History of Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church

Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized, November 24, 1873 by the Reverend Jesse Hickman. Rev. Hickman was a commissioned Evangelist of Middle Tennessee Synod. On July 28, 1878, a finance committee was appointed to solicit funds to build a church, and on June 23, 1879, a committee was appointed to purchase a lot and build a church. The lot was purchased in the month of December 1879 for $75.00. The first building was erected within a few months of the purchase of the lot. The church building was not dedicated until, March 23, 1886 by Brother H.A. Jones of Memphis.

Property adjoining the original lot was purchased in 1950. The following year a new Sanctuary was built where the old building stood and a fellowship hall and Christian education wing were added to the church.

In recent years the church purchased the old Western Auto building that extended the property to the end of the city block. The building was remodeled to include church offices, Sunday school classrooms, a large kitchen, and large fellowship area to be used for receptions and showers and youth events. A Gymnasium was also built at the same time. Since, 1997 we have created a weight room and added recreational equipment for our youth. A playground has been added in front of the Gym and we are pleased to see a growing number of children, youth, and adults form our congregation as well as the community enjoying the use of our present facilities.

Since, 1873 the church has had many pastors, most of who were not on the field in a full time capacity. Many of the pastors who have served had tenures fewer than five years, but in 1973 Rev. E. H. Denman, Jr. was called as pastor and served the Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church for almost 12 years. Rev. Denman’s long tenure and pastoral leadership helped the congregation grow vibrate and strong. Rev. Denman having made Smithville his home served the church again as pastor from 1987 – 1993.

In July of 1997 Rev. Jonathan Watson became pastor and is serving presently. The church has continued to build upon its firm foundations and in March of 2002 the church hired its first full time Youth Pastor/Worship Leader, Peter Jeffrey. In May of 2002 we embarked on new territory with the addition of a second worship service. The early worship service is conducted with a contemporary format that seems to be attracting a new segment of our community.

Looking back over the history of our church one can really began to catch a glimpse of God’s wonderful plan being unfolded. How could we possibly be where we are today unless God had called men like Rev. Denman and Pastor Watson to this community to establish continued growth and stability? Then, as we consider what God is doing in this present hour to expand the ministries of our church, it appears certain that God is putting us in a position to be able to reach and affect more of our community then ever before. Praise and Honor to His marvelous grace.

The Cumberland Presbyterian government is a representative form of government. The congregation elects a group of elders who help guide the church and make most of the important decisions for the congregation. Our church uses a rotation system for our board of elders. Elders serve a three-year term and then they must rotate off the board for at least one year before they can be re-elected. Usually two and sometimes three elders rotate off the session each year, and the same number of elders must be elected to take their place. All other church ministry teams, or special committees submit their reports to the session (elder board) for approval.

The pastor is the moderator of the session and is responsible to provide leadership, direction, and vision for the session and the congregation. However the pastor does not vote on session matters accept in the case of breaking a tie. ( See The Constitution of the Cumberland Presbyterian Confession of Faith for detailed information about our church government.)