| LOUISA COUNTY, IOWA |  |
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| LOUISA COUNTY, IOWA | |
Pg 108
Grandview, Iowa
Transcribed by Jackie Terry, August 14, 2016
Almost 2000 years ago after the resurrection and ascension to heaven of Jesus Christ, Assemblies were planted throughout Asia Minor and Eastern Europe as places of worship and to spread the Gospel.
The Grandview Gospel Assembly is composed of born again Christians gathered to the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no special organization. Each assembly is responsible only to its own group not to any other assembly. This was the pattern established by the disciples of Christ so long ago. Morning meetings are on Sunday, the first day of the week, to remember and give thanks to our Lord for His redemptive death to redeem any who put their personal trust in His work on the Cross.
The breaking and partaking of the bread representing His broken body and taking of the wine representing His shed blood, is worship as it was done in the earlier days of the Church by earlier believers. For at the Last Supper after they had eaten the Passover Lamb, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave to them saying, “Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you”. And likewise the cup saying, “This is my blood shed for many”. Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20. “As oft as ye do this ye do remember the Lord’s death ‘till He come”, spoken by the Apostle Paul (I Corinthians 23:26) as he planted assemblies in the Middle East. The seven churches of Asia (Rev. Chapter 2 and 3) to whom the Apostle John was instructed to write letters were those churches planted by the Apostle. Assemblies all over the world follow this form of worship begun almost 2,000 years ago.
These early Assemblies were the only type of Christian worship until about the middle of the third century A.D. when the Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great, stopped the persecutions partly due to a dream he had had and deciding these were good, industrious people and they should support him. He then decreed all people must be baptized in the faith. At the same time he devised a plan to combine all faiths by taking the priest office from the Jews, Christ and Mary from the Christian and bodily forms of saints representing the many Gods of pagan Rome. This combination later became the Catholic Church which history tells us was forced upon all peoples until Martin Luther’s revolt and the beginning of the Christian Reformation.
All through this long period the Assemblies continued the form of worship of the Apostles. The Catholic and Assemblies were the only form of worship known.
In the Reformation strong leaders appeared and people followed them, hence the formations of denominations such as Calvin of Scotland from whence the Presbyterians or the Wesleys (John and Charles) of…
Pg 109
…England from whence the Methodist and many, many more.
The earliest history that we have of the Grandview Assembly began about 1891 with a meeting at a Mr. G. W. Cross home about seven miles north of Grandview. From this meeting Assembly worship began every Loard’s Day at the Cross home. Nine years later moved to a Mr. Higginbottom home, a more convenient location. Later a location in the town of Grandview. Some names recorded of that group may bring to mind some family names of the past.
| Phillip Hahn, a grandfather of the Kemp family |
| D.C. McGulley, grandfather of Raymond McCulley |
| George Rexroth, uncle of Howard Cocklin |
| Hugh L Graham, unmarried |
| S. B. Reed |
| M. G. Hamill |
| J.G. Kent, grandfather of Feryl Kent |
| J. Browning, grandfather of Korte family |
| T.B. Shellabarger |
| E.S. Williamson, father of Ruth Shellabarger |
| J. Wesley Thompson |
| Reuben Cocklin, grandfather of Howard Cocklin |
| Daniel Kallenbarger, grandfather of Dan Gast and Ruth Cocklin |
Meetings were held at many locations through the years. For a time in the discontinued Presbyterian Church, south of the present Community Bible Church of today. Later in abandoned building uptown and in 1908 at the home of M.G. Hamill, a retired farmer.
In the late 1920’s the fellowship ended because of the death of many older members, but a small group met at a small hall on a country road, six miles north of Grandview. It was known as the Letts Assembly.
In the winter of 1952 a series of Gospel meetings were conducted by Lois Brandt and Dale Hyde of Garnavillo, Iowa.
As the Word of God was sown here, children and grandchildren of the former members of the Grandview Assembly began to recognize the truth as preached and some were “born again” and baptized the following summer.
In the following summer, 1953, a tent was set up in Letts, but the response from the area was limited and the bulk of listeners were from Grandview and Conesville. The tent was moved to Grandview on Grandmother Gast’s yard. The meetings continued seven more weeks and a few more were saved, including Grandmother Gast who was 88 at the time. This series had lasted 13 weeks. More summer tent meetings were held in following years and more saved. Series of meetings were held in the winter in Mrs. Gast’s large spacious living room of her home.
The Assembly continued in Grandmother Gast’s home until 1972 when the new hall was completed at 207 East Vernon Street. Here the Assembly continues to worship Our Lord every Sunday morning and with Gospel every Sunday evening at 7:30. Anyone is most welcome to come hear the Gospel direct from the Bible.
Picture: Gospel Assembly
Grandview Assembly – Christians gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus.
Picture: Front Row L to R: Joel Cooper, Jerry Beeding, Donna Runge.
2nd Row L to R: Tom Cooper, Feryl Kent, Frances Diviney, Lovell Gast, Ruth Cocklin, Dan Gast, Jennifer Spurrell, Donna Franzen.
3rd Row L to R: Linda Gast, Bob Gauler, Trista Gast, Lynette Miles, Keith Miles, Steve McMurray.