Reading · Christian Chronicle

IN 1962, the Seventh and Beech Church of Christ in Durant, Okla., planted the Northwest Church of Christ just 1.5 miles away.

But six decades later, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, the two congregations came back together — and are now building a new, 800-seat auditorium.

Below, read Bobby Ross Jr.’s story on these Christians’ desire to serve as “a single, unified body of Christ.”

Also find the interactive PDF of our July/August issue, which features stories on an inner-city camp launched by Hurricane Katrina survivors; perspectives from Churches of Christ on the motto “Christians only, but not the only Christians”; a church’s medical response team that saved a member’s life and more.

By Bobby Ross Jr. | Editor-in-Chief

DURANT, OKLA. — Just off U.S. 69/75 beside a Choctaw Travel Plaza billboard, nearly 500 Christians gather in a multipurpose room filled with four-legged cushioned chairs.

“You are the melody. You are the harmony. Praise to your name I will bring,” the Durant Church of Christ sings as Sunday morning worship begins.

**Family minister Logan Cates, right, prays with Dylan Harendt after she came forward on a recent Sunday. (Photo by Matt Swearengin)**

About 15 miles north of the Texas state line, this growing church in the home city of Southeastern Oklahoma State University is building a new, 800-seat auditorium.

But while the construction proceeds, members will need to rearrange the chairs and set up tables for the monthly Friends & Family Day potluck meal following the assembly.

Not that they mind.

The faithful prefer to focus on the blessings of a multiyear journey that brought together two Durant congregations: the Seventh and Beech Church of Christ and the Northwest Church of Christ.

“It’s been amazing,” Kim Mauck, 44, a mother of four, said of the 2020 merger just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We love it for our family. Just the whole process has been positive for us.

RELATED: Together again — decades after split

“I would say that for, like, maybe even the first year or two, you could kind of see people still sticking with their Northwest people and their Seventh and Beech people,” added Mauck, a former reviews editor for The Christian Chronicle. “But now it’s like, you can’t tell, and we’ve had so many new people who’ve come in, too. We’re all just one big group.”

Member Gail Hooten McKinney, 74, echoed Mauck: “There’s never been a selfish attitude about it. It has been unified in, ‘What can we do to make this better for the community?’ And it’s been great.”

**The Durant Church of Christ in Oklahoma gathers for worship in a multipurpose room. A new auditorium is under construction. (Photo by Matt Swearengin)**

The combined church traces its roots to the Maddux and Roberts families, who passed through Indian Territory in 1894 while going from Arkansas to Texas in covered wagons.

On the return trip to Arkansas, Cal Maddux, a gospel preacher, stopped and conducted a weeklong meeting.

Roughly 75 to 100 people gave their lives to Jesus in baptism, and the travelers decided to stay in Durant.

Read the rest of the story.