The Beech Hill Church of Christ is so named for two reasons. It is called Beech Hill because its earliest church building was constructed on a nearby hill where there were beech trees. It is a church of Christ because of its purpose to be nothing other than a congregation of disciples who belong to and serve the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 16:16).
We have no desire, and no right, to be or become another religious denomination. We do have the privilege of God’s grace to be fellow-members of the body of Christ, his church, of which Christ himself is the one head. Serving him, our mission is the same which the Lord gave to his first disciples, shortly before he ascended to the right hand of God (Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:45-53).
In our teaching and preaching we are always aware of the duty to speak the message given by the Lord (1 Peter 4:11). All the truth that he would have us to know and to believe, to teach and to practice, we may learn from his words and from the words of his chosen spokesmen who were guided by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:3-5; 1 Peter 1:12). Because of that divine work of revealing God’s plan for the redemption and life of his people, and because of our conviction that this work has given to the world the sure word of God through his Son (Hebrews 1:1-2; 2:1-4), we acknowledge the New Testament as the authorized guide concerning salvation from sin, Christian living, the church, and all spiritual and moral matters. We do not therefore recognize any other document, decree, or book as divinely authoritative for Christianity.
As a congregation we meet on the first day of each week (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2), every Sunday, to partake of the Lord’s supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-26; 10:16-17) and to give our offerings, each member giving as he has purposed and as God has blessed him (1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7). We also pray together, being led in prayers by those men appointed to guide us in worship (1Timothy 2:8). Another designated man will lead us as we sing congregationally (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). Furthermore, in the Sunday assemblies we give attention to God’s word presented in sermons or Bible lessons, as the preacher or some other man guides us in a study of the scriptures (1 Timothy 4:6; 2 Timothy 4:1-2). We seek to worship as did the earliest Christians, who were instructed by the apostles to know all that the Lord teaches and requires (John 16:13; Acts 2:42).
The Beech Hill church conducts a Bible school program designed for the benefit of all ages of children and adults. The Bible classes on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings provide study opportunities in addition to the messages heard in the worship assemblies.
The contributions given by the members of the congregation are used for its own local work and for assisting missions in this country and in several other nations. The life, the work, and the teaching programs of the Beech Hill church are under the care and oversight of qualified men who have been appointed as elders (1Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; Acts 20:17-38; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Hebrews 13:17). The congregation is also served by a group of qualified men designated as deacons (1Timothy 3:8-13). They help to coordinate and to further the work of the church according to the guidance of the elders (Philippians 1:1-2).
The Beech Hill church has a history of more than a century, its origin traceable to 1898, when the first person in the community confessed her faith in Christ and was baptized for the forgiveness of her sins. Since Paralee Graves’ “obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5) in that year, many others in this place have heard and received the gospel (Acts 2:36-41). Through the generations of our history there have been hundreds here who have responded to the gospel with hearts of faith and repentance, professing their faith in Jesus Christ and being baptized into him (Galatians 3:26-27). They then began the journey of walking “in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4), remaining faithful to the Lord as they lived by his word.