Living Waters Christian Community

ABOUT US

History of the Loxton Church of Christ

Psalm 143:8
Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul.

History

The extension of the irrigation area and the prospect of a large population settling in the district encouraged a few families to organise themselves into a church on July 22, 1951.

The first meeting was held in the home of Mr and Mrs L. B. Swanbury at Loxton North in June, 1951. Brother Fred Higgins was elected temporary secretary and was a driving force in the commencement of the new cause. He personally contacted 18 members in the growing community, and with the planning help of the Berri Church of Christ under the leadership of the minister, Jack Manallich and the Berri board, commenced the church.

The first service was held in the reading room of the Loxton Institute on July 22, 1951. The preacher was Charles Schwab, and fifty three adults and twenty five children, including visitors, attended.

In 1954 a vacant Chapel, in fact the first Lutheran church on the main Berri road and Noora road injunction, was obtained. The first minister appointed to serve Loxton and Moorook was Brother John McCormick.

It was soon evident that the position of the Chapel did not permit the church to meet the needs of the townspeople, and two blocks of land were purchased in Anzac Crescent. When Mr Woolford replaced Mr J McCormick the following year, plans were formulated for the new church and hall. Phil Woolford, the minister, took his coat off and worked every day for the builder. The people in the community held him in high esteem for his efforts and dedication. The men of the church also worked hard on the building. The building was opened on March 15, 1959, by Mr and Mrs W. May, of Pata, after the President of the Union, C. L. Fitzgerald, of Adelaide, unveiled the foundation stone. Church membership in 1959 was thirty seven. The Sunday School had thirty students and four teachers.

Throughout the 1960s the work prospered through the Sunday School, youth group, morning worship and evening Gospel meetings. By 1968 the Sunday School reached a membership of ninety nine.

Largely through death and transfer of members to other centres membership declined in the 1970s to a low of eleven in 1975.

Present Pastor, Ps Sonny Pillay, joined the congregation in the early nineties. In 1995 the church moved into it's present day building in Edward Street and has continued to grow and prosper.

To be continued...