Goodlettsville Church of the Nazarene, Goodlettsville, Tennessee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Goodlettsville Church of the Nazarene, Goodlettsville, Tennessee
The Goodlettsville church of the Nazarene was founded in 1950 at a tent meeting on the corner of Roscoe Street and Dickerson Road in Goodlettsville Tennessee. At the closing service, District Superintendent Rev. D. K. Wachtel organized the Goodlettsville Church with seven charter members. Rev. Lawrence Adams was appointed Pastor but decided he could not accept and so Rev. Charles B. Horne was appointed Pastor.
The church slogan was “The Young Church with the old Gospel.” They worshipped in the auditorium of Goodlettsville high school until May of 1952 when they moved into the property at 121 East Avenue that had been purchased a year earlier.
In May of 1953, the house next door burned down and caught the roof and half the church on fire but the building was saved. That same day they found out the pews they had borrowed from another church had to be returned. With half a church, no pews and no pastor, they went to their knees in prayer. Later that night they found someone in Springfield, TN with 10 slat pews for sale for $60. Stepping out on faith they told them they would pick them on Saturday, still unsure how they would pay for them. The people came early Saturday morning in the rain and patched the roof, put in windows and cleaned out the ashes all in one day. Even as they worked, a former pastor was going around collecting money and raised $106, went to Springfield, purchased the pews with enough money left over for the needed repairs.
In 1954, the Goodlettsville congregation merged with the Riverdale Church of the Nazarene and attendance began to steadily increase over the years. In 1997, the congregation moved to its present property at 400 Loretta Dr. where God is still at work in the lives of the over 400 members.
Information obtained from church records and interviews with the John Carpenter, who is the church's sole remaining charter member.
