Maysville Church of Christ stands on Gurley Pike in the small town of Gurley, Alabama, just outside Huntsville in the rolling green hills of north central Alabama. The congregation likes to describe itself as a single family made up of up to four simultaneous generations, and visitors are welcome to come as they are, sit in on a Bible class, and stay for a service where the music is a capella, the Lord's Supper is shared each Sunday, and the preaching aims at explaining the text. The church describes itself as autonomous and non-denominational, holding to the Bible alone as its authority, and it has built an unusually active ministry to the Deaf community alongside its work with missionaries and its gospel outreach to women in the Madison County jail.
Five Acts of Worship on the First Day of the Week
Worship at Maysville follows what members believe is the pattern set out in the New Testament, and they make a point of neither adding to nor taking away from that pattern. The service is built around five acts. The first is a capella singing, with no mechanical instruments, on the conviction that the New Testament church sang with the voice alone. The second is praying together, directing confession and petition to God. The third is the public reading and preaching of Scripture, where the goal is to teach what the text says rather than the preacher's opinion. The fourth is the Lord's Supper, observed every Sunday in memory of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, with unleavened bread and fruit of the vine. The fifth is giving, in which members contribute each week to support missionaries, help those in need, pay the local minister, and maintain the building. Visitors are not asked to give, and the church leaves that decision to them.
Sunday and Wednesday at Maysville
A regular week at Maysville begins with a full Sunday schedule. Sunday morning Bible study runs from 9 to 10 am, with classes divided by age group. Sunday morning worship follows from 10 to 11 am. The congregation gathers again on Sunday evening for worship from 5 to 6 pm, and on the fourth Sunday of the month there is an additional service from 12:30 to 1:30 pm. Wednesday nights are set aside for Bible study across every age, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm, and that same hour is when college-age adults and young married couples work through topics that speak to their stage of life. On the last Sunday evening of every month, after evening worship, the whole church shares a potluck fellowship meal, and visitors are invited to stay and eat.
What Must I Do to Be Saved
In a teaching called "What Must I Do to Be Saved," the church walks through the same question the crowd asked Peter on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. The answer, drawn from passages across the New Testament, moves step by step. A person must hear the gospel and believe, where belief is more than agreeing that Jesus exists and includes trusting and obeying what He says. They must repent, turning away from sin and toward Christ in mind and action. They must confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Then they must be baptized by immersion for the forgiveness of sins, in obedience to Peter's command in Acts 2:38 and in the likeness of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. From there the disciple continues to grow in the knowledge and obedience of Christ for the rest of life. For anyone wanting to talk it through, the church offers a one-on-one Bible study that opens up these same passages in detail.
Elders, Deacons, and Preachers
Leadership at Maysville is built around the New Testament pattern of plural elders and deacons. Four men serve as elders: Carey Rosenblum, Jim Bowen, Mike Broad, and Bubba Webster. The church describes elders as shepherds of the local flock, charged with setting a scriptural example, praying for the members, confronting false doctrine, mediating division, and determining discipline for the protection of the body. Ten men serve as deacons, each with a defined area of practical responsibility: Bruce Rosenblum oversees attendance and records, Rob Lenoir handles computers and communication, Mike Banholzer directs the benevolence work, Chip Broad cares for elders and shut-ins, Seth Bowen leads the education program, Bryan Norris and Caleb Bowen coordinate missions, Chuck Helms handles crisis management, Michael Rosenblum oversees involvement and outreach, and Justin Carroll manages building and grounds. Two ministers serve the church: Steve Johnson is the pulpit minister, and Seth Bowen also serves as the youth minister. Jill Bowen and Joy Marshall keep the office running as secretaries.
A Deaf Ministry at the Center of the Congregation
The Deaf Ministry is one of the most distinctive things about Maysville. The church holds that the gospel should not be held back by a language barrier, and treats American Sign Language as the third most-used language in the United States. Qualified interpreters are present in adult Bible classes and at every worship service, so that Deaf members and visitors can follow the lesson and the sermon. Maysville also hosted the 2019 National Deaf Christian Workshop, and a long library of workshop videos remains available to watch, with lessons on starting a deaf ministry, preaching to a deaf congregation, the role of elders in a deaf ministry, how to use Greek and Hebrew when you do not know the original languages, how to interpret idioms, how to become a Christian, and a candid panel on what interpreters wish ministry leaders knew.
Bible Study for Every Age
Bible study at Maysville is treated as a foundation, not an optional extra. On Sunday morning and Wednesday night there are classes for every age group, and several adult classes are offered each quarter so that members can choose a study that fits where they are. There is also a ladies-only Sunday morning Bible class taught and attended by women of the congregation, focused on what it means to live a Christian life as a woman. On Sunday evenings there is a tailored Bible study and devotional for elementary-age children that uses singing, Bible reading, and puppet skits to teach Bible stories. On Wednesday evenings the college-age and young married adults have their own Bible class, and the church offers a one-on-one personalized study for anyone who wants to learn what the Bible says about becoming a Christian or about the nature of the New Testament church.
Youth, Pre-Teens, and Lads to Leaders
Young people at Maysville have a busy schedule of their own. The teen youth ministry, led by Seth Bowen, meets twice a month for devotionals that include snacks and games, and adds summer Taco Tuesdays, Praise in the Pavilion nights, and Soup 'n Singing events. Road trips and youth rallies take the teens to the Challenge Youth Conference, to Pigeon Forge, to Lads to Leaders in Nashville, and on summer camps including R.U.S.H. at Freed-Hardeman University and a North Carolina backwoods trip. Local outings range from lake days and movie theater nights to game nights, an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party, a New Year's Eve Bash, a Valentine's Dinner for the Prime Timers, and breakfast with Santa. The pre-teen group of third through sixth graders has its own monthly devotional on the second Sunday evening after evening worship, with chaperoned games and snacks, plus a couple of field trips each year. The Lads to Leaders / Leaderettes program sharpens Bible knowledge and leadership skills through annual competition in events such as speech, song leading, and Bible reading, and prepares young people to take on leadership in the church later in life.
Ladies' Ministry, Prime Timers, and Widow Care
The ladies of the church have a layered set of ministries that begin with Helping Hands, a group that assists families in need when a feminine touch is called for, whether cooking, giving specialized gifts, or making baskets for those going through a hard season. The Mustard Seeds is a sewing, crocheting, and knitting group that makes handmade items for people experiencing a special occasion or in need of attention. There is an annual ladies' retreat over a long weekend, often in a mountain cabin in or near Gatlinburg, with Bible study, shopping, and fellowship. The Secret Pals gift exchange runs through each quarter and is revealed at the end. The Prime Timers, generally members aged fifty-five and older, are an active group that uses the church vans for trips to favorite restaurants, tourist locations, and occasional overnights, and the church makes clear that anyone is welcome to join a Prime Timers outing. Widows and shut-ins are not forgotten either. Members check on them by phone and in person, handle small repairs and lawn care during the growing season, and do what is needed to keep their homes in good shape.
Madison County Jail and Christians in Action
The congregation's outreach reaches well beyond its own walls in Madison County. The Madison County Women's Jail Ministry is led by about ten women at Maysville, who teach the gospel three days a week inside the jail, send out sixty to seventy cards a week to inmates, those transferred to prison, and women in rehabilitation programs, and purchase about twenty-five hundred cards and stamps each year to keep that going. They put together toiletry boxes that cost roughly fifty dollars each for women leaving jail with nothing, and in November they hand out thermal shirts to every woman in the jail because the temperature is kept low for bacterial reasons. Released women who have no identification, clothing, food, or gas to get to work receive practical help, and a halfway house connected to a sister congregation in the area is led by one of Maysville's own members to give women six months to save money and get back on their feet.
The Christians in Action (CIA) group brings together teens, people in their twenties, and members up into their fifties for Bible study and service. Twice a month they plan and carry out projects such as putting together gift bags for families waiting in the hospital, baking and delivering cookies to widows and members who are sick, cooking and serving a warm meal to widows, and filling five-gallon buckets with supplies to deliver to homeless camps around Huntsville, sometimes bringing a grill and cooking a hot meal on the spot.
Missions Around the World
Missions are a serious part of Maysville's giving and prayer life. The congregation supports a long list of works across the United States and around the world, including Mount Lily Church of Christ in Nevis; Jeff Archey's work; International Gospel Hour; Gospel Chariot; We Train Preachers in Geita, Tanzania; Bill Ramsey in Seoul, Korea; the BCC in Seoul; Ben Fronczek and the Johnstown Church of Christ in New York; the Southeast Institute of Biblical Studies; Gary Reaves' US Bilingual Church Plant in Charlotte, North Carolina; Good News Today; the Tooele Church of Christ in Utah; Ron Brown's Save Asian Souls; Ken Kilpatrick's Hope Afield in Greenville, Alabama; Colin and Jordan Graham in Bangor, Ireland; David Nance in India; Barry Hatcher in Indonesia; the Great Cities ministry in Huehuetoca and Ecatepec, Mexico; the French African Christian Education mission; House to House Heart to Heart; Albert Isaac in Anguilla; Apologetics Press; Wayne Parker in Pohnpei; the Parkers in Palau; Agape of North Alabama; Child Haven; the Honduras missions work; Wade Phillips Missions; Peter Warutere in Nakuru, Kenya; and the Harvest Field Church of Christ in Omaha, Nebraska. Maysville's teens also take a bi-annual summer mission trip, the benevolence pantry is stocked with non-perishable food for local families in need, and a separate fund assists people affected by natural disasters.
Livestream, King's Copy, and the Maysville Messenger
Worship services are livestreamed through a BoxCast player on the church's own live video feed and on YouTube and Facebook, and the BoxCast app on Roku, FireStick, and AppleTV carries the livestream by searching for Maysville Church of Christ. A library of recorded sermons and Bible study videos is posted on the YouTube channel, and the Searching for Truth video series from World Video Bible School walks viewers through six lessons on truth, the Creator, religious authority, the church, the house of God, and baptism. For those who want a daily habit of Scripture, the King's Copy program mails out a list of verses to copy each month, with past years and the current year posted for download under a year-long theme of focusing on the Savior. The Maysville Messenger blog carries weekly reflections from members and ministers, including recent posts on getting priorities straight, the right actions of a Christian, and a candid piece on what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a frustrated child's "I want a new Dad." It is a window into how this congregation talks to itself about the ordinary work of following Jesus.