On
May 15, 1980, a group of men met to
discuss plans of forming a new
congregation
of the Church of Christ in
Coleman. On May 18, 1980, a
building at
414 Commercial Avenue was rented from
Joe Cervenka Electric as a temporary
place of worship, until a building
could be purchased or a new building
could be built. On May 23, 1980,
plans and order of worship were
made for the first worship service
which was held May 25, 1980. Sam
Wilson preached for the first
service. The church began with
32 members
and 47 people were present for the
first worship service. The
membership
has grown to approximately 175
members. June 1, 1980. Sam
Wilson,
Ed Whittington, Roy Buse, Ivan Hill
and Gene Christian were selected by
the congregation as trustees until
such a time that elders would be
selected
to serve the congregation. June
27, 1980, three lots were purchased
from Dr. M. T. White. These lots
were on Highway 53 across the highway
from Holiday Hill Care Center.
July 19, 1981, an additional lot was
purchased. Because of the
location of lots purchased, the name
of
the church was to be “The Hillcrest
Church of Christ.”
Construction
of
a new building began September 2,
1980 and though the interior was not
finished, the first service was held
in the building on December 21,
1980.
Most of the labor was donated by
members of the church. The
building
was completed and “Open House” was
held on February 1, 1981, with 150
people
in attendance for worship.
On
October 18, 1981, Chris Pettijohn, a
student at Abilene Christian
University,
began working with the young people
of the church. On November,
1982,
A. L. Curly Wiginton began his work
as minister on a part time basis for
the congregation. He shares
the pulpit with Sam Wilson and other
men from time to time.
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Hillcrest
Church of Christ - 1983
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