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HISTORY
Turner Road Church of Christ
Church of Christ at Bouldercrest
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Early in 1958, the elders and the minister of the Simpson Street Church of Christ began considering the Thomasville community as a possible location for the Lord's church. At that time, Thomasville was very rural and sparsely populated with unpaved roads and no public transportation. Consequently, a tent was set up on Turner Road and a series of gospel meetings began. The late Bro. Arthur Perkins, minister of Simpson Street, was the speaker for the first gospel meeting held in the community in 1959. It was an inspiring, well attended "tent" meeting in the spring of the year. Several months later, the late Bro. Bradshaw was the speaker for the second gospel meeting. There were about five persons who obeyed the gospel at these tent meetings.
There was such a good response to the gospel meetings that the elders of Simpson Street,
Bro. Homer Green, Bro. William Kennedy, and Bro. Robert Freeman, envisioned Thomasville as the right location for a new congregation. The land was purchased, plans were made to erect a building, and the search for a minister began.
The building construction was done exclusively by brothers of the church who volunteered their time and expertise. The late Bro. Albert Mitchell headed this project. While the brothers worked on the building, the late Sis. Mary Parkman and other sisters cooked and served hot meals. The first building was a small, white stucco structure.
In 1959, upon the completion of the building, the elders made an appeal to the Simpson Street congregation for at least 100 members to commit to working at the little church in Thomasville. About 14 families heeded the call (approximately 50 people). The first minister was
Bro. Wesley R. Brown. He and his wife, Barbara, and their baby son, Wesley Jr., came to Atlanta from Edna, Texas. They were both graduates of Southwestern Christian College. Among the first converts were the Ponder family, the Johnson family (Lizzie), the Thorpe family (Pharisee), and the Conyers family (Marvin and Cecilia) to name a few. This was the beginning of the Turner Road Church of Christ.
Turner Road quickly became known as the "singing church," thanks to the singing ability of
Bro. J. D. Matthews who, at the direction of the elders of Simpson Street, came to Turner Road as the first song leader. His ability to lead singing made Turner Road the talk of the brotherhood.
Turner Road's members often referred to Simpson Street as the "mother church." It was family to the newly-formed congregation. The elders and members were there to assist and assure that all was well. When Turner Road showed that it was ready to be self-supporting financially and had identified trustees, the elders and the minister of Simpson Street gave the building and all its legal matters to the brothers at Turner Road. The first trustees were Bro. Hoover Green, Bro. William Johnson, Bro. Albert Mitchell, and Bro. Charles L. Martin.
There were house-to-house bible classes every week (members with cars picked up those without transportation), and monthly singings and fellowships were held. Those who were sick or in need were readily cared for by the membership. Brothers and sisters set up little league baseball for the many young men in the congregation; a well-planned vacation bible school and a picnic were held each year; and gospel meetings and revivals were always on the schedule.
Early in 1963, the Clark Tyler family moved to the Thomasville community. Bro. Tyler had preached at about four small congregations before coming to Turner Road. Having placed membership, Bro. and Sis. Tyler began teaching bible study. Bro. Tyler and Bro. Charles Martin became the "house-to-house" teaching team, and Bro. Jessie Simmons accompanied them to provide additional support. The materials they chose to use were a chart and about six lessons, and many obeyed the gospel in these settings.
Bro. Brown's goal was that Turner Road would be operated as God intended. Therefore, the Wednesday night bible study was used to teach the church about the qualifications of elders and deacons. Bro. Hoover Green and Bro. Charles L. Martin were selected by the congregation as elders in the early sixties. Later, Bro. William Johnson and Bro. Rufus Martin were ordained as the first deacons. Bro. Vincent Bethel and his family moved to Atlanta from Savannah and became deeply involved in the church's programs, and he was later ordained as the third elder.
After many years in the old building, Bro. Wesley Brown began to constantly tell the congregation that he had a dream. Eventually, he communicated his dream of a new building. He even shared pictures of the new building that the I-85 congregation in Greenville, South Carolina, was erecting to gain the interest of members. His enthusiasm spread throughout the congregation. The leadership decided to float bonds to provide the needed capital for a new building. Bro. Wesley Brown, Bro. Hoover Green, and Bro. Jessie Simmons went to virtually every congregation in the city of Atlanta and some congregations in Tennessee to sell bonds. People from everywhere purchased the bonds, and the large sales made the project a success.
On May 22, 1970, the church was incorporated. Additional land was purchased as plans were set forth to build a new building. Turner Road's plans for its new building were the same as those used for the I-85 church in Greenville. The new building was completed and dedicated in 1972.
Having labored with the church on Turner Road for nearly 15 years, Bro. Wesley Brown accepted the position as minister of the West End congregation in 1974, and Bro. Lucian Harris became the second minister of Turner Road. Bro. Lucian Harris arrived, fully equipped to serve the congregation, almost as soon as Bro. Wesley Brown made his decision to leave.
Many accomplishments were made at Turner Road under Bro. Lucian Harris' leadership, and the church grew materially and spiritually. It was during his 11-year tenure that the first prison ministry was started, and the church began a monthly visitation to the Federal Prison. The congregation also visited nursing homes in the community to carry the gospel to the elderly.
In December 1985, Bro. Lawrence Gilmore became the third minister of the congregation. His sermons were spirit moving, and many obeyed the gospel under his teachings. To say he was a master teacher only partially credits this dynamic preacher. Many programs were planned for the congregation under his direction. He used "task forces" to designate the duties and responsibilities of the members, and these programs were effective.
After Bro. Gilmore's departure, Bro. Tyler, the assistant minister, along with the two deacons,
Bro. Rufus Martin and Bro. Davenport Daniel, worked diligently to keep the church moving in the right direction. The brothers who came to aid the congregation spiritually pointed to the biblical organization of the church and Turner Road's absence of elders. For the church to be spiritually and scripturally sound, brothers needed to be identified to serve as elders and deacons.
(In the late seventies, the eldership was dissolved due to the resignation of Bro. Hoover Green, which left Bro. Charles Martin as the only elder. Bro. Vincent Bethel had resigned earlier due to illness.)
At the recommendation of Bro. Wesley Brown, Bro. Edward Keyton was brought in as interim minister. His calm, wise evaluations helped to pull forces together and bring about peace. In 1989, Bro. Keyton became the congregation's fourth and present minister. He is an effective speaker and teacher. Among his strengths as a leader is his keen insight. His preaching shows his interest in motives, causes, and effects. He uses his life's experiences to model examples that are clear and real for today's audiences.
Under Bro. Keyton's leadership, the church ordained three elders (Brothers Terry Frazier, Rufus Martin, and Stanley McNease) and nine deacons (Brothers Dwight Martin, Paul Hubbard, Daryele Matthews, Willie Williamson, Charles Martin, Michael Wood, Stiles Ledford, Alfonso Cheney, and Lemuel Jackson). The ordination of elders and deacons provided the congregation with strength, stability, and insightful vision. In December of 1995, Brothers Stiles Ledford and Alfonso Cheney were ordained as elders and Brothers Amos Brown, Daron Cheney, and Rufus Martin III were ordained as deacons. On February 10, 2002, four additional elders (Amos Brown, Michael Wood, Daryele Matthews, Ernest Poole) and one deacon (Jeffrey Dotson) were ordained. On March 30, 2003, Eric Porter and Roderick Evans were ordained deacons.
In June of 1996, 13 families from Turner Road began the mission church known as the South Perimeter Church of Christ. Charles AChuck@ Martin serves as its minister.
In 1995, the leadership presented the vision of a new facility to the congregation to accommodate the tremendous growth. The congregation “caught the dream,” and God blessed the acquisition of 34.5 acres of land at Bouldercrest and I-285. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 8, 2003. By God’s grace, the first worship service at Bouldercrest was held on Sunday, January 16, 2005. A week-long dedication was held on January 23-30. The first wedding at the new edifice was performed on Saturday, March 26, 2005. Jocelyn Matthews, the daughter of Daryele and Julia Matthews, was wed to Mpenga Kabundi.
The Turner Road Church of Christ, now known as the Church of Christ at Bouldercrest, has grown to become a strong and viable force in the Atlanta area. With the motto, "A Church with A Mind to Work," it has a vision to "aggressively evangelize the metropolitan Atlanta area and facilitate the growth of God's people." From an idea in 1959, Bouldercrest still strives to be the "light that sits on a hill and cannot be hid."
Pioneers from Simpson Street to Turner Road
J. D. and Ermer Matthews and family
Charles and Dell Martin
Stiles and Evelyn Ledford
Jessie and Lucille Simmons
Hoover and Evelyn Green and family
William and Irene Johnson
Willie Burton and family
Wesley & Barbara Brown
Hazel Harris
Ethel Montgomery
Charles Griffin
Nell Bennett Williams
Clotis Smith
The Calhoun Family
Mary Parkman
Albert Mitchell
Eddie and Amelia Mosley
Pioneers from Simpson Street to Turner Road to Bouldercrest
Ermer Matthews
Stiles and Evelyn Ledford
Jessie and Lucille Simmons
Hoover Green
Irene Johnson Furlow
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