For several years, the Sandyville Church of Christ
dreamed of a strong New Testament church in the nearby town of
Ripley, West Virginia. Then, in 1993, at the men's business meeting,
it was decided to begin this work in earnest. They began, first,
by getting feedback from the members of the Sandyville congregation.
Then they met with leaders of area Churches of Christ so that
all would understand this work was being done to help fulfill
the Great Commission "to take the gospel to all people."
After failing to find an appropriate place to
rent, they decided to purchase property and build a new church
building. On December 8, 1994, the deed was signed for a two-acre
lot, just one-half mile west of Interstate 77. More than 140 congregations
in West Virginia and surrounding states were contacted and asked
for financial support and prayers to help this work's commencement.
Thanks to generous donations from members at Sandyville and the
contacted churches, a $10,000 down payment was made on the land.
The Sandyville congregation felt the next step
was that of hiring a preacher for the new work so evangelism could
begin in Ripley. Soon, contact was made with a congregation of
the Lord's church in Iowa Park, Texas. They were supporting James
Rankhorn, a recent graduate of the Brown Trail School of Preaching.
The Iowa Park congregation desired to partially support James
in a mission work. Plans were made to bring James and his wife
Melanie to West Virginia for a visit. As a result of this meeting,
James was hired. On the fourth day of March 1995, James and Melanie
moved to Ripley and began working to get the congregation off
the ground.
April of 1995 was a busy month. Ground was broken
for the new building and a Campaign for Christ gospel meeting
and door-knocking campaign was held April 10th through the 14th.
Since there was no building yet, the meeting was held at the Cedar
Lakes Conference Center. We were privileged to have Charles Pugh
III as the speaker.
The new building was completed late September
and the congregation met in it for the first time October first
1995 with fifty-eight members in attendance. The brotherhood was
invited to celebrate the new congregation on October twenty-second
with an all-day meeting, which included dinner-on-the-grounds,
an afternoon singing, and concluded with brother W. Terry Varner
speaking at 3 p.m.
The congregation continued to grow, and we held
our first gospel meeting in the fall of 1997. We were supported
as a mission work until January 2000. At that point, we were able
to discontinue our outside support to become a fully self-supporting
congregation. During that same year we began having our spring
gospel meeting along with our annual Fall Lectureship and we began
helping in small amounts with other mission efforts which included
support of a student at the West Virginia School of Preaching.
The work prospered through the following five
years. There have been baptisms, restorations, and new members
placing their membership with us. At the time of this writing,
this congregation has grown to about 105 members. This congregation
feels that we have been truly blessed by God. This year in July,
we were able to retire the note on the church building.
We will celebrate our 10th anniversary on October
second 2005, and, once again, we will have an all-day meeting.
It will commence with Denver Haught, formerly of the Sandyville
congregation, teaching our morning Bible class. Charles Pugh III
will be the speaker for the morning worship service. Then, we
will have dinner-on-the-grounds, followed by an afternoon singing.
W. Terry Varner will close the day by speaking at the 3 p.m. worship
service. We feel very privileged to have these men speaking because
of their early involvement with the congregation here in Ripley.
The congregation is now looking to the future
and spreading the Gospel to all. God deserves the glory for what
has been accomplished through this great group of Christians.
The congregation would like to thank all for their prayers and
support through the years. Plan to join us for the celebration
if you can! In His service, James B. Rankhorn, Rt. 1 Box 137-H,
Ripley, WV 25271. (304)372-4526 wrcofc@citynet.net