The Foothills Church of Christ is comprised of baptized believers who have made a commitment to Christ. We are not a perfect family of God but we are forgiven. Washed in the blood of Christ, we seek to save others while we worship the Almighty God.
The Foothills church is lead by God, the chief Shepherd. We teach His Word, the Bible. We work to accomplish several goals: to “Evangelize,” to “Edify” and to “Minister”. (Ephesians 4:11-12)
Evangelism from (evangelize) means, “to announce glad tidings, to preach good news.” It is used in the New Testament of the good tidings of the coming Kingdom, (Mark 1:14-15), of the good news that God saves men by faith in Christ (Romans 1:16), of the good news the Old Testament prophets foresaw and which was “announced” by the Spirit-guided preachers. (I Peter 1:10-12) Evangelism then consists of the work of bringing lost souls to Christ.
Edification was originally used of building a house. Here it is used of “building up” the Christian’s spiritual house, of promoting spiritual growth. This is mentioned as one of the major purposes of the church coming together (I Cor. 14:26). Edification, or maturing the saints, begins where evangelism ends. Paul speaks of the work of maturing the saints, of taking spiritual babies to full growth. (Ephesians 4;14-15) Education of both scriptural (doctrinal) and practical sort is inherent in this edification process. Christ wants every new Christian to “grow up” spiritually, He said, “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20).
Ministry is also referred to as “help” or “relief’. The church is to offer help with physical, emotional as well as Spiritual needs. The early church was very zealous in this behalf as seen from the following passages: Acts 2:44-45, 4:32-35, 6:1-6, ll:27-30; Romans 15:26-27, James 1:27; and Galatians 2:10. The body of Christ is wonderfully equipped for the above three ministries. The local church, such as the Foothills Church of Christ, must ever strive to be as close to the New Testament pattern as possible. In such a conscientious effort the church can attain a happy degree of peace, unity and happiness.
1999-2009
During the fall of 1998, a small group of thirteen Christians began a search to consider beginning a Lord’s work in the Foothills area. All interested parties were attending the Central Church of Christ. With the blessing of the Shepherds at Central, the thirteen began a vigorous search for a meeting facility. Vicki Osgood was the first person to contact Copper Hills House. The Copper Hills House residents and staff were accommodating and offered their facility.
In January of 1999 it was officially decided to begin meeting at Copper Hills House for a Sunday a.m. service, there were about 20 in attendance on the first Sunday. The church previously had been meeting at different member’s homes for Bible studies. Records were kept once services began at Copper Hills and a treasury was formed.
After Sunday A.M. meetings began at Copper Hills, members were able to meet Sunday evenings and Wednesday evenings which brought stability to the whole group. In the spring of 1999, a contribution was taken to purchase an available piece of land on North Frontage Road. To everyone’s amazement the thirteen along with a few others, committed more than $40,000 toward the land purchase. The purchase price for the land was $105,000.
Due to Y2K, one of the charter members, George Stover, requested the land not be purchased until after January 1, 2000, which was agreed by all members.
On January 2, 2000, the land was purchased. It was later decided to begin focusing on a building plan. Initial plans began and Charles Tackett agreed to be contractor and facilitator. All members agreed to help in various ways. The Lord blessed all efforts and after a lot of negotiation with the county and planning commission, the building plan moved ahead with great force. Another special contribution was taken in 2001 and with God’s help $38,000 more was raised. The $38,000 along with a $200,000 loan from the Foothills Bank made it possible to go ahead with the building program. Money was now available for supplies, sub-contractors and all other costs associated with construction of the building. By November 2001 the building was completed, and a grand opening was held January 1, 2002.
In 2006 we finished construction of an office with classrooms and later in 2007 an awning was installed for fellowship meetings. Other improvements have been made such as landscaping with plants, which are cared for by Homer and Joann Burns, and a new sign built by Chris Osgood in 2007.
Now the church is in its 10th year. This was celebrated in January 2009 at Copper Hills House where it all began. It is encouraging to see how far we have come from such a humble beginning. The work began with a few men preaching, Bob Smith, Steve Smith, Charles Tackett and Joe Vaughn. Realizing a great need and having increased finances, the members asked Steve Smith to become the full-time minister in January 2000 and served until September 2006. Currently Bob Smith is the full-time minister and he oversees the spiritual needs of the Foothills Church. As of 2009 Mike Hill began working with the youth with partial support. Attendance now averages around 80-100 in the summer months and can surpass 200 in the winter months.
