In Acts chapter two, we read the account of how Peter, on the day of Pentecost, preached the first gospel sermon following the Lord’s resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God. After hearing Peter’s divinely inspired words this is what happened as recorded in Acts 2:37-40:
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
When those three thousand people accepted the gospel message and were baptized into Christ the Lord’s church was founded.
The Cloudcroft Church of Christ first met on May 23, 1954. The first meeting place was at the old Community Church Building commonly referred to as “The Dungeon”. Ground was broken for the present building on June 3, 1961 and on October 8 of that same year the Cloudcroft Church of Christ began meeting at its current location on the corner of Burrow and Swallow.
Over the years, many fine men have had the privilege to preach for the Cloudcroft Church of Christ. The first and longest tenured preacher was Ross Hooten who served for 22 years from 1959 until 1981. Since then, several good men have followed. In June of 2016 minister Jimmy Derrick retired to move to Lubbock, TX to be closer to family and Gary Truex stepped in on a part-time basis. Gary served as our part-time preacher for three years, preaching two Sundays a month, while he and his wife Rachel continued to serve as house parents at New Mexico Christian Children’s Home in Portales the other two weeks of the month.
In August of 2019 Gary and Rachel left the Children’s Home after 8 years of service and moved to Cloudcroft full-time and Gary is now our full-time pulpit minister/preacher. Gary and Rachel have four children, 2 are in college and 2 are still at home. Gary and Rachel are both active in the community as well. Rachel recently began working as a contributing editor for the Mountain Monthly, Cloudcroft’s local newspaper. Gary has been involved with the New Mexico Rails to Trails Association for several years and serves as the President of their Board of Directors.
The Cloudcroft Church of Christ is a family, a spiritual family. There isn’t a finer group of people anywhere. We are a collection of real people with real stories who have real issues and we come together to focus on the only real solution, Jesus Christ. If you’re looking for a church home, spiritual family, a place where you are needed and appreciated, a place where you will be encouraged and challenged spiritually, a place where you can serve, contribute, and grow spiritually then come visit us sometime. Worship time is 11:00 AM every Sunday and Bible classes are Sundays at 10:00 AM and Wednesdays at 6:00 PM. We look forward to seeing you!