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Pleasant Valley Church
of Christ
6020 Kibler Road
Van Buren, AR
72956
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History |
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The Pleasant Valley Church of Christ first met in the
year 1908, in large part due to the efforts of Mrs. Elizabeth Ellis of the
Catcher Community. For some time a group of Christians gathered together
in the Ellis home on the Lord's Day, but this proved inadequate and something
better was needed. At her own expense, Mrs. Ellis purchased a small
frame house in Catcher for the group to use. She then invited C.H.
Dorian to come and hold a gospel meeting and help the group organize as a
church. This was done and the fledgling congregation soon added it's
first new member, Mr. R.F. Lovel.
Within a few years the congregation was again in need of a more suitable place
to meet. An acre of land on Catcher Road was deeded to the church on
April 8, 1912 by Merton Tilman West and his wife, Mary, and a new building was
quickly under construction with Dick West as principle contractor.
Others who helped with construction were Elmer Bridges, Harry Whitfield,
Randolph West, and George Berkley (Bert) West. By September it was
complete, and a dedication service was conducted by the congregation.
The new building was on Catcher Road, 0.7 miles south of Kibler Road in Van
Buren, Arkansas. The little congregation worshipped here for the next
four decades--years marked by hardship and struggle as two world wars and a
great depression took their toll. Sunday morning attendance rarely
exceeded 20 people these years, and midweek Bible study in wintertime often
found six or seven Christians gathered around the stove to keep warm.
The building sat near a small stream, and in rainy weather the church grounds
were sometimes under water. Some of the older members today remember
being carried to the church steps to keep from getting their feet wet.
Despite difficulties, the little group of Christians kept faith with Christ
and with each other. They were family.
Preaching was provided for many years by brethren who
supported themselves at other jobs during the week and preached on Sundays.
Sometimes no preacher was available, but the congregation still met each week
for Bible study and the Lord's Supper. A highlight of each year, as far
back as records are available, was the summertime Gospel Meeting. These
meetings were designed to teach the Gospel to those who had not heard it, and
great emphasis was placed on advertising and on inviting people to come and
hear the good news.
In the mid 1940's, the members decided to move to a
better location. A building fund was started August 4, 1946 and built up
for when it would be needed. That time came during the first week of
October 1952, when the congregation physically moved it's old building to the
present location at the corner of Catcher Road and Kibler Road. The land
was donated by Shorty and Ellistine Collins of Westville, and was a great
improvement. The new site was not subject to flooding, and was on a more
traveled road, the main route between Van Buren and Kibler. At the time of
the move, attendance averaged around 40 people. Since then, the
congregation has grown steadily, resulting in four seperate building programs to
keep up with the need. Attendance now averages just over 300 people on
Sunday mornings.
Bobby Parks was the first preacher to work with the congregation full-time,
starting in 1977. He had served for years as a part time preacher before
this. Others who have served full time include Wendell Heffington, Jerry
Almond, and Jim Bullock. The congregation has a strong youth program.
Church elders are Douglas Cannedy, Delmar Lewis, Randy Coleman, Larry Hurst,
Lonnie Myers, Bobby Parks and Paul Parks.
The congregation has had an active
Jail Ministry since 1991. Every Tuesday evening, inmates at the Crawford
County Jail are invited to a period of Bible Study led by Doug Cannedy, one of
the church's elders and an Associate Chaplain at the jail. Each inmate
is given a Bible to keep. The class emphasizes God's love and salvation,
and man's responsibility. Over 30 people have been baptized since the
program began.
Since 1996, the Pleasant Valley Church of Christ has conducted a strong
mission outreach in the nation of Nicaragua. Each year, a team of about
20 workers led by Manuel Centeno, deacon in charge of Spanish Evangelism,
journeys to Central America at their own expense to teach and preach the
Gospel. A new congregation was established in the city of Granada, and
over 70 people have obeyed the Gospel to date. This congregation
established their own eldership in the year 2000. They are only the
second congregation in that country to have done so.
Work with Spanish speaking people is
not limited to other countries; an active program of work has also been ongoing
in the Western Arkansas area since 1995. Assemblies in Spanish are held at
the church building on Sunday morning. They now have their own auditorium.
Attendance averages between 25-30 people, most of whom have obeyed the Gospel as
a result of this effort. A main goal of the work, in addition to teaching
the Gospel, is to teach Christians how to teach others. Arby Centeno,
Spanish Speaking Minister for the congregation, directs this work under the
oversight of the church's elders.
Mission efforts by the congregation are not limited to the
Spanish speaking world, however, and the congregation has actively
contributed to the support of missionaries in Nigeria, the Philippines, American
Samoa, Australia, and a number of other countries.
This brings us to the future. The Pleasant Valley
congregation continues to reach for the future while being firmly grounded by
those who have gone on before us. What began as a small country
congregation "down in the valley" has now sprouted into a growing
church that continues to be used by God. Pleasant Valley now has three
builldings it uses constantly. It also has continued to acquire land for
future growth and, Lord willing, will continue to do so. Pleasant Valley
has the wonderful problem of growth. Again, they are about to
"outgrow" their auditorium and are beginning plans to build a newer,
updated place in which to meet. However, the future is not just about
numbers, it is about souls and being God's people! This has been our past
and will continue to be our future.
Throughout it's history, the Pleasant Valley Church of Christ has never
known a division. When asked why, Bobby Parks, former minister and
now an elder of the congregation, attributed the growth and unity of the
church to it's members long standing tradition of peace, love and toleration
of differences of opinion. The congregation enters the Third Millinnium
eager to continue it's long history and tradition of service to God and man.
--We want to thank Glynn Parker, who allowed us to use
his article for this work. Any changes were with his permission.
(Original art work painted by longtime member
Ronnie Matthews. All four paintings were donated to the church.
They were presented to the church upon the dedication of the church's new
"Outreach Center" in 1997 and hang in that building.)