Waverly Youth Group

It is reported that around 1888, the late Mrs. Mattie Hillman Ewin, widow of Captain W.G. Ewin, moved from Hurricane Mills with her family to Waverly. Mrs. Edwin had been a member of the Hurricane Mills congregation and, since there was no church in Waverly, she used her influence to begin a congregation here. In 1889, Mrs. Ewin succeeded in getting less than a dozen Christians together to Worship God in the courthouse. That was the nucleus from which our present congregation grew. In 1890, Mr. J.M. Martin gave the lot upon which the old building, pictured above, stood; and on June 22, 1890, the congregation moved into their new building with 25 members present. Their first contribution amounted to $41.50. The construction of the church building was done by voluntary labor and many of the materials were donated. The bell that was in the old building is now installed in our present one and is still in use today.

Some of the men who have served as Elders in the past are: Mack Hemby; James M. Martin; C.H. Ball, Sr.; W.D. Nelson; H.C. Crim; L.C. Johnson; J.W. Townsend; Charles L. Talley, Sr.; John F. Porch Sr.; Albert Gray; R. Parker White; Harold Anderson, Reuben Spann, Gerion James, Walter Collier and Marvin Spann. Some of the preachers serving this congregation include John C. Taylor, 1917-22; O.C. Lambert, 1922-26; Thomas J. Wagner, Sr., 1926-1936; J.E. Green, 1936-44; Homer Royster, 1944-52; Walter Barron, 1951-53; Charles Tidwell, Jr., 1953-58; Lee Brown, 1958-71; Eugene Pigg, 1972-73; Jim Yates, 1974-79; Lee Brown returned 1971-2001. Jeff Keele, our current Pulpit Minister, has been with us since April 2002. A home for the Educational Director was purchased at 211 Sunset Drive. Glenn Hawkins served as Educational Director and Song Leader from June 1968-73; Dwight Hatley, 1973-80; Paul Kidwell, Jr., 1981-83; Ronnie Brooks on a part-time basis during 1984; Michael Benson, April 1985-89; Bruce White, June 1990-94; Paul Darety, 1995-2000. Jeff Lacroix served as the Associate Minister and assistant Song Leader from 2000-2004. Chris Dishman has been with us since July, 2004 and is serving as Associate & Youth Minister.

Since our present building was first occupied in June of 1953, there has been a steady enlargement to the building. At first, the building contained only the main part of our aiditorium and basement. Only half of the basement contained classrooms at that time. Since then a preacher's home was purchased at 307 Bakerville Rd., which was sold in 2002, classrooms were built on the east side of the basement, a six-lot plot of ground purchased on the eastern end of the city, which has since been sold. Wings have been added to two building phases, the last of which included a nursery and carpet was installed. The addition of the center of our educational building was completed in July of 1973, which included new offices and a print room. The basement was completely renovated which now includes a large multi-purpose room. In 1980 the west and final section of our educational building was completed, giving us a total of 23 classrooms. In 1991, a new look was given to our front entrance and a van port was added on the west side. As our number grew, we needed more parking space. In 1985, we purchased additional space. In 1988, Delmas and Roberta Robertson donated an additional lot on the east side of the building, which has since been paved and sidewalks added. In the back of the building, on the south side, construction began in February 1997 for a brick Enrichment Center with 9000 sq. ft.. It was completed and began use in 1998. Under the new sidewalk at this building is buried a "Time Capsule" containing items from the past, such as class records from the 1800's, directories from the past, pictures of the building, etc.. This capsule is to be opened in 2089, which will be the 200^th anniversary of the Waverly church of Christ.

The church has a nice library made possible by contributions from members and interested individuals. The present budget includes support for several mission points with periodic contributions to worthy causes and individuals. One main mission work done by this congregation was the support of a new congregation in Hazlehurst, GA. With our support, a new building was erected and this congregation is now on its own.

Our auditorium was completely remodeled, new windows, carpet, bathrooms redone, and our baptistry. This was completed in 2002. In the fall of 2002, a house and lot west of the building was purchased from Patty Collier. The church here is served by six Elders, fifteen Deacons, and a host of Bible Class teachers and workers. Our prayer is that we may ever grow in faith, hope, love, and number for the cause of Christ.