Welcome to
Mt. Zion church of Christ
Brookhaven, MS.
Our History
On the 2nd Sunday in October 1894, Bro. N.L. Clark and a group of men met at the Johnson Grove School, and set in order what was afterwards known as Mt. Zion church of Christ.
Bro. N.L. Clark
The first Gospel Meeting in the community was conducted by Bro. Clark in the summer of 1896, under a brush arbor constructed on property owned by Victor Lard. Mr. Lard donated four acres of land and in October of 1896 a small, frame, church building was erected.
Sometime later, it was destroyed by a storm and the congregation met at Johnson Grove until another building could be constructed. Newt Foster, Eddie Watts, and Elbert Lard did the work.
Rendition of 2nd Building
by Dennis Hollingsworth
Rendition of 2nd Building
by Dennis Hollingsworth
The first elders at Mt. Zion were Elbert Case and Elbert Laird. Around 1940, Clarence Dixon agreed to give the congregation some land across the road to be used to build a larger church building. Bro. Rufus Case owned a sawmill and supplied the lumber. Louis Watts was the main carpenter, and several church members gave of their time and talents in the construction.
When the new building was completed, Mr. Dixon used the old church to build a small house for his mother and crippled sister.
Instead of having 2 rows of benches like most churches, the new building had 3 rows. There were also benches on each side of the pulpit. People called those "amen corners."
Mt. Zion - August 1972
As the years passed, that building had renovations, additions and improvements twice. It was finally conquered by termites and had to be torn down.
A fellowship hall had already been constructed on the site where the first little church building once stood. Rodney King, a member of the church and also a building contractor, and his crew constructed the new building in 1995.
Bro. Buford Stewart of Chickasha, Oklahoma, who had labored with the congregation from 1960-1978, preached the homecoming/reunion message on July 14, 1996, approximately 100 years after Bro. N.L. Clark preached the first gospel sermon in the community.
Bro. Buford Stewart
L. to R. Wendell Davis, Buford Stewart, Norman Miller, Virgil Scott
Some of the earlier leaders of the church were Rufus Case, and Jim Redd (both served as elders), T.E. Newby and N.F. Jacks. Tim Hutton assisted the church for about a year in the 1970's.
During the 1980's Terry Vaughn and Marcus McCormick were ministers for the congregation.
During the 1990's Doug Kimble served the congregation as its minister.
Ronnie Lofton has been the minister at Mt. Zion since 2003.