History
The Westside Church of Christ of Round Rock, Texas, traces its roots back to the summer of 1990. A group of approximately 60 people met in downtown Round Rock to discuss creating a congregation that would serve the needs of a rapidly developing north and west side of the city.
After prayerful consideration, it was determined that a
new
congregation would be established, and the first service of the
Westside Church of Christ was held on September 16, 1990, in the
vacant Brushy Creek National Bank building on FM 620, with 134
people in attendance. Brother Tex Williams led the first worship
service. As the congregation began to search for its first
minister, several outstanding ministers filled the pulpit
position. The congregation is indebted to men such as George
Williams, Ed Wharton, Cline Paden, Hardeman Nichols and John
Reese who taught, encouraged, and supported our young
congregation.
God's blessings were evident from the very beginning, as Highland Joint Ventures, owners of the bank property, allowed the Westside Congregation to use the building free of rent and utilities for one and one-half years, which allowed money to be put aside for the purchase of land for a permanent building.
Our First Leadership
In November of 1990, Joe Bagby, who had been a missionary in
Thailand with the Round Rock congregation, came to Westside as
its first full-time pulpit minister. As the congregation
continued to grow, elders and deacons were appointed in May of
1991. Our first elders were John Lucas, Jim Parks and Liniel
Click. On July 7, 1991, the first deacons were installed. They
were Frank Barksdale, Bill Bernard, Scott Click, Hayes Grubb,
Tom Guentzel, Lawrence Hall, Philip Hall, Don Harlow, Philip
Lopez, Jim Robinson and Tony Thornock.
We Continued to Grow
When the bank building was leased to another
business, the
church relocated to an office park on Great Oaks Drive. Westside's attendance grew to the point that the office area
allotted to us was constantly being renovated; walls were torn
down, a portable baptistery was installed in the foyer so that
Brushy Creek would not have to be used in the winter and the
auditorium was rearranged several times. During this time, John
McCord came to Westside as our first full-time youth minister.
When the congregation faced the question of paying higher rates at this facility, it was decided to use the nearby Cedar Valley Middle School.
The purchase of land was at times
discouraging as costs, caves,
future highway construction and city regulations seemed to stop
every negotiation. But the Lord had a much better place waiting.
On June 19, 1994, approximately eleven acres of land located on
FM 1431 were purchased. Two very successful bond sales for a
permanent building were completed, and in February, 1995,
members began working together to clear the land for the
building. The first service of the Westside Church of Christ at
its permanent location was held on Sunday, April 27, 1997.
In early 2006 additional property became available to expand our
land-locked property. With the addition of the surrounding
property in Mayfield Ranch we have been able to add a safer
entrance (in addition to the original entrance off of FM 1431)
from the neighborhood next to the church property. The
congregation at Westside covers approximately 16 acres of wooded
property. Additional classroom space and parking were added in
2008.
In 2006 Noel Whitlock, our long-time Pulpit Minister, accepted a
Pulpit position with the College Church of Christ in Searcy,
Arkansas. Tony Hamilton, our Youth Minister, became the Pulpit
Minister for the Prescott Church of Christ in Prescott,
Arkansas. In October 2006 PJ Hicks, our Involvement/Family
Minister accepted a position with the Marysville Church of
Christ in Marysville TN.
In late 2006 Geoff Dunn accepted the position of Youth Minister, and is currently serving in that position. In early 2007, Ferman Carpenter accepted the Pulpit Minister position and has been providing spiritual food to the congregation since early 2007. Tex Williams continues to serve the Westside congregation actively.
We currently have multiple elders and deacons working with the congregation at Westside. They are listed in our Leadership page at http://www.wscoc.org/leaders.html.
Our Outreach
Westside has continued to grow not only in numbers but also in
its areas of involvement. The congregation has been and
continues to be involved in supporting outreach efforts and
foreign missions; we support full-time the mission of Udorn
Inthong in Thailand, have over-seeing support of the Casa
Sonrisa Children's Home in Torreon, Mexico
(www.casasonrisa.org), we participate (with the Brownwood church
of Christ) in the support of Gary and Linda Bull’s work in
Cochabamba Bolivia (www.cochabambaforchrist.com), and provide
financial support to Brother John Reese and the World Bible
School. Our members have participated in the work of World Bible
School not only as teachers, through correspondence courses, but
as missionaries to Africa. We continue to support Ed Wharton
with the Sunset International Bible Institute. As part of
preparing our youth for missions we have sent high school and
college age student missionaries to Mexico, Thailand, The Czech
Republic, cities in the U.S. and many other places.
We look forward to the future as we are anticipating building a larger auditorium facility, but most importantly, to continue to glorify our Father, within whom lies the purpose for our existence.
If you are looking for a new church home, we want you to know
that we care for you and want to assist you in your spiritual
walk in any way possible.
If you have any questions about the Westside congregation,
please contact one of our ministers at the church office
512.399.9999 or via e-mail (links to e-mail are located at
http://www.wscoc.org/leaders.html).
Our History in Pictures
