First Christian Church – Pine Bluff

First Christan Church – Pine Bluff 1920-1972

An announcement was made at the First Christian Church of Pine Bluff’s 25th Anniversary of their organization, that they would be the recipients of a brand new modern church building. A building campaign had been conducted and at the celebration, they had $28,675 in cash and pledges for the brand-new church. Some would say it’s long overdue as the old wooden frame building at 6th and Beech had been outgrown and was inadequate to serve the needs of the congregation anymore.

In 1919, the Building Committee purchased the old John R. Westbrook Home on the corner of 6th and Laurel for $4,500. The Westbrook home was originally that of John R. Westbrook, after his passing in 1900 his son William Howell Westbrook moved into the residence. Upon his passing in 1912, his son Howell Lane Westbrook and his wife lived in the residence until selling it to become the site of the new church. Until 1972 the church continued thriving in this community before turning over to a different denomination.

Victory Baptist Church 1972-1989

Bella Nonna Fratesi reminisces, “I can remember when it was still an open house of worship. My family and I are Catholic and when we would get out of our cars in the parking lot across the street at St. Joseph’s, we would hear that GLORIOUS sound of the gospel choir! Sounded like Heaven itself…I know there’s been many many souls saved inside this old building, and many beautiful memories made. God bless all.”

The church relocated to Ridgeway Road in April of 1989 and the building went up for sale.

Bethlehem Full Gospel Church 1989-2000s

Bethlehem Full Gospel Church purchased the building for ~$200,000 and moved into the building around Nov. 29, 1989.

Demise of the Area

It seems that the building couldn’t keep a church in it for long. With short periods of vacancy and many organizations coming in and out of its doors including Greater First Missionary Baptist Church, Deeper Revelation International Ministry, and a handful of others.

In 2014 the next-door Sixth Avenue School was demolished. Looking at Google Street View images one can see the rubble that still sat on the lot after the machines were removed, bringing the look and activity of the area down. This is something Pine Bluff seems to have become known for with the rubble of its Downtown buildings being left to clutter the street for years as well.

And then on a fateful August 11th, 2024, the Pine Bluff Fire Department got calls of a building fully engulfed in flames. It was the First Christian Church – Pine Bluff. By the time they arrived, the building was far too gone to save and after the flames were put out they proceeded to completely demolish the building.

The fire is still under active investigation with some rumors alleging that a man was seen walking out of the building shortly before the fire was discovered. Could this have been done on purpose? Was this a freak accident? In all my years of researching abandoned buildings, I have seen many many fires, my most notable one being the suspicious fire at the Majestic Hotel, and usually, the investigations of these fires are never concluded as to who or what caused it. Once a building is demolished its almost like the City and Fire Departments have an out of sight out of mind attitude, after all, it’s just an abandoned building right?

The fire follows a series of mysterious fires throughout the city. As some of you know by now I have been filming a Docu-Series in Pine Bluff for the last year diving into the history of all of its abandoned buildings and why the town has declined the way it has over the last 50 years. There will be a whole episode on this church and all of the sudden fires happening within the city soon. Stay Tuned: PineBluffSeries.com

Link to PineBluffSeries.com to watch full episode on homes in Pine Bluff!

Gallery Below of First Christian Church – Pine Bluff

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