Our History
According to the official record, the Thyatira Church of Christ, which is on Tyro Road, is one of the two oldest African American Churches of Christ in the nation. It was born out of slavery, After the Church on Jim Wolfe Creek started on the county line between Marshall and DeSoto Counties in Mississippi in the early 1800’s.
The present Thyatira Church of Christ that meets on Ms. Hwy 4, was known in early 1800’s as the Jim Wolfe Creek Church and was later named Thyatira and was located where the current church building presently sits. It was quite clear from the beginning that many of the Jim Wolfe Creek Church were slave owners. The slaves attended worship service with their masters. The Thyatira Church built a new building and relocated in 1856. The Civil War and the emancipation of the slaves in 1863 did not seem to cause any major difficulty in the church as they continued to worship together. In 1866, a log cabin was built on this site and the former slaves worshipped in it. In the early days, there was no designated preacher, so each Brother taught lessons and lead song service. Times were hard in the early days, but the member’s faith was strong, they were closely bounded and God was good all the time. They were determined and declared before God and to each other that they would do the whole will of God the best they can and could bear with one another in love.
In 1882, Alexander Cathey (one of the charter members of the early church restoration from Maury County Tenn.), then elder of the Thyatira Church, donated a piece of property (one acre) to include Mt. Zion Church Colored to trustees Graudison Locke and Edmond Cathey to hold for benefit of the Church, to them and their successors in office. The Church was called Mt. Zion after the Thyatira Church relocated and donated it to the colored Members. They purchases an additional ½ acre for $15.00. The numbers were known as and referred to to as Campbellites and Christians, after the great Restoration Alrexander Campbell. Graudison Locke, Isaac and Susie Cathey, Edmond Cathey and his wife, Ben and Rene Cathey, Emmanuel Carter and Blunt Sessom were some of the charter members of the new Church.
After moving into the new building, the church started to evangelize in the community by holding Gospel meetings. These meetings were held in the fall of the year after lay by time of the crops, featuring great preachers such as Levi Kennedy (Centerville, Tn.), E. D. Phillips (Nashville, TN), Acey J. Colston (Racine WI) and Marshall Keeble (Nashville Christian Institute). The name was changed from Mt. Zion to the Thyatira Church of Christ.
The Thyatira Church was known for its evangelistic spirit, as a result of this the church extended its influence by helping establish churches in other communities throughout the county (Wall Hill, Bluff Rd., West Looxahoma). Because of bad economic conditions, many members left to explore other parts of the state and country. As a result, other churches (Sheldon Heights. Chicago, IL., Easthaven, Memphis, TN., etc.) were established.
In 1963, a new brick building was built immediately north of the old church. Twenty-one years later, the current sanctuary, which is connected to the south side of the 1963 building, was added. By the close of the century, the Family Life Center was built. The Thyatira Church has a rich history of evangelism and benevolence. And it continues to reach out to the community around it. There have been man Preachers and Christian Leaders developed and born out of the Thyatira Church. Some of whom were C. C. Locke, M. J. Wallace, Roosevelt Cathey, Sam Davis and Alvertis Bowdre, who did great evangelistic work traveling throughout the south and around the United States, carrying on gospel meetings and strengthening churches.
The Church today is being shepherded to by Minister, Gary B. Young, Minister Emeritus Winford G. Cooper, Deacon Ricky Wooten. Our Average attendance is 130 with visitors from areas throughout the country.
As mentioned before, there was no designated preacher. But as time and prosperity progressed, preachers came in. On Sundays, the Brethren taught and preached.
Some of the Preachers were:
2nd Sunday Preachers 2nd and 4th Sunday Preachers Every Sunday Preachers
Nathan McClinton Ananious Wilkins Archie Davis
Walter Miller Adell Davis Anderson Ivory
James Bradley Eldridge Jones David McFalls
John Beard Daniel Edmonds Kenneth Bolton
Duncan White Winford Cooper
Alvertis Bowdre Oscar Dorsey
James Davis. Jimmy McClain
Gary B. Young
