TABERNACLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

BY

Paul W. Patton

The Tabernacle Christian Church, located on Highway 206 about fifteen miles from Columbia, Kentucky had its beginning in a church which originated in the early part of the nineteenth century. It is one of the larger country churches in Adair County and is located in beautiful Green River country near the once bustling community of Neatsville.

The oldest record found was dated 1843. "We the church of Separate Baptists at Tabernacle Meeting House met on the 25th day January, 1843 at Brother Philip Winfrey’s . By order of the church at the last church meeting, first Bro. Harrison H. Absher chosen moderator and Philip Winfrey, clerk."

There is a tradition that the early meeting house referred to here was located in what is now the cemetery back of the old Tabernacle Christian Church.

The minutes of December, 1844 show a "motion that the church should select three male members to act as elders. The vote was taken and Joseph Boweyers, Joshua Guepford, and Philip Winfrey were chosen."

On the second Saturday of April, 1845 the church refused to send a delegation to the Green River Separate Baptist Church association meeting. However, in July, 1845 they voted to send delegates to Caney Fork, Russell County, Kentucky to what was evidently an association of United Baptists. The United Baptist Church was formed by a merger of Separate Baptist and Regular Baptist Churches. From this date, July 1845, Tabernacle came to be called the Tabernacle United Baptist Church.

In September, 1845 Emily Loveall and Henry Rowe joined the church by "experience and baptism." Those wishing to become members of the church were required to relate an "experience" which was voted upon by the church. If the "experience" was accepted as genuine the person was a candidate for baptism and was, upon his baptism, admitted into the church membership. Others would join upon recommendation or a letter from a church where they were previously a member.

The last recorded meeting in this early record book is as follows: "February meeting the first Saturday, 1854. The church met and after prayer the fellowship of the church enquired for and found them in peace." However the records goes on to mention that one member was "turned out of the church." Turning people out of the church was a common practice then.

There are no existing records of the Tabernacle Church from 1845 to 1886. At some time during this period the church withdrew from the United Baptist Association and became a Christian Church.

Many Separate Baptist Churches and United Baptist Churches affiliated with the Restoration Movement in the years following the 1832 merger of followers of Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone. Following the meeting in Lexington, Kentucky in 1832, John Johnson and "Racoon" John Smith were employed to travel throughout the State of Kentucky and relate the news of this merger. The efforts of these men and others of similar persuasion led many churches to leave their denominational affiliation and become "Christians only." A tradition that has come down through the Walter S. Sinclair family is that "Racoon" John Smith preached at Tabernacle and led the vast majority of the members into the Restoration Movement. If any Baptists were in dissent, it is not know what church they attached themselves to. The Baptist Church meeting at the Tabernacle Meeting House became the Tabernacle Christian Church. However, the date of this change is not recorded.

The log structure which stood as the original Meeting House was replaced with a box structure which was probably built in the later part of the nineteenth century. In 1914 a new frame church building was constructed which served the congregation for fifty-two years.

In the year 1886 Tabernacle Church was reorganized, which was a common practice of churches which had fallen into a state of decline and wished to begin to function in a more dynamic way. Ten years later, in 1896, Mr. and Mrs., T.C. Harmon made a deed of property to Tabernacle Christian Church. It may have been about this time that the log church was replaced with the boxed church building.

At a meeting of the officers of the church in 1896, the following were present: Elder I. C. Harmon; Deacons J. B. Grant, Henry Harmon, and O. L. Hardwick. Preachers present were Z. T. Williams and J. E. Dyer. Bro. Williams was chosen chairman and Bro. Dyer was selected as secretary.

First, it was moved and seconded and carried that Bro. J. W. Henson be recommended to the church as an elder of the congregation. Second, that as the church had called Bro. J. E. Dyer for their preacher for 1896 that a subscription be taken at once for his service. Third, a motion was made that the Methodist Episcopal Church be permitted to have preaching on one Saturday and Sunday in each month when not in conflict with any meetings of the Christian Church; however; they were not to organize a class. Fourth, it was moved that the board of officers, composed of the elders and deacons of the church have regular quarterly meetings and that the next meeting be held on the second Sunday afternoon in April, 1896. These acts of the church leaders were approved by the church March 8, 1896.

An old Sunday School record book covers the time from April 12, 1914 until June 23, 1918. The record shows attendance reports for thirty eight Sundays with an average of 65 each Sunday. The attendance went from a low of 20 to a high of 350. On May 30, 1915 there were 350 at Sunday School and the collection for the day was

$3.12. There were forty one entries made of the Sunday school offering which averaged eight cents. On one Sunday the offering was only nine cents.

The first minister mentioned in this book is Bro. J. B. Daniels. He was followed by Bro. Z. T. Williams. W. R. Knifley was the Superintendent of Sunday School. His assistant was William Jones. Fannie Williams was secretary and her assistant was Annie Campbell. The teachers mentioned were J. W. Corneal, P. P. Wesley, Mattie Evans, Minnie Harmon, and W. H .Evans.

This record reveals a hard fought contest between the Tabernacle Church and the Dunville Church. Tabernacle was ahead to begin with but Dunville then pulled in front. The outcome was not recorded.

An item of interest was the address of Edith, Kentucky. This post office was near the home where Uncle "Buddie" Watson reared his family. Also, the Sunday School show no meetings except in the summer months. In keeping with the times, the Sunday School met at 2:00 p.m.

The next record book on hand contains the record of church activities from 1932 to 1966, For many years this book was kept by Mrs. Iva Williams, it records the total membership and emphasizes the annual Protracted Meeting. The largest number of additions for any one meeting was in 1940 in a meeting led by Bro. L. C. Young. There were 63 responses. The church program consisted of one revival each year, part time preaching (usually once or twice a month, Sunday School, and the Lord’s Supper each Sunday.

In a report to the Adair County Christian Convention for the year ending June 30, 1954, Orlando Rodgers was the minister, preaching the second Sunday morning of each month and the preceeding Saturday night. Church membership was 75 and the church was served by two elders and seven deacons. Two were added to the church by baptism and there was one transfer of membership. Bryan Maxey held a revival in July. A total of $964.95 was raised during the year. The church gave $50 to the Widows and Orphans Home and $185 to other missions. Chester Bottoms was the Sunday School Superintendent with an enrollment of 86 and an average of 60 for the year.

Orlando Rodgers was the minister for the year ending June 30, 1955; however, he was not preaching the second and fourth Sundays of each month. Gene Renolds held the annual revival meeting and Bob Watson was Sunday School Superintendent. The attendance had grown to an average of 69 each week. A Christian Endeavor had been organized and met each Sunday night.

In the report for the year ending June 30, 1960, James Prince was the minister preaching every Sunday night. There were two elders and eight deacons. The church membership was 70 and there had been an increase of 9 members for the year. A total of $1,141.31 was raised for the year. $50 was given to the Widows and Orphans Home and $175 for other missions.

On June 12, 1955 the church began a building fund for a new church building. The initial collection was $16.13. The year ended with $127.07 in the building fund. By 1959 this fund had grown to over $,1000.00 By 1964 the amount was over $2,000.00 . By mid 1965 the amount was $2,804.29.

In November 1964 Bro. T. R. Bledsoe began his ministry with the Tabernacle Christian Church. At first he preached on Saturday night. However in June of 1965 he was called to preach every Sunday.

The present building was started with a basement unit until early in 1965 which was constructed on one acre deeded to the church by Mrs. Marie Grant., C. W. Grant, and Mary Ellen Grant. The groundbreaking ceremony was July 38, 1965 during a revival led by Bro. Orby Beard.

Joe Spires, Sidney Grant, and John Grant led in the construction of the basement. The total cost was a little over $8,000.00; however, members of the church did a lot of cost saving volunteer work. The first service in the basement was a prayer meeting with 58 present on December 29, 1965.

The basement unit was dedicated January 9, 1966. T. R. Bledsoe, Minister, gave the welcome. Paul W. Patton gave the Dedicatory Address. The Prayer of Dedication was by Elder Frank Westerfield. Visiting ministers to speak were L. C. Young, Harry Randolph, and Arthur Clark. The Chapel Hill Quartet of Rose Hill, Kentucky, sang. The benediction was by Elder Furman Jones.

The first wedding in the basement was David Watson and Nancy Williams August 6, 1966. The first funeral was for Owen Giles on July 1, 1967.

In 1967 the church began to build the present sanctuary. This building was designed by Tommy Bledsoe, as was the basement unit. The building committee was Charlie Neal, Furman Jones, Leland Grant, T. R. Bledsoe, and Sidney Grant.

The first service in the new building was a prayer meeting on October 11, 1967, with 105 present. The first wedding was David Walker and Lynn Lemmon on July 27, 1968. The first funeral was for Sam C. Merritt on November 5, 1970. The first revival was October 23 - 29, 1967, by Paul Patton.

The completed sanctuary was dedicated on October 27, 1968, by Philip Curry who gave the Dedicatory Address with T. R. Bledsoe, Minister, leading in the service.

The building is 42 feet wide and 72 feet long with 5,000 square feet of floorspace. It was built at a cost of $44,000.00 An unusual feature of the church is the baptistery painting, which depicts in detail the features of the "old baptizing hole" on Green River. This particular place was used for baptizing by Tabernacle throughout its entire history. The painting was done by Thriston Antle of Jamestown.

For the dedication service, the congregation spread 106 feet of tables of food for members and guests. The dedication service was followed by a revival featuring Dr. L. Palmer Young of the South Louisville Christian Church as the evangelist.

In 1968, the elders of the church were: Robert Watson, C. R. Neal, Furman Jones, Aubrey Neat, and Sidney Grant. Deacons were: Harold Beard, Wesley Giles, Clifford Giles, Zack Giles, Aaron Grant, L. O. Williams, Marshall Goode, Wallace Hardin and Edgar Bryant. Trustees were: C. W. Grand, Sidney Grant, and Samuel Bryant.

In January 1972, T. R. Bledsoe terminated his ministry at Tabernacle, Bro. Joe Cooper served as supply minister from January 16, 1972 until July 11, 1973, when he graduated from college at which time he assumed his duties as full time minister and served until June 24, 1979.

On October 1, 1972, Bro. Howard Crowe became minister at Tabernacle and served until June 5, 1982.

Bro. Lonnie McNabb began his ministry at Tabernacle November 30, 1982, and continued until April 16, 1986.

Bro. Paul M. Snoddy began his ministry with the Tabernacle Christian Church in June, 1986, and continued until December, 1987.

During most of 1988 and 1989 Bro. Raymond Martin preached on Sunday night. On October 1, 1989, he was called to be the full time preacher.

In June, 1972, work was begun on a parsonage to house the minister and his family. It was first occupied by Joe Cooper in June, 1974, and has been home of the minister ever since then.

On October 26, 1986, the Tabernacle Christian Church celebrated the centennial of the church along with the annual homecoming service. The keynote speaker was Dr. L. Palmer Young, President of Kentucky Christian College. Bro. Orby Beard, one of the Timothies of the church, was the afternoon speaker.

MINISTERS AT TABERNACLE

Robert Kirby (1886),    N. T. Patton (1952 - 53),  J. E. Dyer (1896) ,  Orlando Rodgers (1954 - 58),Z. T. Williams (1983, again 1915) ,James Prince 1959, 1960, 1962-1964), Leslie Bottoms (1902) , William Miller (1961), Wyatt Montgomery (Early 1900’s) ,   Tom Bledsoe (1964 - 72),   Joe Montgomery,  Joe Cooper (1972 - 79) ,  J. P. Daniel  1914), Howard Crowe (1979 - 82) ,  Harvey J. Conover (1928 - 1944)  Lonnie McNabb (1982 -  86),  S. H. Masters (1945 - 1946) ,Paul Snoddy (1986 - ,1987), Ray Hammon (1947 - 1951,  Raymond Martin (1988 -present)

MINISTERS ORDAINED AT TABERNACLE

Orby Beard, August 31, 1932 by H. J. Conover, L. C. Young

William H. Patton, October 26, 1952 by L. C. Young

Chester Bottoms, August 15, 1957 by L. C. Young

Philip Curry, May 29, by Tom Bledsoe

ELDERS AT TABERNACLE

Issac C. Harmon, S. F. Bottoms, Clarence Goode,

J. E. Henson, William Jones, Charlie Williams,

T. M. Watson, Sidney Grant, Charlie Merritt,

James M. Williams, E. R. Rubarts, Charlie Neal,

J.W. Henson, Johnny Mings, Furman Jones,

Chester Bottoms, Robert Watson, and Bobby Smith.

DEACONS AT TABERNACLE

J. T. Beard, G. G. Watson, Welby Mings,

Travis Giles, O. L. Hardwick, Loren Grant,

Charles Neal, Furman Jones, Chester Bottoms,

Sam Evans, Harold Beard, Leland Grant,

Jule Hatfield, Sammy Williams, Clifford Giles,

Marshall Goode, Lilburn Williams, Wayne Russell,

Cassius Breeding, E. R. Rubarts, Edgar Bryant,

Ray Williams, Charlie Williams, Wallace Harden,

Estil Tarter, Johnny Mings, David Watson,

J. H. Grant, Aaron Grant, Ben Drake,

Rudolph Beard, Zack Giles,

Wesley Giles, and James Watson.

EVANGELISTS

Z.T. Williams, Bro. Gillum, Leslie Bottoms, W.G. Montgomery, Bro.Gabbnert, Bro. Woodrum, L.C. Young, Joel Montgomery, H. J. Conover, E.P. Gast, Bro. Deach, Orby Beard, Kirby Smith, H.B. Popplewell, J. P. Daniel, I. Q. McCorkle, H.S. Masters, Julian Hunt, Bascomb Hopkins, Plmer Young, Bryan Maxey, Gene Reynolds, T. R. Bledsoe, James Prince, Ray Bennett, JuneDennis, R.C. McCord, Paul Patton, Marion Parkey, Carroll Egnew, Clifford Neat, Phil Curry, Roy McClain, Don Smith, Raymond Martin, Paul Bohrer, Mike Booher, Wayne Hensley, Tom Harned, David Brown, Joe Cooper, Joe Wright.

TEACHERS

J.W. Corneal, P.P.Wesley, Matttie Evans, Minnie Harmon, W.H.Evans, Lena Knifley, W.R. Knifley, Willie Evans, Sam Bottoms, Loren Grant, Marie Grant, Finis Neal, Iva Williams, Bonnie Neal, Lois Neal, Irene Beard Thomas, Evelyn McCloud, Zelma Merritt, Maurice Mings, Arthur Watson, Virginia Grant, Phil Curry, Ina Neal, Charlie Neal, Robert Watson, Etta Bledsoe, Paul Goodin, T.M. Watson, Betty Smith, Hilda Smith, Sidney Grant, Elroy Willis, David Watson, Clifford Giles, Opal Watson, Ann Russell, Lola Corneal, Wayne Russell, Bobby Smith, LaRue Crowe, Joyce Giles, Lulabelle Goode, Beverly Myers, Mary Ellen Grant, Cindy Drake Craig, July Giles, Lucille Lemmon, Ora Lee Jones, Furman Jones, C.W. Grant, and Sam Collins.

SUPERINTENDENTS: W. R. Knifley, William Jones, Sam Bottoms, Finis Neal, Charlie Neal, Charlie Merritt, Robert Watson, C.W. Grant, Furman Jones.

TRUSTEES: T. C. Harmon, J. B. Grant, Henry Harmon, O.L. Hardwick, Cassius Breeding, L.T. Williams, Josh Beard, Maurice Mings, Samuel Beard, Paul Goodin, Sidney Grant, C.W. Grant.

CHURCH CLERKS:  Sam Bottoms,  G. G. Watson,  Iva H. Williams,  Ora Lee Jones

SECETARY - TREASURERS: Fannie Williams, Annie Campbell, Frances Williams, Sam Bottoms, Iva Williams, Marie Grant, and Ora Lee Jones.

PIANISTS: Maud Thomas, Emmka Breeding, bonnie Nal, Madilene Beard, Marguerite Beard, Janet Lemmon, Lynn Lemmon, Terry Watson, Linda Watson, Etta Bledsoe, Helois Neat, and Joyce Burton.

OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST:

On June 27, 1972, work was begun on the construction of the church parsonage. It was occupied by Joe Cooper in June, 1974.

The church celebrated its Centennial on October 26, 1986, in conjunction with the annual homecoming. Speakers were Dr. L. Palmer Young and Bro. Orby Beard along with other former ministers and visiting ministers.

A great revival was held July 1 though July 12, 1940, during the ministry of H. J. Conover. L. C. Young was the evangelist. There were 45 baptisms, 16 rededications and 3 transfers of membership, for a total of 64 responses to the Gospel invitation.

Another outstanding revival took place from July 19 through July 30, 1948 with L. Palmer Young as the evangelist. Ray Hammond was the minister. There were 15 baptisms, 5 rededications, and 4 transfers of membership, for a total of 24 responses.

L. C. Young held revivals in 1912, 1926, 1927, 1931, 1935, 1940, 1943, 1950, and 1958, with a total of 172 responses to the invitation.