The Church in Jackson, Kentucky

Located in the remote mountainous section of Eastern Kentucky, the city of Jackson serves as the seat of Breathitt County. This county was formed in 1839 and was named after John Breathitt, one of Kentucky's governors.

The Lord's church began in Breathitt County when a gospel meeting was held in Jackson in September, 1990. Four members of the church began meeting in the Jackson Lions Club to hear brother Charlie Arnett preach the gospel. After a few days, some difficulties arose which forced the meeting to be moved to Paul's Motel. The church continued to meet there until August 1991. A house was then rented on River Street which served the church until it moved into its own new building in October 1991.

Charlie and Ruby Arnett worked with the Jackson Church of Christ until December 1991. During this period of time, the church was established on a sound footing and the land was acquired on which the church building was erected. Following the Arnetts' diligent labors in Jackson, Paul and Ricki Vaughn came to serve the church and continue to the present.

The Lord has richly blessed the church in Jackson. Twenty­five souls have been baptized into Christ. During the past three years, the efforts of the Jackson church to reach the lost have included seven gospel meetings, three lectureships, a vacation Bible school, and two ladies days. Some of the faithful and capable gospel preachers who have spoken in these efforts include brethren Adron Doran, Charlie Arnett, Jack Hall, Bennie Blankenship, John Brown, Clifford Reel, Bobby Liddell, Gary Puryear, Halliburton Greer, Emmanuel Daugherty, and Charles Hutchinson.

Other efforts have also been made to reach the lost with the gospel. The church supports a fifteen-minute radio program every Sunday with Paul Vaughn as speaker. In addition, the one­minute daily Truth for the World program with Jim Dearman is aired. A weekly teaching article appears in the local newspaper. The Vaughns are actively engaged in door to door work which results in an average of seven to ten home Bible studies a week and thirty to forty­five Bible correspondence courses each month. Various methods of study are used such as the Jule Miller filmstrips, the Open Bible Study, and the Fishers of Men approach.

In July 1994 and again in November 1994, the Jackson church had a clothing giveaway to assist the many needy in Breathitt County. Members from twenty congregations in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee worked for three days in July helping over 1,800 people who needed clothes. The Fairfield church in Centerville, Tennessee, one of the Vaughns' supporting congregations, organized the clothing giveaway.

In September 1994, the Vaughns were joined in the work in Jackson by Doug and Thelma LaCourse, a retired Christian couple from Canada. The LaCourses plan to stay for a year to assist in evangelism. They have been a great help in strengthening and building up the new converts.

The future of the Jackson Church of Christ looks very bright. Much has been accomplished with the Lord's blessings in a relatively short period of time. Much more remains to be done. It is the desire of all the members of the congregation to labor together for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31).