odin

Marion County Church of Christ

By Gloria Chasteen

Church of Christ

The Marion County Church of Christ recently completed their new building at 1020 East Popular Street on US Highway 50 in Odin. The congregation which formerly met at the Odin library, held its first services in the new building on December 21, 2008. The regular Sunday schedule includes Bible study at 9:45 am, followed by worship at 10:30am. Sunday evening worship begins at 6:00pm. Wednesday evening Bible study is offered at 7:00pm. All church services and activities are open to the community.

The church was formed and starting meeting at the Marion County Fairgrounds in Salem, then relocated their worship to the Odin Library. Minister Dwight Butler, who started his pastorate with the church in January, 2007, said they broke ground for the new building in May 2007. "Construction went well and it was a volunteer effort among our members. We had five acres donated to use, with the agreement that we would have it cleared and the new church building would be completed within two years. We got to work cleaning away the brush and the farm buildings, including silos and barns, and then we are able to move on with the leveling work. In June of 2007 we started the foundation and poured the walls and we were able to get the trusses set before winter caught us in 2007. Then as soon as we could, we were back at it in the spring of 2007 and we got the roof on and the siding done. We continued to progress really well until our first service on December 21."

Butler credits the hard work of the church’s members with getting the building done on time. We just had to hire out a few of the jobs that needed to be done by a professional. The membership is very enthusiastic about the new building and we’re grateful to have and the land donated to help make this possible. Future plans at the site include a utility building and an open-air pavilion. Butler said the poles were set for the structure and they were ready to pour the foundation when, winter came a little soon, so work will continue on in this spring.

The church has an average attendance of 55 to 70 for Sunday services and continues to grow. Butler said the congregation is very thankful to have its own, permanent home for worship and activities.