Kallam Grove Christian Church today is an active member of the Evangelical Covenant Church. Admittedly this is hard to comprehend, so let us give you a short history of who we are and how we got here.
In 1863, James Kallam purchased a 120-acre farm from the estate of Leonard Jackson that was adjacent to a 250-acre farm his wife Virginia Kallam had inherited from her father. The Jackson Family Cemetery, having graves marked with fieldstones, was on the purchased land and is the resting place of James and Virginia’s 16-month-old daughter, Permelia. Her grave marks the site’s oldest inscribed headstone and bears the date 1875.
In the early 1880’s, a community congregation met in a brush arbor constructed across the road from the present location of Kallam Grove Church on Kallam’s land. Reverend Nellie Moon, a teacher at a local school – Mt. Bethel School – led a revival in the brush arbor. James and his wife Virginia donated a tract of land for a church building which was completed in 1883. The building, a small 28’ x 48’ white, weather-boarded frame structure with one center door and one side door served as the site of worship for the next fifty-four years. On November 4, 1884, Kallam Grove Christian Church was organized and chartered with sixty-four members. The church was led by Rev. John T. Ball.
That founding group of believers knew they needed a church, but what kind of church would they be? The preacher at the revival, Miss Mamie Moon, was affiliated with the “United General Conference of Christians”, more often referred to as simply the “Christian Church”. These churches operated on a congregational model – meaning most all decision making of any individual church was up to the congregation. To this day, virtually all our church business is presented to the congregation and voted on during quarterly business meetings. Written into the Principals of Affirmation of the founding documents is the statement: “The name Christian is the only appellation by which we will be known to the exclusion of all party or sectarian names”. This is the reason we retain Christian in our formal name.
In 1937, the congregation of sixty-three members laid the foundation for a brick building to replace the small wooden structure. The brick church was completed on February 28, 1938 and was dedicated on the third Sunday in May 1939.
From 1944 through the late 1960’s numerous aesthetic and facility improvements including exterior landscaping, interior carpeting, installation of stained glass windows and pews and the purchase of a piano were made. The digging of a well and the construction of restrooms and the installation of a septic system was completed in the early 1960’s.
The 1970’s saw a lot of facility improvement activity. A new HVAC system was installed, Sunday School classrooms were carpeted, new church pews and choir loft chairs were purchased, and the sanctuary ceiling was lowered. During the mid-1970’s, a new steeple was added and a brick column bearing the church name and the original bell from the previous steeple was constructed on the lawn. In 1977, the church added the Fellowship Hall connecting it to the sanctuary building. Also, during this time, the Rev Charles R. Vaughan was installed as our new pastor. In November of 1984, Kallam Grove celebrated two milestones – its 100th year as the body of Christ and Rev. Vaughan’s 10th year as our pastor.
In 1992 , the entire sanctuary building was replaced and in 1994, after 20 years of leadership by Rev Vaughan, Kallam Grove changed its denominational affiliation to the Evangelical Covenant Church.
The church called Dr. Donald Haynes, a retired UMC pastor and school classmate of many Kallam Grove members as our pastor in 2009 following the retirement of Rev. Vaughan who had faithfully served Kallam Grove for 32 years.
Dr. Haynes was instrumental in getting our first website created in 2010. Also in 2010, the church constructed the Columbarium in the cemetery. In 2012, a porch was added to the Fellowship Hall’s east side and a “state-of-the-art” audio/visual capability was installed to enhance worship. 2013 saw the addition of a covered entrance on the back, west side of the sanctuary.
Rev Nathanael Putnam was installed as pastor in 2013 after the retirement of Dr. Haynes. In November of 2014, Kallam Grove celebrated its 130th year as a faith family. In 2023 Rev. Putnam resigned as pastor of Kallam Grove, and Rev. Jason L. Reid, was installed as our pastor. Also in 2023, the 5th iteration of our website – the one you are currently viewing – was begun.