Impact Church
History
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Rev. Tom Collier organized the Westville Pentecostal Holiness Church on July 23, 1916. Services were held in an empty store building until the church was built in 1921. Later the store building burned.
Rev. Tom Collier pastored the church until 1920. The annual Westville Picnic was held the week following the organization of the church. It featured a fair. In 1929 members of the church were dropped for attending the picnic. There are no church records available until 1921 In 1916, a community revival was held at the Methodist Church that lasted 3 weeks. Each night were sponsored by different churches 1920-1929 Pastors serving the church in this decade were: Rev. Arthur Smith—Sept 1920 to Sept 1924 Rev. J.P. Pinkston—1924 to July 1926 Rev. Arthur Smith—July 1926 to 1927 Rev. Symour Miller—1927 to 1928 Rev. Lonnie Smith—Sept 13, 1928 to Aug 1929 Rev. W.F. Aldridge—Aug 1929 to Mar 2, 1930 1930-1939 Pastors serving the church during this decade were: Rev. Bert Palmer—Mar 17, 1930-1931 Rev. Austin F. Green—1931-1933 Rev. Arthur Smith—1933-1935 Rev. Harry W. Hampton—1935-1937 Rev. Ellis M. Roberts—1937-1938 Rev. Mildred Wicks—Aug. 21,1938-1940 1940-1949 Pastors serving the church in this decade were: Rev. Marvin Jernigan—1940 to 1941 Rev. Oscar Moore—1941-1942 Rev. E.A. Gourd—1942 to 1943 Rev. P.V. Pendley—1943 to 1944 Rev. John Nelson—1944 to Feb. 5, 1945 Rev. John Dryden—1945 to 1947 Rev. David Thurman—1947 to 1949 Rev. Ellis M. Roberts—1949 to 1950 1950-1959 Pastors serving in this decade were: Rev. Jimmie Jordan and Rev. Elmer Anthony—1950 Rev. E.J. Menser—1950 to 1951 Rev. L.L. Wheeler—1951 to 1952 Rev. Charlie Cook—1952 to 1955 Rev. J.R. Colvin—1955 to 1957 Rev. Luther Wilson—July 1957 to June 1960 Fire of an unknown origin destroyed the Pentecostal Holiness Church, which was discovered soon after the Sunday night service January 28, 1951. The members of the fire department as well as many others fought heroically to control the flames, which apparently started around the flu. However, due to the water in the fire hydrants being frozen they were delayed in getting to the blaze before it was possible to have saved the structure. In spite of the flames, some of the pews and chairs along with the piano were removed from the building. The Stilwell fire department was called, when residents in the area were endangered by flying sparks of fire caused by the high wind. The building and contents were partially covered by insurance according to officers of the church. The Pastor of the church, Rev. E.J. Menser stated that the Sunday morning and Sunday night services will be held in the Roberts Funeral Home Chapel. Excerpt from a Tribute to Firemen in same paper A volunteer fireman will immediately respond to a call and will work tirelessly to put out the fire and not endanger other property. Sunday night these same volunteer firemen, along with many others, in spite of the bitter cold, forgetting themselves, worked heroically to save the Pentecostal Holiness church and to keep the fire from spreading. Not being able to see because of the heavy smoke and having to use hose other than the regular fire hose, they were drenched with water that froze as quickly as it touched them. Some firemen are paid but ours are volunteers and care only for the safety of the property and people in our community. Thank you WPHC has had many men during the past 100 years serve our community as volunteer firemen. The Reporter said 65 years ago we should express our appreciation to them for a job well done. Today we say Thank You Volunteer Firemen Past and Present for your service. 1960-1969 Pastors serving during this decade: Rev. J.R. McBride—July 1960 to July 1961 Rev. Jim Cross—July 19, 1961 to June 1962 Rev. Morris Morgan—Aug 7, 1963 to June 1965 Rev. E.J. Menser—July 1965 to Dec 1967 Rev. John R. Munson—Jan 31, 1968 to Mar 1976 Records do not show very much about happenings in this decade. I have been able to find out that Rev. Cross had to resign the church and moved to Arizona because of his wife’s health and believe she went to her heavenly reward within the year. Bro. Munson became Pastor in 1968 and began a new trend for our church—staying longer than 2 years. Bro. Munson was here for 8 years and then had to resign due to health issues. A committee was formed in the late 60’s to begin planning a building program 1970-1979 Pastors serving this decade were: Rev. John Munson was the first pastor to pastor for an extended length. He was here for 8 years and 1 month. Rev. Ted Mullin—Mar 21, 1976 to Jan 1977 Rev. Bobby Creps—Feb 9, 1977 to Oct 1978 Rev. Lynn Ice—Dec 31 1978 to June 1988 In 1977, the first Fellowship Hall was built. The first event was held before the Fellowship Hall was completed. Graduating seniors were honored with cake and ice cream and balloons hanging from the rafters 1980-1989 Pastors serving this decade were: Rev. Lynn Ice served as pastor for 9 years and 5 months leaving in June 1988. Rev. W.L. Burnett—July 1988 to May 1991 The early 1980 has brought changes to the church. The first remodel of the sanctuary was to brick the outside and put paneling on the walls. The windows of the church were covered causing quite a discussion. A new and bigger kitchen was also built. By 1986, we had outgrown our sanctuary and decided to build a new one and turn the old one into Sunday school rooms, new bathrooms, a nursery and a pastor’s office. The fellowship hall was also remodeled. Dedication was held by Rev. B.E. Underwood. 1990-1999 Pastors serving this decade were: Rev. James Feltner—June 23,1991 to Feb. 1993 Rev. Audie Vaughan—May 1993 to Apr 2002 The 1990’s saw changes at WPHC. Once again, we decided the Fellowship Hall was not big enough and added on to it. At the same time, the kitchen received a facelift. The church purchased the Faulkner property, the Galbreath property and the Roberts property. 2000-2009 Pastors serving this decade were: Rev. Audie Vaughan was here until 2002. Rev. Keith Ward—Sept 2002 to July 31, 2005 Shelly Cooper served as interim Pastor until Dec 2005 Rev. Philip Ayento—Dec 4, 2005 to Aug 26, 2007 Rev. James Johnson—Nov 15, 2007 to Mar 30, 2008 Rev. Navil Vaughan served as Interim Pastor beginning Apr 13, 2008 and was voted in as Pastor on June 8, 2008 January 1, 2000 came and the world did not end. It just got busy again with remodeling at WPHC. Pastor moved into the Robert’s home and the parsonage was gutted and remodeled. In 2002, we sold our temporary parsonage. During the fall of 2003, we finally did it. Sunday school rooms were needed and we added the “Family Life Center” which included the long desired for gym. On August 29, 2004 Dr. A.D. Beacham dedicated the building. What a blessing this building has been to our church. 2010-2016 Rev. Navil Vaughan has served as Pastor for 9 years. In December of 2009, our pastor and board had a vision for a local mission project and we became the directors of the Hope Center Food Distribution. The Hope Center mission is to help feed hungry families in Westville and the surrounding area. The motto is “Making a Difference Today”. The Hope Center seeks to bring a light of hope to the darkness that poverty and hunger force upon our community. Volunteers in the community staff the Hope Center. Gwen Howe and Jim Fain have spent countless hours working in the Hope Center. We at WPHC want to thank all the volunteers who give their time. What is current in WPHC world on May 31, 2016? It is construction. Construction of much needed space in the sanctuary, more bathrooms, a foyer, and church offices. For this decade. In September 2016, the church voted to change the name of Westville Pentecostal Holiness Church to Westville Impact Church In October 2016, the construction was complete and we moved into the newly expanded and remodeled sanctuary. |
