HISTORY

The Church of Christ at Garrisonville, VA began on Sunday August 3, 1983
when two Christian families and a neighbor met in the home of Brother John
Cole. Ten souls including children were present the first day. The Dwight
family, the Coles, and Ms. Terry Hunt, who was not a member of the Lord's
church, had begun meeting at home earlier that spring for Wednesday night
Bible Study. During that time, the Dwights and the Coles remained members
of the Fredericksburg Church of Christ, 12 miles to the south of
Garrisonville. After the Garrisonville congregation was established, the
membership grew to 40 by the end of 1983.
 

In 1984, six souls were added to the Lord's church in baptism with Sister
Terry Hunt as the first convert. Membership rose to 45 by year's end and
Sunday morning attendance averaged 38. During the Spring of 1984, the
meeting place was moved to a rental house on a primary road in the county,
State Route 610. Worship services were held in the garage and Bible classes
were conducted in the adjacent single-story house. Also in April 1984,
Brother Jerry Wilson of Waldorf, MD began preaching for the congregation
on Sundays.
 

January 1985 saw the arrival of Garrisonville's first full-time minister,
Brother Jim Pinkstaff of Daytona Beach, FL. Jim, his wife April, and their two
daughters moved into the house on Rt. 610 where they remained until the
winter of 1986. As a result, Bible classes were conducted in what became
their living room and bedrooms. Having a full-time man immediately made
impact on the congregation in both spiritual and numerical growth. Ten
souls were added through baptism to the Lord's church by the end of 1985.
Membership increased to 82 and an average Sunday morning attendance was
51.
 

The new year of 1986 started off with the greatest trial in the history of the
Garrisonville congregation. On February 24, 1986, the Church received
notice from the landlord of the house on Rt. 610 that we had 30 days to
vacate the location. After considerable searching and prayer, we decided to
accept an offer to use the Summit Presbyterian Church building on Sunday
afternoons. April 1986 began a period of over two years when the church at
Garrisonville held services at 1 PM each Sunday. Membership in 1986 was 86
and average Sunday morning attendance ran at 61. When the church at
Garrisonville first began meeting at the Presbyterian building, we firmly
believed that it would be a short stay since plans for the construction of our
own building were already underway. On July 29, 1987 ground was broken
for the new building; however, construction delays prevented the completion
of the new facility until two years later. Membership in 1987 was 90 and an
average Sunday morning attendance ran at 69.
 

In May 1988, since our building was not finished as previously expected, the
decision was made to move from the Presbyterian building. Fortunately, the
Lord blessed us quickly with a new meeting place at the Mountain View
Community Center. The church met at that location from june 1988
through June 1989. Our minister, Jim Pinkstaff, resigned his position in
February 1988 and moved from the area by the end of March. Without a
full-time preacher, the men of the congregation began taking turns
preaching each Sunday. Membership for 1988 was 93 with an average
Sunday morning attendance of 72.
 

On July 2, 1989, the congregation met for the first time in its newly
completed facility on State Route 648. Opening Day festivities were held on
October 1, 1989. Membership grew to 94 with an average Sunday morning
attendance of 73 by the end of 1989.
 

We have continued to grow and the average Sunday morning attendance for 1996 was 110.