Leadership

Rick Devers – Elder
Rick Devers was born in Midway Ky. He went to grade school in Midway and high school in Versailles. Rick graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a Bachelor’s degree in Police Administration and a minor in Political Science.
Rick worked for the Versailles Police Department for 3 years, then went to the Kentucky State Police in 1977, where he worked at the London and Frankfort Posts. He retired as an active trooper in 2003 and he is now employed by the Kentucky State Police as a Legislative Security Specialist.
Rick was baptized into Christ in 1979 at the Versailles Church of Christ. Rick and his wife, Janet, have two adult sons, Chris and Ricky, and are proud grandparents of seven. He teaches Bible classes and preaches when needed. Rick has served as an Elder for the Versailles church since the early 1990’s.

Nelson Kidder – Elder
Nelson Kidder and his wife, Reda, have been a part of our church family since May 2016. The Kidders have three adult sons, Michael, David and Chris, and are proud grandparents of three. Nelson was born and raised in eastern Ohio. He graduated from Virginia Tech with a B.S. in Mining Engineering. After a long career as a mining engineer in Ohio and Kentucky, Nelson and Reda retired to Versailles to be close to children and grandchildren.
Nelson teaches Bible classes and preaches when needed.
Nelson has served two previous congregations as an Elder and agreed to take on the duties of an Elder at Versailles in June 2017.

Phil Cullum – Elder
Phil Cullum and his wife, Carolyn, have been members at Versailles since 2006. They have three adult sons, Matthew, Mark and John, and are proud grandparents of three.
Phil was born and raised in Nashville, TN. He has a B.A. from David Lipscomb (now Lipscomb Univ.) and a Master’s in Mathematics from Ohio State Univ. Phil has lived in the Bluegrass for more than 40 years. After a long career with IBM, Phil now does consulting work.
Phil teaches Bible classes and preaches when needed. After being a member of other area churches of Christ, where he served as an Elder, Phil has been an Elder for the Versailles church since about 2007.

Derrick Sumerel – Minister
Derrick and Heather have been with the Versailles Church of Christ since June of 2014. Before that, Derrick worked with the Mt. Zion Church of Christ as their youth minister, with the Hodges Church of Christ where he preached and worked with the youth, and filled in at other churches while in school.
Derrick is a 2013 graduate of Heritage Christian University, where he received a BA in Biblical Studies. Derrick is now working towards an MA in Ministry from Freed Hardeman.
Heather is also a 2013 graduate of HCU, where she received her BA in Biblical Studies. She is currently a stay-at home mom and homeschools their three beautiful children, Olivia, Henry and Spencer. The family lives in Versailles with their two dogs.

Welcome!

On behalf of the Versailles church of Christ, we would like to thank you for visiting our website. In addition, we would like to take this opportunity to tell you about our church family and about what you can expect as we worship God together.
We are simply Christians, without ties to any denomination. We believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, and we try to follow it as our only guide in religion. We accept Jesus Christ as Lord and respect His authority.
We have believed the message of the crucified and risen Lord, and now we share it with others. We urge all to accept God’s gift of eternal life in His Son (Romans 6:23). God’s plan for salvation involves…
Repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21)
Confessing Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:10)
Being baptized into Christ for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38)
Living a life of faithful service to Christ (Revelation 2:10)
When you visit with us, you will be our honored and respected guest. You will not be embarrassed in any way. In keeping with our effort to carefully follow the Bible, our worship consists only of those activities authorized by command or example in the New Testament.
On Sunday, the first day of the week, we observe the Lord’s Supper as a memorial to our Savior’s death (Acts 20:71 Corinthians 11:24-26).
We praise God and edify one another through singing (Colossians 3:16), and offer prayers of supplication and thanksgiving (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
Through sermons, we hear exhortation to “continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine” (Acts 2:42).
On Sunday, we take up a collection so members can give as they have purposed in their hearts (1 Corinthians 16:1-22 Corinthians 9:7). As a visitor, you are our guest, so please do not feel under any obligation to give.
In addition to our worship services, we have Bible classes on Sunday morning and Wednesday evening for all ages. Everyone, age one and up, has an opportunity for careful study of God’s Word, and we can provide care for babies upon request. We are blessed to have a group of dedicated men and women who take their teaching of God’s Word seriously and prepare their classes accordingly.
We at Versailles church of Christ seek to serve God, honor Jesus and take as many people with us to Heaven as we can. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to mention them.
We pray that this bit of information will help you decide to worship with us.
In Him Always,
        The elders of the church

Church History

In May of 1965, two families (6 all together) begin to meet in the Woodford County Memorial Hospital conference room. Phillip E. Stratus was the minister for this small group of Christians. Six months later, a building was built for the group to meet for worship services. By this point, there were about 20 members who begin to worship at the **Versailles Church of Christ**, which was located at 108 Murray Street. This church was encouraged and supported by the Southside Church of Christ in Lexington, and the College Avenue Church of Christ in Murray, Kentucky. The building was built behind what was Shoo Chevrolet (which is now Jeff Jones Motor & Marine). The street leading up to the building was named Murray Street in honor of the College Avenue congregation who had offered their spiritual and financial support in the establishment of the new congregation. Three men that also played a large part in the planting of the church were Dr. James Rackley, Basil Overton, and Philip Strattis, the minister.
For a time, the church did not have elders. But on November 22, 1992, the congregation established qualified elders. The elders appointed were Ron Carter, Rick Devers, Clifford May, and Willis Rich. They were installed by Paul Tucker of the Crieve Hall Church of Christ in Nashville, Tennessee (they were a supporting congregation for Clifford May from 1982-1989). Others who have served as elders are Ed Mize, Dwight Pope, Danny Lamb and Ranie Wohnhas. The current elders are Phil Cullum, Rick Devers, and Nelson Kidder.
The Church has had many faithful men serve as ministers over the years. The following men have served the congregation: Phillip Strattis, Woodrow Hazelip, Chris Steward, James Poe, Clifford May, Gary Wilson, Bill Williams, Roger Shepherd, Mark Littleton, Byron Longcrier, Robin Dunaway, Glenn Redmond, and today Derrick Sumerel serves as the minister.
The Church today still holds to the values that were established in the beginning:
belief in Christ as the Son of God and the Savior of men,
the absolute truth of God’s word, and
a commitment to following God’s will as well as a sharing His love with each member, visitor, and the community.

Get Involved

Here are the Versailles Church of Christ, there are many activities and ministries that you can become involved in.
Youth Group: We have an active youth group for 6th grade and up. They meet together for Bible class, teen devotionals, area-wide youth events, fun trips to King’s Island, Cincinnati Reds games, etc.
Community Dinner: Every second Monday of the month, members work together in a kitchen downtown preparing and serving meals for the needy in the community. Currently, this outreach serves around 200 meals a week.
1711 Study: This monthly Bible study was created by one of our own members. It gets its name from Acts 17:11, where the Bereans were considered more noble because of their study habits. This in-depth study aims to take us through the entire Bible. We study on our own through the month with guided questions and puzzles, then meet to discuss what we learned, as well as to have a meal together.
Ladies’ Day: The second Saturday in September is the annual VCoC Ladies’ Day. On that Saturday, ladies from all over the surrounding areas will come together in order to study God’s Word with like-minded women. This year’s theme is “Strong Christian Women: May We Know Them, May We Raise Them, May We Be Them.”
Friends & Family Weekend: On this weekend, we really try to reach out to our friends and family. The weekend is filled with lessons and activities all based on the family. This year, it will be held October 9-11, and our guest speaker is Lonnie Jones.
Vacation Bible School: The last week in July marks the VCOFC VBS. This past year, we were visited by characters such as Tinkerbell and Captain Hook for “A Fairy-tale VBS.” Throughout the week, the kids learned lessons from the Bible and showed that it is not a book of magic but a book of truth. We had around 55 kids in attendance.
There is no way to list every single ministry/activity that you can become involved with if you decide to become a member. We have Thanksgiving baskets, monthly fellowship dinners, secret sisters, hospitality committee, card ministry, singing at the nursing home, sunshine baskets, etc. But there is always plenty to do as we strive to grow and serve together.

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