1829 to Present
Location
305 Christian Church Road, Gray, TN.
History
Boones Creek Christian Church had its beginning in the baptism of Mrs. Fanny Renfro, which took place shortly before November 14, 1824. Jerial Dodge baptized her, and the Baptist Association decided on April 16, 1825, that the baptism was not agreeable to gospel order practiced by the Baptist churches. At this meeting, James Miller asked for and received his letter of dismissal from the Baptist Church. This meeting was the first to reference an organized congregation in the Boones Creek area that was a Christian Church.
This time marked the beginning of the great revival on Boones Creek, referred to as the “Great Meeting,” which probably began in the summer of 1825. James Miller and Jerial Dodge played important parts in the meeting. The Baptist churches in the area were greatly affected by the meeting, as Boones Creek Baptist Church came over almost as an entire group. Miller’s meeting also divided Buffalo Ridge Baptist Church as reported by Baptist historians. J.J. Bennett states that Buffalo Ridge Baptist Church was reduced from 350 to 14 members by “Asian heresy as taught by Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell.” The Christian Messenger of August 1830 reported that the first Annual meeting (a convention held by a Stonite Christian Church) at Boones Creek Christian Church occurred on August 17, 1829.
The earliest membership record, in 1824, lists a membership of 134. Men and women of “colour” were listed beginning in 1842. There was no discrimination by race, but there was segregation by sex. Men and women were listed separately in the membership role and came through separate doors and sat on separate sides in the new building, built around 1850 and referred to as the Brick Church. The Brick Church was used until 1952, when a new church was built on the same foundation. Several additions have followed and the church has an average attendance of about 600.
Cemetery
The cemetery is located around the older small brick church building.
Source: In the Footsteps of Faith: A Tour of 14 of Johnson City’s Century-old Churches, 2005. Posted 22 Oct 2005