The rural Kentucky congregation at the top of 21st Century Christian’s list began with Baptist ties in 1796.
By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — What’s the oldest Church of Christ in America?
It’s the Cedar Springs Church of Christ in Kentucky’s rural Fern Creek community, according to a national directory published by 21st Century Christian.
In actuality, the answer is more complicated.
Yes, the Louisville-area congregation’s roots go back 231 years — to its launch as the Chenoweth Run Baptist Church in 1792.
Related: One of America’s oldest Churches of Christ celebrates its 200th anniversary
That formation date is why the directory puts the Kentucky church at the top of its list of the oldest known Churches of Christ in the U.S. But the chart explains, too, that some of these congregations — such as Cedar Springs — started in other religious bodies prior to the Restoration Movement.
The Kentucky group didn’t identify itself as the Cedar Springs Church of Christ until moving into a new building in 1851 — 172 years ago.
“So, most people date us to 1851 because of the Baptist history,” said Zack Martin, the church’s minister since 2016. “So when I came here and started digging into the history, I felt like I was opening up old wounds because nobody ever talked about it.”
This story appears in the January edition of The Christian Chronicle.
Featured photo by Audrey Jackson
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