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Church Staff

Pastor Dwayne Dickson and wife, Beth, have ministered at FCC since July of 1998.  During his years of service Dwayne has been heavily involved in the welfare of the people of Johnson County serving on the Jo. Co. Health Council, Mental Health Committee, and various other committees seeking to ensure that the life the residents of Johnson County live is up to the highest standard.  Dwayne was also instrumental in bringing the Remote Area Medical (RAM) Clinic to Johnson County.  Dwayne believes that our faith should be lived out in our daily lives.  Dwayne leads many small groups through the year as well as preaching Biblical based sermons on Sunday morning.

Scott Plyler, our associate minister of Youth, along with his wife, Donda, have been ministering at FCC since February 2004.  Scott is also a guidance counselor for the Jo. Co. High School as well as an assistant coach for the Jo. Co. High School football team.  Scott not only has brought great physical growth to our Jr. and Sr. High Youth program, but he has also brought great spiritual growth to our youth.  Scott has taken the youth on several missions trips including a trip to New Orleans and to the hills of Kentucky where the youth learned the importance of putting your faith into practice.  Scott is not afraid to tackle the tough issues that youth face today.  He teaches that all of our actions need to be based on the truth of God's Word while keeping the group fun in the process.

Our Associate Minister to Seniors, Ken Caswell and wife Linda, have been ministering for many years at FCC.  Ken plans all of our activities for our Young-At-Heart program.  Activities include summer picnics.  Ken also plans monthly Seniors dinners in our fellowship hall along with other seniors trips and activities.  Ken also preaches on Sunday nights at FCC and leads devotions for the FCC choir on Wednesday nights.  

Bo Henson is the children's director of FCC.  He organizes the children's activities both on Sunday and Wednesday nights as well as planning special events, Christmas programs and other children's activities. 

The FCC Music Ministry is headed by Nancy Davis, pictured with husband Wayne.   Nancy leads the choir that presents special music each Sunday for our traditional service at 10:55 am.  The choir also presents special programs throughout the year.  The FCC Choir meets to practice every Wednesday night at 7:00 pm.  For many years now, Nancy has been leading a Hand Chimes Choir for FCC.  Hand chimes are an instrument very like hand bells. The Hand Chimes Choir covers all ages from children to adult and present music once a month at both our 8:30 am and 10:55 am services.  The Hand Chimes Choir meets for practice at 6:00pm Wednesday nights.

What We Believe

First Christian Church is a part of the first truly American Christian Movement which began in the early 1800s.  The Christian Church began as a response to those who were moving away from the Bible as their ultimate source of authority.  We believe that the Bible is to be our ultimate authority for faith and practice.  We pattern our worship services after the New Testament model presented in the Holy Scriptures.
   The Christian Church is a unity movement. We believe that all those who follow the Word of God are Christian brothers and sisters.  One of our early slogans was "In essentials Unity, in nonessentials freedom, an in all things love".

Church History

by Mike Smith

     As the Disciples of Christ prepared to celebrate the centennial of Thomas Campbell's "Declaration and Address" in 1908, Johnson County had several Christian churches, including Liberty, Centerview, Walnut Grove, and Mount Carmel.  These churches followed the doctrine of the main body of the Disciples of Christ.  Several people in the Mountain City area were interested in the "Disciples" movement but found it difficult to travel by wagon to these more distant churches.
     Thus, H.C. Hendrix, J.M. Wilson, Simon P. Miller , and other citizens contacted A. I. Myhr, an evangelist.  Myhr held a revival in the Johnson County Courthouse in  May 1908.  As a result of this meeting, twenty-five people agreed to form a local church.  On August 6, 1908 the trustees of the newly organized church bought a lot on Main Street on which to construct a church building.
     Although construction of the building began in 1909, meetings were still held in the courthouse monthly.  Members began to solicit funds for the building and by June 1912 construction was completed and the church building dedicated.  An organ was placed in the church as well as a baptistry.  Sunday School was established as part of church services and the Ladies Aid Missionary Society was formed.  In supporting instrumental music and missionary societies, First Christian had positioned itself in the main body of the Disciples of Christ.
     After the movement from the courthouse to the newly constructed building, a series of ministers of whom little is known served at Fist Christian.  Apparently most of these early ministers came from Johnson City or Elizabethton.  Church membership slowly increased to forty-seven.
     On May 15, 1941, the trustees of the church purchased a lot adjoining the church in order to build a parsonage.  Two couples, however, lived on the property, so the construction of the parsonage was postponed until accommodations were found for these couples.  With the completion of the parsonage in 1942, First Christian would subsequently have "full-time" ministers, which contributed to the growth and direction of the church.
     From 1942-1964, the membership of First Christian rose from one hundred to two hundred and fifty, mainly because of the efforts of minister H. T. Mabry.  Mabry initiated youth programs, successfully encouraged more support of missionaries, stressed the need for support of "centrist" Bible colleges, and urged the local board to adopt a plan whereby the congregation would select elders and deacons.
     The growth of the church in Mountain City during these years was congruent with the phenomenal growth of the central or main body of the Disciples of Christ.  This body still held to the basic Biblical principles set forth in Thomas Campbell's "Declaration and Address," and Alexander Campbell's Christian System.  They believed that the basic pattern for the church "is revealed in the New Testament and that it is the duty of every faithful follower of Christ to restore and maintain that pattern."
     First Christian adhered to these principles and adhered to the main or center body of the "Disciples."  The "leftists," now called the Disciples of Christ, had apparently abandoned the authority of the New Testament.  The Churches of Christ or the "rightists" remained apart from the main body in refusing the accompaniment of instrumental music in services and in other matters.  Although attempts were made to reconcile the differences between these three divisions of the Disciples of Christ, none were successful.
     Many of the churches, including First Christian, which made up the "center" of the movement became "Independents," who refused to align themselves with the liberal Disciples of Christ or the fundamentalist Churches of Christ.
     On May 14, 1968 the board of elders and deacons voted to disassociate First Christian from the Disciples of Christ.  Subsequently, on October 3, 1972 the board officially named the church and set forth its position.

     This act officially positioned First Christian as an "Independent" Christian Church and distinguished it from the Disciples of Christ and Churches of Christ.
     Since 1972, the leaders of the First Christian Church have attempted to clarify the church's philosophy.  In 1978 minister Richard Marshal began a program of studies in the Restoration Movement, Apologetics, personal evangelism, and basic church doctrine.  Growth has remained steady, with periods of  upswing and decline.  It is hoped that in its current position as an Independent, First Christian will strive to follow the teachings of the New Testament.