Cloverdale Church of Christ

OUR STORY

Beginnings

The Cloverdale Church of Christ had its beginning in the hearts and minds of members of the Cloverdale Zone, a small group of the West Side Church of Christ meeting in the Cloverdale neighborhood. In 1969 the small group was meeting in the homes of Vernon and Mary Alyce Rogers, Dale and Ouida Smith, Ed and Evelyn White, and a number of other members living in the neighborhood. Through their study of Scripture and realizing the number of families living in the Cloverdale neighborhood, the conversation turned to forming a congregation. Henry and Maurice White were the first to pledge $1,000 to the new ministry effort and soon the Cloverdale small group had pledged $7,000 to the forming of a new congregation. The men then met with the elders of West Side, College, and Downtown Churches of Christ to ask for their blessing and prayers.

The land was bought with the money they had pledged along with special donations from Marvin and James Evans (who owned the property) and in cooperation with Brother Reeves who worked at the First National Bank. Don Eads drew up the plans and built the first church building on this site for $110,000. It was an auditorium that could seat 350 people with a few classrooms attached. On July 4, 1976 the first worship service was held in the new building at 3000 East Park Ave.

An Understanding of the Kingdom

As the Cloverdale congregation was forming between1969-1974, Southside Church of Christ began worshipping together in 1973. They met in a small house on Highway 267. In 1982, John Sanders and Bob Abney, Southside members, came up with the idea that Southside should merge with Cloverdale. They presented this idea to both elderships and the congregations began meeting together on May 16, 1982. We are proud of our history in Searcy of unity among the churches of Christ, shown both by our merger with the Southside congregation as well as the many joint efforts with other local congregations that we currently participate in.

From the beginning, the congregation at Cloverdale has understood the importance of the Lord’s Great Commission. The members dedicated Cloverdale to serving the people of their community with the gospel, providing a place of worship, and to allocate 50% of the budget to mission work beyond Searcy. This dedication has led to a long history of supporting mission work all over the world that God has used to bless and grow the global church in ways we cannot even measure. Today, Cloverdale supports missionaries in Japan, Cameroon, Brazil, South Florida, Vermont, and Little Rock, Arkansas.

A Growing Congregation

By 1985, Cloverdale’s congregation had grown so that a new auditorium would be needed to accommodate our worship gatherings. Service was held in a new 600-seat auditorium on November 3, 1985 and the old auditorium was converted into classroom space (the preschool hallway and first landing at the top of the stairs). In 1994, the Fellowship Hall (often referred to as “the Annex”) was added to provide a space for potlucks, youth activities, showers, and various outreach opportunities. In 1999, the back hallway was added to provide much-needed classroom space. Finally, in 2003, the congregation went through another period of exciting growth and the glass partition in the back of the auditorium was moved back to further increase the seating capacity.

Over the years, our congregation has steadily seen the Lord’s blessings as seeds continue to be planted and grow here in the Cloverdale community. We have seen the work of eight preachers over 45 years; our current preacher, Karl McLarty, has been here since 2006. What began with five elders shepherding the congregation has grown over time to the 19 godly men who currently lead the spiritual growth of our church family. In 1995, John Calloway was hired as the first full-time youth minister. He was followed by Tom Martin from 1997-2006. Beginning with Tom, our youth group participated in short-term mission trips to the Dominican Republic for over 20 years. When Brian Williams took on the role in 2006, he continued this tradition and added a number of events such as CHRISTeens, Spring Break mission trips to Mississippi and Alabama after Hurricane Katrina, and a weekly home Bible study known as CLIMB. Brian left Cloverdale in 2016 and in 2018 Keith Johnson served as the new youth minister for a year before taking a position with World Bible Institute. Finally, in 2019, Luke Dockery moved to Cloverdale to become the Youth in Family Minister, helping to continue the focus on being an intergenerational congregation. In 2018, Philip Baird was hired as the part-time College Minister and in 2022 was hired full time to continue growing our outreach to the university students.

Inspired Vision

The Cloverdale congregation has been committed to service and the mission of God since its founding. Over the years many different ministries have begun and come to a conclusion as the needs of the community and the congregation have changed. From the youth group to a support group for widowers, the ladies’ retreat to a Spanish ministry, Cloverdale members have always found support and encouragement in their dreams to bring the love of God to those who are lost or hurting. In the 90s, the congregation was led by the motto “Reaching Up, Reaching Out, Reaching In” to remind them to stretch out of their comfort zones and engage with a Holy God, a hurting world, and a loving church family. In the 2000s, the elders presented a more detailed statement to encourage the congregation to grow in their good works: “Compelled by Christ’s Love, we are: Devoted to Family, Expectant in Missions, and Renewed by God’s Spirit.” This emphasis on the family-focus of our congregation, the commitment to mission work, and the importance of God’s Word in our hearts and minds has helped new members to understand who Cloverdale is as a church body for decades. However, in 2018, the elders and ministry staff began working on a statement that would help communicate not only who we are, but the areas where we as a congregation continually seek to grow. Characterized by six key words, the current vision of the Cloverdale Church of Christ emphasizes: Intergenerational church life, Discipleship among our members, an Inviting and Hospitable community, a commitment to Maturing in our faith, and a focus on Sending missionaries while living as believers who have been sent ourselves.