Lowell Christian Church
The first record found of establishing a Church of Christ at Lowell was through the efforts of John Reed and others in 1831. A House of Worship was built on the river bank of the Walter Hall farm just below town. John Reed, Reuben Davis, John Sargent, Nathan J. Mitchell, George Lucy, and others supplied the pulpit. The Church at the time had a large and influential membership, despite the fierce opposition which it met by some of the other religious beliefs, one good brother remarking that "such teaching should be prohibited by law."
After a number of years, for some reasons - probably the condition of the church building - a movement was started to either repair or move it to town, and on December 26, 1854, a meeting was held in the school house at Lowell, and three trustees elected, being John Alexander, Walter Bell, and Lester Stevens. These trustees, together with other members, met on January 2, 1855, and decided to move the Church to Lowell. The West half of lot No. 9 in block No. 11 was purchased from P. V. Buell for the sum of $20. The amount being given from John Alexander, $5; Walter Hall, $5; J. S. Williamson, $5; D. Ross, $2; and J. B. Sprague, $3. On January 15, 1855, at a meeting of the congregation a committee consisting of L. Stevens, J. S. Williamson, and J. B. Sprague was appointed to take charge of moving and repairing the building. It may be of interest to know that the house standing in the lot between D. A. Leake and William Wendell properties is the original building.
This home was formerly the Christian Church. This home of Mr. Mrs. Francis Yarnell is the 2nd Church location
Reorganization Effected
After the moving and repairing of the church, in 1854, a reorganization was effected , the first elders being D. M. Sprague and Daniel Ross; the first deacons were Lester Stevens and J. B. Spargue; the first treasurer was John Alexander. The first regular minister of the reorganized church of which there is any record was S. Devore, who received $40 for his year's service in 1857. D.M. Hughey served as minister in 1858, and he also received $40 for his year's work. Finances were extremely low, there being at one time but $1.49 in the treasury. An audit of the books in 1859 was as follows: amount received from February 1, 1858, to September 17, 1859, was $41.05; expenditures during the year were $39.33; leaving a balance of $1.72. In 1858 a great church building with a membership of about 100.
All through the years, the church has passed through many vicissitudes, sometimes being on the mountain top, when there were seasons of rich spiritual experiences; at other times being down in the valley, when encouragement was greatly needed; but there were always a faithful few to carry on the work. Among those who deserve special mention was Brother Henry Mason, who for a number of years was leader. Many a time we gathered here on the Lord's Day, if Brother Mason came , and he rarely failed us, we had services; if not, none were held.
Evangelistic Meetings
At times too, we had special evangelistic meetings which resulted in much good for the church. Often, almost the entire expenses of those special meetings were met by Brother D. A. Rumble. Edgar DeWitt Jones, one of the leading ministers at the present time, was a grandson of Brother Rumble. Among the evangelists of that time were Isaac Errett, Robert Moffett, Alanson Wilcox, John F. Rowe, G. M. Kemp, S. H. Bingham, R.G. White, W.A. Roush, C.J. Tanner, and W.E. Shearer. Among the older ministers were Nathan Moody, O.W. Kile, Albert Wade, N.T. Sims, S. C. Pierce, and others.
Among the older families of the church will be remembered the following names: Cobern, Frye,
Kile, Alexander, Zollars, Lanam, Mason, Allison, Dixon, Rumble, Simons, Tilton, Merritt, Roach, and Owen.
At various times in the history of the church, a Lord's Day school was organized, and after a time discontinued. Finally on January 3, 1886, through efforts of the writer of this history, a permanent organization was effected. The first officers were J.W. Brabham, superintendent; Mary L. Mason, assistant superintendent; Effie M. Rummer, secretary; Flora C. Rummer, assistant secretary; Green Hazelrigg, treasurer, Jona Mason, librarian.
On the first Lord's Day, 18 were present; the second, seven; the third, 18; the fourth, 23; the numbers continuing to increase until the school became lively and prosperous.
Hardships were Many
The hardships endured by the pioneers of the early church were many, but they were untiring in their efforts, and the amount of good accomplished by them, eternity alone can tell. The meetings of those earlier days were filled with spirituality and reverence for the House of God. As a little girl, I remember the singing of those grand old brothers and sisters. Most of them joined in the singing, some of their favorite songs being,
"My Soul be on thy guard, Ten thousand foes arise; The hosts of sin are pressing hard, To draw thee from the skies."
"On Jordan's stormy banks I stand, and cast a wishful eye, To Canaan's fair and happy land, Where my possessions lie,
Desiring a better house of worship, on April 1, 1871, a committee consisting of Lucian Allison, E.V. Zollars, and O.W. Kile were appointed to solicit subscriptions for the purpose of erecting a new church building, this being the one now occupied by the congregation, and which was built by Lester G. Allison in 1873. At a later date, the building was in need of repair, especially the foundation and the roof. Subscription for this purpose was solicited by Flora C. Rummer and the work was done by C.E. Judd and others.
In 1913, during the ministry of E.L. Karstaedt, and largely through his efforts, the building was raised , an addition built, a furnace installed, and a baptistery added. Again in 1927, while H.E. Stinson was with us as a pastor, another Sunday School room, a dining room, and a kitchen were built, and later still electric lights put in.
The above information is from a packet, "Lingering in Lowell" with details provided by Merle Farnsworth and Effie M. Geddes.
Merle Farnsworth
Merle Farnsworth was born in Washington County, Ohio, on January 20, 1942 to Clarence Otis and Rettie Irene Ball Farnsworth. He grew up in Washington County and graduated from Fort Frye High School in 1960 and remained a lifelong fan of Fort Frye sports.
Merle graduated from Kentucky Christian College after also attending Eastern Christian College in Bel Air, Maryland.
On September 16,1966, Merle married Jennie Carol Wells in Steubenville, Ohio.Their daughter, Jeannie Wells Farnsworth, was born February 25, 1970 and their son, Edward Russell Farnsworth, was born September 1, 1974.
While attending KCC, Merle held student ministries at several churches in Kentucky. After graduating, he ministered at the Christian Church in Nineveh, Kentucky. When he left there, he took classes at Emmanuel School of Religion in Johnson City, Tennessee. After that he held ministries at: Manchester Church of Christ in Akron, Ohio; The Northeast Church of Christ in Columbus, Ohio, The Marietta Church of Christ in Marietta, Ohio, and finally Lowell Christian Church in Lowell, Ohio.
In addition to his preaching ministries, Merle earned certification in Counseling at Emerge Ministries and Ashland College which he used at the Christian Counseling Center in Beverly, Ohio, at Fifth Street Church of Christ.
Merle was also a partner in F & F Sound which provided sound for and recorded tapes of the programs at Restoration Acres Family Camp in Hillsboro, Ohio.
He passed away at his home on August 31, 2012, of Non Hodgkin Lymphoma.
Rob and Cindy Tuttle
Contact information:
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Home: 740-559-2060
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Cell: 740-541-1702
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Email: tuttle.rob22@yahoo.com
"As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God."
Psalms 42:1
Rob and Cindy have left Lowell Christian Church for a new ministry at OVCA in Pomeroy, Ohio. They were with us at Lowell for 14 years.
Michael Lee Snyder
740-434-8886 Talk or Text
Evangelist Michael “Mike” Snyder accepted the call to be the interim evangelist at the Lowell Christian church in October, 2023. Mike was ordained into the ministry in October of 2015. He and his wife Rose have served local congregations since that time, preaching the gospel, and encouraging the saints through music. He has a degree from Ohio University and attended post graduate classes at Ashland Theological Seminary.
Mike is a committed bi-vocational minister, serving as a federal employee with the Department of the Treasury. He follows in the tradition of the apostle Paul, who made tents so as not to be a burden to the churches he established. In addition to his preaching ministry, Mike serves with “the Branches”, a performing gospel trio founded by and comprised of him, and his brother’s Rik and Jason. He is also a correspondent and reporter for the Morgan County Herald.
Mike and Rose have two adult sons, Seth, and Caleb, and five grandchildren. Both boys serve their country with distinction. Captain Seth Snyder (wife Jessica) serves as a chaplain in the Air Force Reserves and Major Caleb Snyder (wife Diana) recently became a reservist following an accomplished career as a Marine aviator. Mike himself is a veteran of the US Army where he rose to the rank of Specialist 4 th class. Despite being severely outranked by his sons, he couldn’t be prouder.
Rose is a confidante to her children, a caretaker to her mother, and a constant source of support to her husband. She organizes worship and plays piano for the Stockport Church of Christ.