralph E. Kidd	1958-1959	Chad Loveless	2008-2014
Gene Ward Jack Rankin	1959-1961 1961-1962	Matt Miller Ross Haffner	2014-2023 2024-Present

 

Additionally, James Parker and Charlie M. Groves served as assistant ministers during the terms of Cribb and Waller respectively. Many of these men have passed this life into a better one, but each of them left a significant legacy to this congregation and to the honor and glory of God.

The church building has been enlarged and renovated four times since the beginning.

Another renovation began on August 21, 1989. The work, much of which was done by the men and women of the congregation, was quite extensive. While the top of the building and roof were in the process of being replaced, the walls to the auditorium collapsed making it necessary to replace them also. When the work was completed, we had a very sound, attractive and commodious building in which to work and worship.

Additional ladies’ rest rooms were added off the foyer in 1996, and in late July 1998, a multipurpose annex was added to the rear, east side of the existing building. This structure contains offices, classrooms, a modern kitchen, and a large fellowship area.

In late 2017, the auditorium was expanded into the existing nursery and office to accommodate growing membership. A new office and nursery were added the following year. The addition also included a communion preparation room.

The Lord has richly blessed the Fountain Head church of Christ. It is a friendly, caring congregation of God’s people who are always eager to reach out to others. With the Lord’s help, and under the direction of our five elders, Jeff Brewer, Eddie Perdue, Eric Hagan, Mark Triplet and Danny Thompson, we are growing spiritually and numerically. We have enthusiastic deacons who take their jobs seriously. Our Bible School program continues to grow under the direction of Mike Pearson with a tremendous group of knowledgeable and faithful teachers.

We have dedicated members, a host of very able song directors, a good benevolent program and an increased missions outreach. The future looks bright. We need to continue to love one another, work hard and continually “be about our Father’s business.”

(This historical sketch compiled from the information provided by the late Miss Rosalie Stubblefield in 1987, and from a membership and financial journal recorded by the late Harold Roney during the 1930’s)