ABOUT US
We are a church family that is Christ centered and bible grounded. One that is filled with compassion, love, and most of all, filled with the Spirit of God. Our church family has been gathering to worship our God and to study His Word, since 1895 and we would love for you to join this family of believers! Come allow us to serve you, encourage you!
"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:24-25
OUR VISION
Our vision is to connect others with our loving members of the congregation to share the love of Jesus Christ that will grow a relationship with him and will strengthen our faith and family.
OUR MISSION
Our mission of the Hempstead Church is to grow followers of Jesus through worship, community and service. Our adult education ministry keeps the focus on growth as we create environments for adults to experience community while taking a deeper look into the Word of God. We believe God's Word to be absolute truth and Christians must be well grounded in scripture to stand firm in the face of attacks by Satan.
OUR GOAL
We are committed to providing our members with the tools needed to provide love, support and education that will last a life time, from birth to adulthood.
Our Staff
Eugene Dewveall
Born in Levelland, Texas on November 8, 1939, Eugene attended Weatherford High School from 1954-1957 and was born again in Christ on January 11, 1951. Eugene went on to study at McLennan Community College, Arlington State College, and the University of Houston majoring in Bible and Communication.
In 1958, Eugene married Jackie Allison in Weatherford and through this sacred union were born five children. Two sons and three daughters, who I'm blessed to say are Christians and were further blessed with nine grand children.
Eugene has over 50 years in full-time pulpit ministry, with ten churches in Texas.
David Peyton
David and his wife Karen, have 26 years of ministry experience which include 11 years as missionaries in the Philippines.
David received his BS at Texas A&M in 1989, and his Masters of Missionology at Abilene Christian University in 1995.
David and Karen have been blessed with three children, two sons and one daughter.
History of Our Church
In the late 1880’s J. D. Tant held evangelistic meetings in Hempstead. The Gospel was preached in tents and in school houses. D. H. Williams helped to establish the first congregation in 1895. They purchased land and erected a church building in 1901. But in 1920, the church property was sold and sometime later the congregation disbanded. Preachers during this decade included C. R. Carter, D. F. Draper and Z. T. Winfree.
In 1938 the congregation was again organized. The J. C. Peyton, The Charlie Chamberland, The Shelby Cain and The Jeff Smith Families were the charter members. They met in homes and later in The Hempstead Community Center.
The congregation flourished and in 1948 property was bought on 6th street and a church building was completed in 1949 at 1016 6th street. The church continued to grow and a larger house of worship was erected in 1953 at the corner of Sixth and Main streets. The ministers during this period included Lynn Sparks, David Arrington, Marvin Powell and Truman Smith.
In 1966 the church purchased additional property for parking. By 1972 the congregation had grown to 96 members. By 1979 an Education/Fellowship wing was added to accommodate their growth and later the entire city block was purchased for future expansion. Preachers who served during this time included Bruce Beard, Melvin Anderson, Famous Byers, Milton Austin, H. I. Taylor, Tom Ruble and Richard Trull.
The church entered 1980 with 150 members and was very active in local and mission evangelism and benevolence. During this decade Don Sowders and Tim Ousley served as ministers.
In May of 1995 the church property and buildings on 6th street were sold to Community Christian Academy. In June of that year property was purchased on FM 359 and construction on a new facility began in April, 1996. The church and the academy shared the the building on sixth street until the new building east of town was completed.
On Sunday, September 29, 1996 the first worship service in the new building was conducted and 233 people attended. The dedication of the new building was held on November 24, 1996. The 81 member congregation experienced increasing attendance and additional members through the end of 1996. On March 29, 1998 the church celebrated 60 years of ministry with a Homecoming Service. George Carmen and Eugene Dewveall were the ministers during this decade.
By January 1, 2000 the church had grown to 119 members and had outgrown its new building. Before that year was over construction began to expand the facilities to 12,800 square feet by doubling the size of the auditorium and tripling the fellowship area and adding 9 new classrooms and 3 new offices. Leslie Boone and Eugene Dewveall were the ministers during this decade.
In September, 2013 the congregation celebrated its 75th Anniversary and invited Pat Richardson and George Carmen as special speakers. The attendance that day was 223.
As this part of our history continues, the church is now served by Eugene Dewveall as Pulpit Minister and David Peyton as Outreach Minister.