Church History Continued

The first worship service was held in the small conservancy building (which you may know as the Cordry-Sweetwater Library) on October 29, 1968. Within a few weeks the small congregation was invited to hold their services in the larger Club House where Rev. Dan Kapernyai of the Nineveh Christian Church preached for them. Later, Dr. Thomas Stovall, a retired Methodist minister from Franklin began preaching and stayed with the group for eight years.

Eventually, the congregation acquired two acres of land and their Charter Membership was closed on Easter Sunday, March 29, 1970 with a total of 69 full and associate members. The new church Sanctuary was dedicated on June 18, 1972 and the increase in membership was said to be "phenomenal" over the next few years. One man stated that, "The Church of the Lakes was the greatest thing that ever happened in the lake area."

The church was blessed by the blending of the best from different faiths in a spirit of ecumenical unity. When the church membership reached almost three hundred, the "Educational and Fellowship" addition was built and dedicated on May 16, 1976. As the church continued to grow, the decision was made to add six new classrooms, a shed, a garage and an even larger fellowship hall called "Gathering Place" in 2007.