It was the year of 1965, the Second Sunday in July, we began to seek for a place to worship. Our first services were held in the home of Bro. & Sis. Carrie Lumpkins, 1210 North Street Extension. Other services were held in the homes of Sis. Mary Patterson, Sis. Margaret McLaurin, and Sis. Lessie Roberts. We also held services in a small white church located on "C" and Burns Streets which belonged to Second Baptist Church. All during this time we were looking for a place to purchase for a church home.
The first site of land was located by Mother Margaret McLaurin on which a large white house stood. The house was converted into a chapel and a fellowship hall. And after many long hours of work, clearing and remodeling the house for services, and raising money, praying, singing and rejoicing in the Lord for His blessing, He blessed us again. Our first church furniture was given to us by the First Christian Church, Ft. Bragg Road where Rev. David Donnell was Pastor. We received benches, pulpit stand, pulpit chairs, and a printer. First Christian also opened its doors for us to have baptismal services.
We very humbly dubbed our House of Praise as the "Little House on the Hill". Later our Pastor gave the church its current name, "Peace Memorial Christian Church (Disciples Of Christ)".
Peace Memorial was chartered by the Christian Churches in North Carolina September 27, 1966.
The church family occupied the "Little House on the Hill" from 1965 to 1978, when we moved into the second building on this site. That building is now our Multi-Purpose Room. We continued to use the little white building for dining and other activities until its demolition in 1982.
November 15, 2008, our beloved founder and Pastor, Franklin J. Matthews, passed on to the "New Life" we often talk about. He was a man of much vision, wisdom and full of the Word of God. We miss him and his sayings such as "I love you and you can't do nothing about it". We continually thank God for having allowed him to be our Shepherd, guide, servant, counselor, helper and much more for 42 years.
But, as the Lord would have it, He did not leave us in the wilderness wandering without a leader. On May 26, 2010, the Congregation of Peace Memorial agreed to call and receive Rev. Tony D. McLaurin as Pastor of this great cloud of witnesses. June 1, 2010, he accepted and agreed to the calling and has since been a forerunner in watering, pruning and cultivating what God has planted here at Peace. To God be the glory for allowing us to have a Pastor with great vision for the future and one who has a heart to make our ministry here viable for every age group while teaching each one of us to be an important part of God's ministry in the earth. It does not yet appear what God has in store for us here. We continue to grow as each of us receive training in our ministries and positions here at Peace. We move ever forward toward our .."mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" because we are "Transformed to Serve a Master Most Worthy". All praises to our God for the many great things He has done.
