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In the early
1900’s, an evangelist, R.B. Neal and his wife, came from Ohio to
Coal Run, Kentucky. They came by steamboat, this being the chief
mode of transportation. Highways and railroads had not penetrated
this locality, therefore, a dirt road served the community.
Brother Neal
held church services in the Coal Run Grade School building located
on the hill just below Stone Coal Creek. A small group of people
assembled to hear Brother Neal preach and became interested in
erecting a church building. The Pike County Board of Education had
plans to build a new school building at another location so Mrs.
Betty Weddington deeded the tract of land to the church. Work began
on the building that was soon completed. Upon completion, the
building was dedicated on a Sunday in the summer of 1908 with a
large crowd attending. By this time, the railroad had been completed
to Pikeville and travel by steamboat ceased. A large bell from the
big steamboat “Andy Hatcher” was donated to the church. The bell was
hung in the church steeple where it was used for calling the
community to worship. Today, this same bell hangs in the church
steeple and its ringing sound can be heard each Sunday morning.
 As
time went by, Brother Tom Meade of Mud Creek in Floyd County was
chosen to hold church services once a month. There was no Sunday
school at this time. About two years later, the Sunday school was
organized having three classes.
Student
ministers from Kentucky Christian College, Grayson, Kentucky,
including Julian Hunt, Benny Hunt, Jack Bliffen, and others helped
to carry on the work for several years.
Brother S. C.
Honeycutt moved to the Coal Run community to work. Here he preached
for a number of years, baptizing many of which are still living and
attending church regularly.
Brother Lee
Ford, owner and operator of a shoe repair shop in Pikeville, helped
the Coal Run Church by preaching twice a month for several years
prior to the coming of E.W. Damron in 1954, the first full-time
minister.
Under Brother
Ford’s ministry, the church grew and the leaders saw the need for a
full-time minister. In July of 1954, Brother E. W. Damron was called
to preach a revival at Coal Run. This revival lasted for three
weeks, 26 people responded to the gospel call and were baptized into
Christ or rededicated their lives. After this revival the leaders of
the church realized the need for a full-time minister, and they
asked Brother Damron to accept this position. He moved to the Coal
Run community and began his ministry here in that same year. The
attendance grew steadily, and it became necessary to add to the
church building, giving space for five Sunday school classrooms.
Knowing that C & 0 Railroad Company had purchased the land on which
the church building was located, the church leaders decided to
purchase other property in the community and construct a new church
building. The planning committee for the new building included Mrs.
Opal Mann, E. W. Damron, and Rosco Gilliam. These three drew up the
plan for the building, which was approved by the officers and
congregation and the University of Kentucky Engineering Department
made a blueprint.
 On
a very rainy, wet Sunday afternoon, April 9, 1961, ground was broken
and construction began shortly thereafter. The men and women of the
church as well as friends of the congregation donated many hours of
hard labor. The building was completed in the fall of 1962. The
dedication service was held on Sunday afternoon October 28, 1962,
with approximately 400 people in attendance.
After an 8
1/2-year ministry, Brother Damron resigned and took the ministry of
the Elkhorn City Church of Christ, the church in his hometown.
During the 1960’s, the Coal Run Church was served by Brother Larry
Ogden and Brother Eugene McGhee. These men won several of our
current members to the Lord. On January 1, 1969, Brother E. W.
returned to minister to the Coal Run congregation. In the fall of
that year, East Kentucky Bible Institute was formed for the
purpose of training elders, deacons, Sunday School teachers, and any
one desiring to learn more about God’s Word. E.K.B.I. has been a
tremendous Bible training program for the mountain area Churches of
Christ.
The Coal Run
congregation has always tried to provide every possible means of
training our children in the ways of the Lord. In 1974, Brother
Jerry Bliffen, then a student at K.C.C., was called to be the first
youth minister. Later others followed in this capacity, including
Brother Jeff Stanley, Brother Keith Sergent and Brother Richie
Phillips. Because of the willingness of the people of this
congregation to share the responsibilities of
 teaching
the young people, for the past several years, we have not seen a
need to have a youth minister. We now have a very talented, active
youth choir that provides a wonderful way for our young people to
witness and grow spiritually. Our middle school through high school
age youth are involved in Bible Bowl competitions with young people
from other area congregations. We are very thankful for the work
that has been done to bring our congregation to the place it is
today.
In 1990, Brother
Damron retired from the full-time ministry, and Brother Jerry
Bliffen was called to be the minister at Coal Run. In the past 12
years the attendance has grown dramatically through baptism,
rededications, and transfers. This growth in numbers brought about
the need for
remodeling the sanctuary and adding balcony seating. With attendance
continuing to grow the church is now planning for the construction
of a new auditorium and major remodeling in the existing facilities.
In addition to
nurturing the local church, Coal Run has been active in planting
churches and spreading the Word in many parts of the world. From
Bible colleges to children’s homes, New York City to the Caribbean
islands, our youth camp on the mountain to the mountains of Mexico,
the Christians at Coal Run have seen the need and have answered the
call to share the love of Christ with others.
Whether on the
hilltop or in the valley, through the years, the Coal Run Church of
Christ has always been a shining light in Eastern Kentucky and on
the mission fields throughout the world.
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