The Amelia Island Church of Christ
The Amelia Island Church of Christ worshipped for the first time in the home of one of its members on December 17, 1995. It was under the leadership of several ministers during a two-year period. In 1997, the church relocated to the local YMCA, at the McArthur Branch Center, and held services there, headed by several ministers until September 2008 when their current temporary minister retired.
In September 2008, Bro. Tom Lowe became the minister assisted by Bro. James Flanagan who was also the song leader. This arrangement remained until March 25, 2012, when we welcomed new members to the area, in particular Bro. Percy and Sis. Zandra Johnson. As a result, on April 18, 2012, we were able to begin teaching a midweek Bible class again. Bro. Percy Johnson, who had been teaching God’s word in the Lord’s church for many years, agreed to teach Wednesday night Bible study at 7:00 p.m.
Bro. Tom Lowe continued to preach the Gospel on Sundays until his brief hospitalization and sudden passing on November 29, 2012. Bro. Johnson was asked to succeed Bro. Lowe as the preacher of the congregation. He agreed and was assisted by Bro. Flanagan who remained the song leader until he was called to serve his country in Afghanistan. Bro. Johnson continued teaching Wednesday night Bible class. He taught the entire Bible chapter by chapter and verse by verse, beginning with the Gospel of Matthew, then continuing to the book of Acts through the book of Revelation. Then he taught the Old Testament books. During this time, he was also teaching new converts how to worship in Spirit and in truth as God commands (John 4:23-34).
In April 2013, under the leadership of Bro. Johnson, the church secured a new and more permanent visible location and moved from the YMCA to the property on Amelia Concourse, where the congregation experienced growth, and for the very first time, baptisms. Our first service at the new location was held on Sunday, May 5, 2013. That same month two members from another Church of Christ placed their membership with us.
The very next month, June of 2013, three new souls were baptized into the Lord’s body. One of those new members, Frank Gilbert, age 88, is the oldest member to date to be baptized at our congregation. Also, in June, the Lord blessed Bro. Johnson with some much-needed help in conducting the Lord’s services in the person of Bro. Dwayne Friday. He placed membership here in June and his wife was the first convert to be baptized. Bro. Friday assisted Bro. Johnson and became the song leader.
Since that time, the Lord has continued to grow the body of Christ in this community. We have been evangelizing the area and as a result, souls have been added to the body of Christ and souls have been restored to the body of Christ (Matt. 28: 18-20; Acts 2:36-47). We have become a church home away from home for the many visiting saints who regularly vacation in this area, snowbirds and military personnel who have been stationed in this community.
Bro. Larry Smith and his wife Lenore, snowbirds, first visited us in January 2017 through May of the same year before returning home to West Virginia. They formerly lived in Fernandina in the 1980’s. The Lord placed it on Bro. Smith’s heart to relocate back to this area in November 2017 to work with us and help this church to grow. He has been an integral part of the growth of this congregation. Because of his faithfulness and commitment to this congregation, his sons, their families, his grandchildren and his great grandchildren are members of this congregation. He also serves as the primary song leader.
Because we are a congregation that is filled with the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9) and who believes whole-heartedly in the inerrant word of God, we endeavor to follow all of God’s word (Matt. 4:4). We preach and practice that God is the ultimate authority in His church because the church belongs to Him. We are merely His servants just doing His will. So, we teach the Gospel unapologetically and strive to be and to remain a loving and sound congregation according to the scriptures until the day the Lord returns (Rev. 2:1; Rev. 3:8, Rev 2:10).
We are very thankful that the Lord has and continues to bless His church to grow spiritually and in number as we continue to evangelize the community with the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. Our prayer is that the Lord will continue to use us to save souls and add to His kingdom; and that we will continue to do many good works in His name (2 Thess. 2:17) and to conduct our lives as Christians should and to preserve the integrity and reverence for the Lord’s worship service according to the Bible as our Lord Jesus commanded (Heb. 10:24-25; 1 Tim. 3:15; 2 Thess. 3:7; 1 Cor. 14:40).