Church of Christ Kennedy Heights

Our History

Over sixty years ago a family of Christians moved from Tennessee to the Cincinnati area.  Mostly women, there was Sis.  Elby Osbourne, Bro. and Sis. Yowell, Bro. and Sis. Morris.  They were aunts, nieces, cousins and spouses.  Their family had been members of the church for at least a previous generation. The only one left from that family who still attends is Sis. Elizabeth Clayton who quietly sits in the back most Sunday mornings.  They met from house to house continuing to worship according to New Testament doctrine.  Others were added to the Lord, including Bro. Ray, (Father-in-law to Sis. Oneida Ray) Sis. Harris (Grandmother of Sis. Bykes and Bro. Boston), The Gibsons and others. A Baptist church in Dunbar allowed them to use their facilities until they started converting their members.           

With their numbers growing, probably approaching twenty members, they needed a building in which to worship.  Bro. Ray came to the forefront mortgaging his home to purchase a garage at 5422 Whetsel Ave. in Madisonville. The garage was converted into a crude church building with creaking floors.  A single restroom near the front door, a pot belly stove for heat. It sort of reminded you of something from “Little House on the Prairie”. No matter how rustic, a lot of spirited worship took place in that old building.

 There were no separate classrooms.  Each age group just had a different corner of the one room. Some of our early Sunday school teachers were Sis. Todd and Sis. Clark (the Grandmother of Sis. Darlene Hampton) At least once a year, during a two or three week meeting, dinner was served on tables spread on the front yard.  No basement, no fellowship hall. We just had lots of good food and fellowship.           

 One of the first ministers was Bro. Hurt.  During his time of service, the Wilkins family migrated to Cincinnati from Birmingham.  When they came they met Bro. and Sis. Mitchell already faithful members of the congregation.  Also added to the Lord soon after were Sis. Boston and later Bro. Ed Boston. My mother often tells the story that when she first came to Madisonville she only saw one young man who would be a peer to my s.  The man she saw was a youthful looking Bro. Gibson who was probably well into his sixties at the time.  He along with the other pioneers of the congregation loved the Lord and the church.  In failing health, when he was well up in age and had missed several Sundays at church, he got out one weekday and walked from his home in Walnut Hills to the church building.  Through the providence of God my parents happened to pass by the church building seeing him sitting on the steps.  They took him in the building and sang and prayed then took him home.  He did not live much longer after that.  Another such Christian, who passed on the way we all should like to go, was Sis. Harris (the Boston and Bykes’ grandmother) who was walking to Wednesday night bible class when she succumbed and later passed away.

The next minister was Bro. Burke, one of the best Bible teachers I know.  Through his teaching many of us were well grounded in the truth at an early age.  The Anderson family also migrated to the area becoming a part of the congregation. Bro. McMillian and his two children also came to us during this time becoming important additions to our congregation.

Also under Bro. Burke we razed that old garage building and built a new, more modern building on the existing lot. In the early sixties another great family joined us at Madisonville, The Leach family and we can see the legacy of that family growing strongly in the Lord. We had a large group of teenage girls.  We were all together every Sunday at one home or another. The small congregation was really one big family.  

Through the fifties and sixties a big part of our church history was traveling around the southern half of the state one Sunday a month for the Fellowship meetings.  You never heard such singing.  I can still hear Bro.Wylie, in Springfield, leading My God is Real in such an emotional way that many tears were shed and women shouted out. The congregation also attended the area wide singing each month, here, in the city.

Our next minister was Bro. Belle.  He had a knack for motivating young people to work for the Lord. One example of this is when Ernie Mioner introduced his neighbor Stephanie Logan to the Gospel. Even though Ernie is no longer faithful, the fruit of that one conversion is resonating today.  As a result we have the Eric Jackson family, the extended Harris family and descendants numbering a significant portion of this congregation.

During this time all the young people were very active, often passing out tracts on Saturday mornings, in the then bustling town area of Madisonville.  We published a monthly newsletter entitled “The Christian Youth Enquirer”, with our sponsors Bro. Ed Boston, Sis. Alberta Wilkins and Sis. Ruth Saunders (The  of Sis. Ruby Boston).

 For several summers the young people ran a summer youth outreach program called PAL (Play and Learn). In this program we did crafts, Bible lessons and field trips for our own children and many neighborhood children.  Bro. Belle and my parents also took a van load of children to the newly opened Disney World in Florida.

The Youth also attended National Youth conferences in Oklahoma and Florida.

Madisonville Church hosted the first Annual Ohio State Lectureship. We have also hosted several more since then.  Our next minister, Bro. Goodloe, although he was not here long, made a great contribution through the foresight of the purchase of this property on the corner of Red Bank and Woodford.  He also has a wonderful wife who set a great example for the younger women as to the role of a Christian woman and minister’s wife.

Our next minister, Bro. Townes, took us to new heights.  The Madisonville building was being filled to capacity each Sunday.  It was obvious that we had outgrown that building.  Through Bro. Townes’ guidance we grew spiritually and numerically.  The plans for our new building were executed.  Using a bond program, we raised the funds to build the building we are in now. We also grew in maturity gaining elders: Bro.Townes, Bro. Leach, Bro. Wilkins and later Bro. Joe Minor.

Over the many decades of this congregation many notable ministers have held gospel meetings, including s: Marshall Keeble, A.C.Holt J.S.Winston, Eugene Lawton, David Lane, K.K. Mitchell, Ralph Draper and many others. It has been recorded that Bro. Keeble had baptized more people than anyone since the apostles and is the most well known 20^th century Church of Christ preacher.

In the late sixties a young married couple, Bro. and Sis. Jasper were added to the Lord...  Other members from Madisonville who are still with us are Gordon Carter, s: Bailey, Rose Chappelle, Margaret Ross, Sharon Draper, Gayle McDaniels, Sis. Laverne Carr and Anna Keyes.

Many more of you have become integral parts of our congregation since our move from Madisonville, but I mainly wanted to mention those who have been with the congregation from Madisonville until now.

Now we are entering a new phase of growth, with Bro. Edmerson as our minister.  Just as we have had successes in the past, if we all pitch in with our new endeavors, the history of this proud congregation can roll on greater and stronger within the will of the Lord.