HISTORY

     The church in South Tunnel met as early as 1864, with records of Louisa Rutledge being the first baptism.
     The congregation was officially established in 1876 by Harding Johnson, who also established other congregations in Sumner County. The land on which the church building now stands was once owned by W. A. Bush from whom Bush's Chapel received its name.
     In 1899, Bush sold the land to Harding Johnson, who sold it to A. T. Clemons, who later sold it to David M. Hamilton. In July 1906, Hamilton deeded the land to the Elders of Bush's Chapel for one dollar. Eventually a new building was completed in July 1939. Since then, the building has been added on to or modified about six times, including an indoor baptistery to replace the baptizing pool down the hill behind the building. In recent years, building expansion has taken place so that the auditorium now has the capacity to hold 250 people.
     Currently the congregation is guided by three elders: Steve Lancaster, Charles Hesson, and Harry Woodward. Since its existence the congregation has been served by such preachers as Shoulder, Dennis, Jernigan, Gather, Reeder, Artist, Westbrooks, E. Walker, Burton Whitted, Terry Gillim, and currently by Jonathan England.

BELIEFS

The Church
​Our congregation is made up of many members that form the body of Christ. The Lord established His Church and we desire to be a part of that Church (Matthew 16:18). We are not a denomination, but use the title "church of Christ" simply to clarify that we belong to Christ's Church. We do not seek to use any man-made prefix, but simply desire to only be called Christians (Acts 11:26).
We have no headquarters or governing body that determines our doctrine or policies. Instead, we turn to the Bible for our authority. Christ is the head of the Church and we are His bride (Ephesians 1:22). We have elders to shepherd our congregation and deacons to assist the elders, but no one is in a hierarchical position over anyone else (I Timothy 3:1-13). All people in His Church are equal in their personal relationship with God.

The Bible
The Bible is the inspired Word of God and our authority over all matters. We do not use any other creed or book, but rely only on the scriptures in the Bible (II Timothy 3:16-17). Also, since Christ came and died on the cross, He no longer expects us to follow the requirements of the Old Law (Galatians 3:23-25). Therefore, we are led only by the scriptures of the New Testament. The Old Testament is still necessary for our learning and understanding of our Almighty God, but we seek only to follow the instructions under the New Testament.

God's Grace
Paul writes, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). We are all imperfect people who need God's grace. We cannot be saved without His grace which comes through Christ Jesus. Paul even clarifies that we are saved by grace through faith in Ephesians 2:8. Therefore, we need faith in Jesus in order to access this saving grace. We believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and He is the only way to salvation (John 14:6). In order to be in Christ and receive that saving grace, we must contact the blood of Christ, which cleanses us from sin. How do we contact the blood of Christ? We must be buried with him in baptism (Romans 6:3-4). We believe baptism through immersion is necessary for salvation (I Peter 3:21). By being baptized, a person shows a commitment to Christ and receives the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). Only then, after this obedient faith, can we receive God's saving grace. After baptism we believe it's important to live a faithful life (Revelation 2:10). Living a faithful life, requires doing good works. James 2:17 states that faith alone is dead, if it does not have works. Therefore, we believe scripture teaches that our faith is an active faith, and is carried out in our lives each day as we strive to be more like Christ.

Mission
Our mission is to preach the gospel throughout the world (Mark 16:15-16). We know God desires that no one dies without knowing Him, so we are committed to service until death (II Peter 3:9). We aim to teach and encourage all people equally with love. We in no way desire to offend anyone, but we also will stand firm in the teachings of the Word of God. We are not perfect, and therefore need the help and encouragement of others during our daily walk with God.  We ask for your prayers continually that our congregation will do its best at discerning the scriptures, and that our teachings and beliefs are inline purely with the Word of God.

WORSHIP

​What will you expect to see and experience if you decide to worship with us? 

​Every first day of the week we meet to worship God in spirit and in truth. It is our aim that our worship is designed purely according to the examples we have in the Bible. We sing praises to God collectively a cappella. We engage in prayer to God. We listen to the Word of God being preached. We partake of communion every first day of the week to commemorate our Lord's death, burial, and resurrection. We take up a collection to help the work of the church continue. We also provide an opportunity for anyone who wants to respond to the Gospel to come forward. Typically, our minister offers an invitation toward the end of our service, but arrangements can be made at anytime if someone feels the need to respond.