Subscribe

  · We Believe That God Is. This is the first necessary ingredient in the proclamation of any faith. Where some doubt, we have strengthened our resolve to just believe.

·  We Believe That God Is…in every day and every night. God is…at the birth and departure of every life. God is…in the sea and the vacuum of space. We Believe That God will be as He has always been…God Is and man must account for his existence.

· We Believe That God is Spirit. We believe that He Is an intelligent creator and made man a rational being. We believe He has put in man a desire to know Him. And that He draws men to Himself and in love seeks to communicate with Him in a personal way.

· We Believe That Heaven is the Home for the Soul. That God’s plan for man does not end at death but begins at his heavenly arrival. 

· We Believe That the Earth, having served its purpose, will be destroyed giving way to an eternal era unlike anything we have ever imagined.

· We Believe That Man is hopelessly lost and will never make it home except for the grace of God that has appeared teaching man which way to go.

· We Believe That Man got in trouble on his own but cannot get out by himself. We believe that man must be given The Way because all his ways lead to death. We Believe That if man could make it by himself then, Jesus came, lived, and died in vain.

· We Believe That Man must acknowledge his inability and lack of strength and power to save himself and must come before the cross where mercy intercedes and grace pardons.

· We Believe That Man must be willing to embrace a biblical pattern of obedience and worship that honors and glorifies the name of God. God is Spirit and we believe that only true worship never compromises the integrity of scripture.

· We Believe That Baptism is for the remittal, the removal, and complete discharge of sins – that when a sinner is convicted by the Word, his conscience, and past deeds, neither tradition, customs nor family will undermine his intent to meet Jesus there in the water. We Believe That when all works of obedience have brought us unto salvation, baptism is the consummate act of salvation which seats us in Christ where the saved have access to all spiritual blessings.

· We Believe That Jesus died, was buried, and was raised again just as the scriptures said. We Believe He Is the Founder of one Church and that He established His Church, just as the scriptures said and that only his church offers the purest form of worship to God. A worship that is free from the spiritual inventions of man where holiness and biblical order is not just a state of mind but our very existence.

· We Believe that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one God and that worship to the Father is done through His Son. We believe that we have His Holy Spirit which guides and directs every aspect of our lives through His Word. We believe that these three (3) have ordained that God’s people are to be ONE in mind, ONE in judgment, and ONE in manner of life so that God is ONE IN ALL. 

The Establishment of the Thomas Street Congregation

The Craige Street Congregation was established in July of 1945 during a Gospel meeting with Brother David Shows, Sr. doing the preaching. 

The 2-week meeting was held under a tent erected at the corner of South Craige and Marsh Streets, and was sponsored by several congregations within our Brotherhood, which resulted in approximately 2 baptisms.

Among the immediate problems of this infant congregation was finding a meeting place. Fortunately, there was a church building for sale at 630 South Craige Street. The purchase price of the property was $5,000.00. The down payment came from the following sources: Brother A. M. Burton of Nashville, Tennessee - $1,000.00; Chapel Avenue Church of Christ, Nashville, Tennessee - $350.00; Contribution from Brethren at meeting - $142.00; North Main Church, Salisbury, North Carolina (Currently, the West Innes Street Church of Christ) - $108.00; Note: Wachovia Bank & Trust Company, Salisbury - $400.00. Notes were given for the $3,000.00 balance to be paid in five (5) years from date.

Brother E. R. Wilson of Statesville, North Carolina became the first minister of this congregation. Supporting him was two of the black congregations in Nashville, Tennessee, together with the Chapel Avenue Church of Christ. Brother Wilson worked with the congregation for about two (2) years. Succeeding him was Brother E. L. Collins of Cleveland, Ohio.

Brother Collins ministered the Craige Street congregation and the Smith Street Congregation in Kannapolis, North Carolina. The two (2) congregations supported him throughout his 2-year tenure.

The Congregation increased remarkably under Brother Collins’ leadership. Meanwhile, he worked with Brother Andrew J. Cowan in his growth and development, who became the church’s next minister.

At this time, Craige Street was called the leading congregation in fellowship. The Church continued to grow in membership, attendance and in contributions. The congregation continued to carry the banner of leadership in the Brotherhood. Brother Cowan was the minister for nearly 2-1/2 years. The ministers who followed Brother Cowan were William Latten, Sr. and Quincy C. Carter. A new building was erected

In 1961, during the ministry of Brother Willie J. Tabor, a new building facing West Thomas Street was purchased at a cost of $18,000.00. Brother Tabor’s tenure as minister of the now, Thomas Street Congregation was about twelve years.

Several men followed Brother Tabor and carried on with the work of the Thomas Street Church. Among them were Brother McCondisnee, Brother William Latten, Jr., Brother Michael Adams, and Brother James Williams. Until his retirement in the latter year of 1985, Brother Allen Blackwell of Statesville, North Carolina, ministered the congregation at Thomas Street Church of Christ.

In addition to those ministers listed, Brother Allen Brown served in the approximate years of 1986-1989. Also, Brother Andy Moss ministered the congregation from 1989 to approximately 1998. Brother William Latten served for the second time from 1998 until the end of 2021.

Trustees: John W. McLaughlin, Jr., Ervin Holt, Charles Blakeney, and Gilbert Russell. 

We believe in the importance of giving back to our community and the world. That's why we support a number of local and international organizations working to promote social justice, alleviate poverty, and protect the environment.