History

Our church was organized on November 24, 1859, as Johnston Antioch Church under the leadership of the first Pastor, Henderson Hocutt, and twelve charter members. These members were William Tippet, Roby Stancil Ricey J. Narron, Evaline Dean, Elzabeth Hicks, Stephen H. Hocutt, Elizabeth Bailey, Miley J. Hinton, J.O. Woody, Quilley Narron, Robert Stancil, and Elizabeth Stancil. Initially, Antioch had only 2 church services each month: One on Sunday, and the other on Saturday. The church business was conducted on Saturday. Over time, this increased to two Sunday services per month, and then finally to services held each Sunday.

The first meeting place is believed to be somewhere near Atkinson Mill Pond on Little River, or close to Hare’s Store west of Renfrow Road and Highway 39. In 1873, one acre of land was donated and a church building was erected. In 1910, that building was demolished and replaced by a larger building. This building serves as our Fellowship Building today.

Our present Church Building was built over a period of 10 years on donated land. Under the leadership of the Pastor, Rev. A.D. Parrish, the work for this brick building was done on a pay-as-you-go plan. There were many donations of money, time, labor, and love. Many pews, stained glass windows, furniture, and other furnishings were given as a memorial of honorary gifts. The building was completed in 1958 and has seen a few renovations and upgrades over the years.

We want to continue to be disciples who make disciples. We want to be a part of the Kingdom of God moving forward in our community and to the ends of the earth.