Germantown Church of Christ

Source:  Ron Roberson, Germantown Church of Christ

8723 Poplar Pike 

In September of 1948, a small group of Christians, most of whom lived in the Germantown area and attended the Union Avenue Church of Christ, organized a Tuesday evening Bible class with W.S. Long as their teacher.  Initially, they met in the home of Dalton and Mozelle Priestley at what is now 1466 Poplar Estates Parkway.  Mozelle Priestley was the daughter of J.D. Tant, a well-known pioneer preacher of many years ago.  

In November of 1948, the group held services in the old Germantown City Hall on West Street, as the Germantown Church of Christ.  Bill Lynn, a member of the church, was employed as a part-time minister.  Doug Davis became the first full-time minister in 1954, followed by David Underwood in 1956.  David served the congregation until 1965 when he and Myra left for the mission field in Nigeria. 

Over the years, many good men served as pulpit minister. Dave Phillips has been the pulpit minister since 1992. The present ministry team consists of Glenn Daily (spiritual leadership development minister), Smith Hopkins (education minister), Joey Markham (junior high youth minister), and Ron Roberson (senior adult minister). 

The church at Germantown did not have elders until 1964 when John Cox and Wilborn Jones were appointed to serve as its first elders. Presently, the elders serving the congregation are Barry Chapman, Glenn Daily, Tom Dickson, Jerry Ellis, Steve Haynes, Byron Howell, Joe Skelley, Larry Scroggs, John Thomas, and Tim Vann. 

The land was purchased at 7007 Poplar Avenue in May 1950, to construct an education wing on the building that was completed in 1954. This building consisted of classrooms on the first floor and an auditorium on the second floor.  A residence at the back of the building served the minister and his family.

 In 1965, a larger auditorium, including a baptistery and additional classrooms on the lower level was completed.  More construction was completed in 1984, adding an educational/fellowship building to provide more classrooms to meet the needs of a growing congregation. 

A fifteen-acre parcel of land was purchased in October 1990 at 8723 Poplar Pike for the purpose of constructing new facilities. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new building complex were held Saturday, May 18, 1996.  On July 27, 1997, David Underwood conducted the last Sunday morning service at the old church building on Poplar Avenue.  The first worship service at 8723 Poplar Pike was August 3, 1997, and was conducted by Dave Phillips.

Following the move into the new facilities, a six and one-half acre parcel of land adjoining the west side of the property became available, and the church purchased it in 1998.  The majority of this land was developed and used as expanded parking along the northwestern portion of our property.  ‘Fellowship Park’ is the area at the extreme southern end of the property now being developed for use by the congregation and the community. A walking track, recreational softball field/soccer field, and a pavilion provide an ideal atmosphere for groups of any size to grow through fellowship.

A new education building, the second phase of a three-phase project on Poplar Pike, was completed and functional by the summer of 2003. This building houses classroom space for adults as well as children and features a large youth room on the second floor. 

Prior to leading the closing prayer for our groundbreaking at 8723 Poplar Pike, Dave Phillips made the following statement, “With God as our Father, Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit as our strength, and the Bible as our guide, we gratefully dedicate ourselves to the task of worship, love, and service. Our purpose is to proclaim the riches of God’s word, to help those who are spiritually and physically in need, and to build up the bond of love that exists among the family of believers at the Germantown Church of Christ.”

Click here to learn more about the church https://www.gtcoc.org/