Why I’m A Member of the Church of Christ #4

Why I’m a Member of the Church of Christ

Why, because someone before me has sacrificed of themselves to make it possible for me to be a member of the Church of Christ. First and foremost of course is the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross making my forgiveness possible and my membership in the body of Christ a reality.

This past March was the 57th year “marker” for the existence of the Fredericksburg Church of Christ’s building. Some of you have seen the marble marker placed beside the doorway of the “old” portion of the building. It says simply, “Church of Christ-March 1959”. Keeping in mind that the “church” and “building” are distinct and different, I posted a picture of that marker on the church Facebook page this week. I also came across a little more history of the Church and its building in a 1980 synopsis I found in the 34th annual Mid-Atlantic Fellowship brochure for that year. It reports:

A meeting for the organization of a congregation of the Church of Christ in Fredericksburg was held on Sunday, August 5, 1951. On August 12, 1951 services were held in the American Legion Hall. In December 1952 the first full-time minister, Glenn M. Graham was employed. In January of 1959 the church began construction of the basement portion of the building at 336 Riverside Drive. The building was completed in the fall of 1959 being used for worship assemblies until an auditorium could be built. The auditorium was begun in May of 1962 and completed in October of 1962.

The Elders listed in that 1980 brochure were Harold Hopkins and Lando Woods. The Minister was Warren G. Potter.

From reports like this we only get very brief snapshots of some of the people. Underlying their work is a sacrifice not only of funds to build but also of efforts to serve. Both are important and are part of what I mean when I say I am a member of the Church of Christ because of the service and sacrifices of others before me.

As members of the Church of Christ we owe a debt of thanks to people past and present for the blessings we enjoy. Let us use these blessings to enrich the lives of our children who follow us and our friends we influence so that someone else might be able to say “I’m a member of the Church of Christ because of people like you.”