In the Fall of 1954, behind the LaPlaza Motel on Moss Avenue in Tiftonia, Hugh Davis held a three-week meeting.
Shortly thereafter, it was decided that a congregation should be started in Tiftonia. A group of twelve people met in Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence McCullough’s mobile home and a decision was made to purchase property for a church building.
For a while, these Christians met in Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Griffey’s home on Hemlock Circle. After a few weeks, they outgrew that dwelling and began to meet in the John A. Patten School building.
The elders of the White Oak congregation did the preaching until March 1955 when John Cupp was hired as the first full-time preacher. John remained at Tiftonia four years, during which time the original church building, preacher’s home and classrooms were completed.
David Reeves became the next preacher and he stayed four years.
In 1963, the congregation hired Dan Spann. During his stay, the old building became unequal to the crowds, and two services were being held each Sunday morning.
The State took the property owned by the church to construct what is presently Interstate 24. A seven-acre tract of land joining the old property by Parker Lane was purchased by the church on which the present building was erected.
Throughout the years a number of other powerful Gospel preachers have served the church at Tiftonia well.
In the fall of 2010, brother Gary McDade was hired to preach the Gospel at Tiftonia and the church is blessed to have such a capable preacher proclaiming the Gospel of Christ.
Elder and Preacher
Gary McDade is an elder and one of our preachers.
He has a B.A. in Bible from Freed Hardeman University and a M.A. from Amridge University.
He is a Senior Investment Executive with Cetera Wealth Partners, and has been in the financial services industry for 30 years.
He served his country in the US Navy from 1976 to 1979 stationed on the US Simon Lake Submarine Tender.
He and his wife Sheila celebrated their 50th anniversary December 25th 2020.
Elder
Darren Crownover is a Physical Education teacher at Lookout Mountain Elementary. He has taught school for over 30 years and has been a coach throughout his career.
He is from Lookout Valley and is very well known and respected in the community.
He was raised in the church and has a deep knowledge and love for the Bible. He teaches adult and teen Bible classes and weekly evangelizes in the community.
Minister
Gary graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1985 from Amridge University in Montgomery, Alabama with a Masters of Arts degree in New Testament. He achieved his Bachelors of Arts from Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tennessee in 1979 and received the Timothy Award upon Graduation.
He has served as the pulpit minister for several congregations mostly in the Memphis area. He began preaching at the Brown’s Ferry Road congregation in 2011.
Gary served as the lectureship director for the Spiritual Sword Lectureship for nine years and edited the lectureship book. He is the speaker on the World Video Bible School “The End of Time: A Study of the Book of Revelation” video series recorded in 2003. It has 24 lessons; 15 hours of teaching. Gary won the WVBS award for Best Selling DVD and the most online views at 116,000.
Gary began ETHICAL MEDIA video production studio in 2012 and has now produced hundreds of broadcast quality videos for television and youtube covering a myriad of biblical topics.
Minister
Jason has a Biomedical Degree from State Tech in Memphis, TN and a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Organizational Management from Bryan College.
His secular work ranges from an experienced business owner to managerial positions in Marketing and sales. Like his father, he has managed to serve as a located preacher along with his secular work. He has years of experience producing videos for the Spiritual Sword Media studio, Gospel Broadcasting Network, and now for Ethical Media and New Testament Christianity.
Along with sharing the pulpit here at Brown’s Ferry Road and producing content for Ethical Media Jason has several youtube channels and has begun a podcast. Jason is a talented preacher and teacher with an amazing capacity for memorization of Scripture. He is also a gifted guitarist and portrait artist.
Jason and Loren celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2024. Their two sons, Austin and Jordan are excellent students in both school and the Bible. They began serving in the worship at a young age leading prayers, waiting on the table, making announcements, and leading the singing.
Minister
Austin began sharing the pulpit with his father and grand-father in 2025. He is a student at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga with a Mechatronics Engineering major. He was voted president of the Mechatronics club after winning the “Battle Bot” competition. The head of the department selected Austin for an internship in which he fabricates prosthetic devices using a 3-D printer. His first design was gifted to a disabled 2 year-old child to enable him to walk alone.
In the Summer and on breaks he works at Ed’s Supply Company. All Austin’s friends and family benefit from his “Daily Bible Verse” texts which he began a few years ago when he was the chaplain of his high school marching band.
Austin attended Memphis School of Preaching Foundations Bible program for several years. He has benefited greatly by having Christian parents who saw to his spiritual growth. His greatest talent is the ability to memorize and quote Scripture.
Fred Johnson
Deacon and Treasurer
Danny Buffington
Deacon for Security
It is our desire and intent to be the church that you read about in the Bible. Not a man-made organization, but the church built by the Son of God, Jesus Christ.