Who We Are… West Pleasure Church of Christ is located in the heart of a crime-infested, predominately Black neighborhood in Searcy, Arkansas. Our mission is to evangelize, meeting the specific needs of the Black community in order to bring them to Christ.

Why We're Here... We are not here to segregate the Church of Christ or to compete with the existing congregations in Searcy. We are here to meet a desperate need. If you don’t already understand the special challenges of this ministry and why this work is necessary, please click here to learn more.

Even though there are several thousand African-Americans living in this county, West Pleasure is the only African-American Church of Christ in White County. West Pleasure Church of Christ is the same congregation that was called Eastside Church of Christ (in Kensett, AR). In September of 2001, Jesse Drayton and his wife, Vivian, came to Searcy to renew the work at Eastside as the church had been closed down for many months. (To learn more about the Draytons click here.) They did much needed repair work on the building (as it had been neglected for some time), and worked hard to strengthen the church. Since their arrival, much has been accomplished in bringing about a new attitude among the brethren, as well as greater respect being gained in the community. Although the church was renewed in spiritual growth and strength, our old building in Kensett was beyond repair. In desperate need of a better facility, we searched for a new location for the congregation in the nearby city of Searcy. Through faith (in February 2005), we bought a metal building on a corner lot, with adequate parking and room for congregational growth. The lot is twenty-two thousand square feet; the building is five thousand square feet.

Currently Speaking... Since we moved into our new place of worship, we have moved positively because of our faith in God. There have been 26 baptisms and 36 placed membership. Although our congregation is still relatively small, we are very active and willing to work. We provide much needed training and a wide variety of programs (men’s training classes, personal work classes, ladies classes and activities, Bible teaching workshops, drug & alcohol prevention, etc…) As for the progress on our new building, the construction work has been completed! We now have five usable classrooms (including a nursery), a teacher resource room, a fellowship hall, two restrooms, minister’s office, new auditorium (complete with baptistery!), and a larger kitchen. Also, we added brick to the outside of the building which has improved its general appearance greatly. Many thanks to all the individuals and congregations who contributed money, materials, labor, and prayers to this effort… we can now be more effective in our ministry with these new facilities. “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” – Ephesians 3:20-21