By David Phillips
This congregation had its beginning in Montgomery in the early 1930’s as a result of mission efforts by the Highland Avenue church of Christ. The Highland Gardens community at that time consisted of about 120 homes, and as the church began meeting in various homes in the community, several gospel meetings were held in the neighborhood in tents. On January 1, 1932, construction began on a small, wood frame church building on the corner of Miller and Wilena Streets. By the end of that first day, the building was sufficiently complete to allow the congregation to meet in it. With walls and a roof in place, windows and doors were hung, and a coal heater kept the structure tolerably warm. With rough boards atop concrete blocks for pews, the church met for its first worship service in the “new” building that night. Within a few weeks, 120 chairs were purchased at a cost of one dollar each to replace the crude “benches”.
Through the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s the congregation continued to grow until it became apparent that a larger meeting house was needed. In 1957, a new brick building was constructed on the property just in front of the old wood frame building. The new building housed a 250-seat auditorium, 10 classrooms and a nursery. However, upon completion, there was not enough money left to buy new pews, so Brother Jesse Brown suggested that each family in the church purchase a pew. At a cost of about one hundred dollars each, the new pews were paid for by the members. Dedication services were held December 1, 1957 and for almost 45 years, the building served the congregation well. Over the course of years, the building was upgraded and remodeled, and even had an elevator added. In 1969, an adjoining lot was purchased for more parking area. In 1980, the house next door was purchased to be used as a church office, and in 1985 a large fellowship hall was constructed.
Then, in the 1990’s Highland Gardens, like so many older communities in Montgomery, began to decline and efforts to evangelize the community bore less and less fruit each year. In 1999, an opportunity was presented to purchase this property on Redland Road from the Johnson family. Brother James Glenn and Brother Joe McCollough were our elders then, and showed great vision in the decision to relocate the congregation to this growing community. Work soon began to design a new facility that would house a large congregation and still be feasible for a small congregation to build. Brother Joe McCollough agreed to serve as the general contractor, and in early 2000, construction began. Many of our members pitched in and helped at various stages of the construction process, with several putting up construction funds from their own savings until bank financing could be obtained. Many who traveled Redland Road daily watched our progress as the new building slowly became a reality. On September 29, 2002 we met for our first worship service here as the church of Christ on Redland Road.
Today, we look back over the past 17 years in this community. During that time, we’ve all grown older and hopefully spiritually stronger. We’ve welcomed newcomers, and said earthly good-byes to many precious ones who were with us for so many years. Many have been led to become new members of the Lord’s family, and for those we are especially grateful. But we will continue to grow only in proportion to the wholehearted effort we put into serving God and into leading our neighbors to Jesus. So let’s continue standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel (Phil.1:27).