The History of Hermitage Christian Church

The Hermitage Christian Church celebrated two special occasions on the first Sunday in April, 2005. The church marked its hundredth year of service and dedicated a newly constructed fellowship hall April 3^rd, 2005.

The Hermitage Christian Church was organized March 26^th, 1905. The group’s early records state, “be it known unto all who shall read this, that on Sunday, March 25^th, 1905 the Christian Church of Hermitage, Missouri was organized”.

Pastors serving the Hermitage Christian Church prior to 1923 were J.D. Babb, S.E. Hendrickson, Pleasant Clark, J.H. “dad” Jones, Orville Hodge, F.M. Hooten, L.V. Cox and A.W. Rethemeyer. Pastors serving the Hermitage Christian Church since 1923 were:

1923-1924 A.T. Mahaney

1925-1930 R.W. Hoffman

1930-1946 A.T. Mahaney

1947-1948 Roy Fields, Jr.

1949-1951 Earl E. Sechler

1951-1954 Chris J. Sias

1954-1956 Elbert R. Allenbaugh

1957-1959 James R. Earsom

1959-1963 John R. Harvey

1963-1965 J.C. Jordan

1965-1968 C.S. Macy

1968-1972 Paul C. Coltharp

1972-1973 Aubrey J. Russell

1974-1980 Jay M. Reese

1980-1985 Frank M. Cogdill

1986-1996 John Wylie

1997 David Kirk

1998-2001 Grant Hagle

2001-2007 Ralph Lindenberger

Many changes have occurred for the Hermitage Christian Church and Hickory County during the century that followed. Hickory County history, as well as that of the Christian Church, includes the following:

1900 – Hickory County reached its zenith of population -9,985

1916 – Hickory County Pastoral Unity formed, including Hermitage,
Cross Timbers, Weaubleau, Wheatland and Elkton

1940 – Population was 6,506

1967 – Construction of Pomme de Terre dam began

1968 – Four lots in SE Hermitage were purchased for $4,500. Later,
in 1968, the Christian Church dedicated its parsonage

1971 – Ground was broken for the construction of the Christian Church in
Hermitage

1972 – First worship service held in the new building

1973 – Dedication service held in the new church

1976 – Mortgage burning service held to celebrate being debt-free

2000 – The last census – population 8,940

2004 – Ground-breaking for new fellowship hall began

2005 – 100^th anniversary of the Hermitage Christian Church.
Dedication of the new fellowship hall

The remarkable thing about this church is that we met with the Methodist Church from 1905 – 1972, before we built our own church. In 1976, church members gathered for a special mortgage burning service. John Buck was our Area Minister at that time. He called us a miracle church because we were just a small group of people, but we were debt-free.

In 2004 the congregation made a firm commitment to build a new fellowship hall. It was a unanimous vote; we could not have done it without the prayers and financial support of the people. The building was built without loans and we are debt-free. The building houses a fellowship hall on the upper level. It is used for church dinners, music sessions, special meetings and craft sales. It features a full-size kitchen, two handicap accessible restrooms and storage. The lower level is used for storage and is a storm shelter. The men of the congregation did most of the work, donating 5000-plus hours with an age average of 71. The ladies made sure we were well-fed. The project was completed in 8 months.