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Our History
In July and August, 1953, Thurston H. Reynolds, Herman Anderson, and C.C. Sewell, and their families, moved into the Farragut community from Oak Ridge. The adult members of these families intended to start a Church of Christ congregation in the community. By late 1955 these men had persuaded the New York Avenue Church in Oak Ridge to buy a lot for a future meetinghouse. One acre was purchased on Farlow Drive for $2,000. About this same time, a meeting was held with all members of the Church in the community and it was decided to start meeting as soon as a place could be arranged.
The Farragut High School auditorium served as the first meetinghouse. Jimmy Eaton, of Oak Ridge, preached the first sermon on May 27, 1956. Initially, services were held on Sunday at 3:00 PM in order for ministers from nearby congregations to be able to deliver the sermons. The first portion of the new building, a classroom wing, was completed in June 1957 at a cost of $11,000. The first meeting in the new building was held the first Sunday in July 1957. A new auditorium was completed in 1968, and the old wing was divided into much needed classroom space. Another addition was added in February 1975.
The church at Farlow Drive continued to grow and thrive. The Farragut area of Knoxville has been a very fast growing community over the last 20 years. The growth influx to this community has been phenomenal. Many of the families locating in the area have been young, professional families. Because of the growth of both our congregation and community, Farragut Church of Christ made the decision to move to a larger site. In December 1992, we vacated the Farlow Drive facility. Upon much prayer and searching, our present site, 136 Smith Road, was purchased for a future building site. Construction began in the spring of 1993. In the interim until our building was completed, our church met at Farragut Intermediate School on Sunday mornings. Because we only had the school for morning services, the congregation offered various small groups that met during the week for study and fellowship. We also had other congregation wide events and activities to maintain our cohesion.
In the fall of 1994, Farragut Church of Christ began worshipping at 136 Smith Road. Our present facility has an auditorium, family life center (with portable walls), full service kitchen, staff offices, library, media center, classrooms, and a large room for our teens. The teen room has recently had a "makeover," for more effective outreach.
In 1996, Farragut Church of Christ Preschool was established. The preschool provides a Christian environment for learning and an excellent opportunity for outreach for our congregation. It meets three days a week during the school year, with classes for children 15 months through 5 years of age. The preschool, headed by Jean Ragland, has grown from 18 students in 1996 to 80 for the 2007 - 2008 school year.
We presently have five elders and forty-five deacons and ministry leaders working in a wide variety of areas. There are many established programs at Farragut and many new ones that are quickly becoming established. Our membership is about 145 families.
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