The beginning of the Gainesville congregation is lost in the fog of time.  Some believe that the Gainesville congregation was started after Gainesville became the county seat of Greene County in 1840. Gainesville may not be the oldest congregation of the church of Christ in Greene County Arkansas, but it is one of the oldest in the county.  The congregation which is said to have been strong before the turn of the century dwindled down to a handful of Christians meeting during the first half of the 20th century, after the moving of the county seat to Paragould.  Since 1960, Gainesville has seen a period of growth and is a thriving congregation at this time.

The first meeting house of the Gainesville congregation was located in a 'hole' accessible only by a footpath.  Wagons and horses had to be left on the road and the members walked to the building.  Some have said that the congregation had as many as 80 people meeting together before the turn of the century.

Art Smith wrote this concerning the Gainesville congregation:

     "The Gainesville Church of Christ was established before the turn of the century, but it seems no one   knows exactly when the congregation was formed.  The village of Gainesville became the county seat in 1840 and is the oldest community in the county.  Some of the county's oldest but it is doubtful that the church at Gainesville pre-dates the Pine Knot church which was established in 1841."

The earliest mention of Gainesville Church of Christ is an article from Bro. Boyd Morgan's book Arkansas Angels. The article concerning W.H. Riley dates Gainesville's existence before November 7, 1889.

     "He (W.H. Riley) was baptized by brother E.N. George during a meeting conducted at Gainesville, Arkansas.  During the same meeting, Miss Susie Brittain was baptized.  On November 7, 1889, Brother Riley was united in marriage to Miss Brittain."

     It has been concluded that since brother Riley's wife was referred o as Miss Susie Brittain in this article that the meeting was held before their marriage in 1889.

About 1921, Wad Bollin deeded some land accessible by team wagon to the congregation.  It was located about an 8th of a mile from the original site.  The church began meeting at that location in a one room building in the early 1920's.   There were at least 35 meeting together during this time.

"During the 20's and 30's, Will Henson and Will Hanley served as elders of the congregation."  (Art Smith)  Also, Ed Songer served as an elder during this period.  The preaching was done by visiting preachers.

People began moving out of the Gainesville community between the 1920's and 1950's.  The elders moved from Gainesville before 1940.  In 1933, there were about 25 members meeting at Gainesville.

GAINESVILLE:  1940-1960

During the 40's, most of the members of the Gainesville church moved away from the area.  1950 found Gainesville with ten (10) members.  At this time, brother Charley Sheppard was the only man left meeting at Gainesville.  He decided it might be better to begin meeting in Paragould, but Hazel Eubanks and Amanie Martin persuaded him to continue meeting at Gainesville.

In 1958, the McDonalds and the Harmons began meeting with those at Gainesville.  Land near Hwy 135 was purchased from Jake Stonecipher in the 50's.  An auditorium and two classrooms were built at this site.  Jesse Roy and Charlie Sheppard did most of the carpentry work on the building which was completed in the summer of 1960.

1960 found Gainesville with about 30 members.  There were no elders at that time and preaching was done by visiting preachers (some were students from Harding College). 

GAINESVILLE:  1961-1979

This period of Gainesville's history is a period of changes and growth.  There have been some ups and downs during this time but an overall growth is shown.  This period of time is accented with the appointing of new elders, the hiring of full time preachers and the beginning of many programs at the Gainesville congregation.

In 1964, Three classrooms were added to the building.  Plans were made to build a new auditorium and turn the old auditorium into classroom space.

Charley Sheppard and Laban Brown were appointed as elders in 1965.  They were the first elders to be appointed since the 30's.  The new auditorium was financed and built in 1965.  The old auditorium was made into classrooms, a nursery and restrooms. About 70 were meeting at Gainesville at this time.

Deacons were appointed in 1972.  These include Lovoy Sanders, Ernest Sheppard and John Taylor.  Other men appointed during the 70's to serve Gainesville as elders were Otis Harmon and Jim Harper.

Between the fall of 1963 and the fall of 1972, Gainesville had four men who preached for them on a part-time basis.  These men were Pat Watson (1963-1967), Ed Land (1968-1970), L.R. Smith (1970-1971) and Gene Wood (1971-1972).  Gainesville employed her first full time preacher, Harold Clement in the fall of 1972.  Harold Clement was followed by Richard Chandler in 1974, J.R. Sampson in 1975, and Edmund Cagle in 1976. 

Laban Brown visited the congregation in 1963.  On the day of his visit, Laban said there was 35 in attendance and $17.00 in contribution.  There was no full time preacher and no appointed elders or deacons.  At the beginning of 1980, Gainesville's attendance is above 200 and the contribution is between $700 and $750.  There was also a part time secretary during this time:  Hazel Berry.

Three more classrooms were added to the south side of the auditorium in 1974 because of the classroom space needed for the beginning of the busing program.  In 1977, A new wing was added to the building at Gainesville which included a supply room, two offices, two restrooms, and four classrooms - one of which is used for the children's worship hour and a fellowship hall.

After 1980, the congregation encountered problems and membership dropped to around 100, where it is still today. During the early 80's, a preacher house was built next to the church building while Tim Bennett was preaching at the Gainesville church.

Gainesville has been served by several preachers since 1980, with more recently by Jay Tyree, Sam Becerra (1992-2000), Charles Hughes (2000-2001), and currently, Chad Wagner (2002-Current).

During the late 80's to early 90's, the eldership dissolved with the death of Charley Sheppard.  Recently, 2003, new elders were appointed to fill the leadership roles:  Ken Ellis and Roger Knight.  In 2004, John Wagner was added to the eldership to make three elders.  We currently have four deacons which carry out the work of the church in our community.  The deacons are:  Phil Davis, Jerry Pillow, Randall Brittingham, and Glenn Turpin.  In 2006, Ken Ellis stepped down from the eldership to focus on family.

The baptistery which was constructed during the building of the auditorium finally gave way during the summer of 2005 and a new baptistery was placed in October 2005.  In December of 2006, a new roof was added to the building and the parsonage.  Joe Pillow was added as a deacon at Gainesville in 2007.

While the attendance has swelled up and down, the congregation currently has an average attendance of about 120 souls. There has also been several themes here at Gainesville, such as:  "The Dry Bones Live", "Revive Us Again", and "Send the Light - 2007 - the Year of the Harvest."