Amarillo, Texas, and the Christian Church/Churches of Christ

In the spring of 1888, Thomas G. Nance, a preacher for the Christian Church and Church of Christ--the names were interchangeable then--was on his way from Tennessee to his new home in Plainview, Texas. At the time, there was no train service to Plainview. During his stop at Amarillo, Nance preached at the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Harrell. Upon leaving for Plainview, he promised to come back and preach again sometime. True to his word, the preacher returned, riding on a freighter wagon. He committed to making the trip once a month and was usually paid five dollars each time. By 1889, several families with connections to the Restoration Movement, so-called Campbellites, had arrived in Amarillo. In August, Nance led this group to establish the First Christian Church. Since then, Amarillo has been home to several congregations of the Christian Church and the Church of Christ.[1]

Note:

[1] Herbert and Carolyn Timmons, "Christian Church From 1888," Amarillo Sunday News and Globe, Golden Anniversary Edition, 1938; Stephen Daniel Eckstein Jr., History of Churches of Christ in Texas, 1824-1950 (Austin, TX: Firm Foundation Publishing House, 1963), 173-74.