The history of Zion Ridge Church of God began in the year 1920 when Reverend Jack Duke and Brother Robert Duke came to the area preaching. People accepted the Word and were saved. At this time, they began to hold regular services. In the winter months, they held services in the homes of several different people. When summer came, they built a brush arbor. The first brush arbor, and the one people remember most, was built on Enterprise Road. Approximately three-quarters of a mile below where the church now stands, there is a road that turns left. It was in this corner that they built the brush arbor that was to remain there for several years till around 1931.

On February 14, 1924, the Church of God was organized. This was the first Church of God to be organized in this area. It was later named Zion Ridge Church of God – probably around 1928 or 1929. The church was organized with eight members, all related. This took place at the home of Claude and Renie Smitherman. The names of the charter members were: Claude and Renie Smitherman, Ed and Ella Smitherman, Tom and Susie Cleckley, Isabella Cleckley Jones, and Ranie Jones.

On April 4, 1931, Zion Ridge Church of God purchased one acre of land from W.L. Tatum for the sum of ten dollars. This land is where our present church and parsonage now stand. They continued to have services at the brush arbor. From all indications, a Plank Church building must have been started late in 1931 and completed in 1932

People did various things to try to discourage this move of the Church of God. Salt was poured in the wells of the people who were going to the brush arbor which meant they would have to haul water for weeks. Nuts were taken off wagon wheels which caused the wheels to come off while people were driving home from services. Eggs and rotten tomatoes were thrown at preachers while they were preaching their sermons. Brush arbors were even burned down during these days of trial. In this day it is almost impossible to image the persecution these early Christians endured. But they did it with joy knowing that the God they served would never let them down.

The first church building (the Plank Church) was built when Rev. A. W. Mills was pastor. This was to be the church until the Block Church was built in 1949, or for the next seventeen years. The church was to see a Brick Church built in 1961 which was then removed and rebuilt as the current Church building, finished in 1994 when Rev. William Ridgeway added the front portico.

Zion Ridge was born in a day when Christian values and morals were a way of life. They were the prevailing standard of conduct for everyone -----saint and sinner alike. God and the church were not only the center of individual lives and families, they were the center of the community and of all social activity. Social and religious acceptance was critical to everyday life in the community.

Through the years it has been those rugged, spiritual individuals who have maintained the integrity of the church. They have insisted upon God being the center of every decision and every activity that has brought us to this hour. It is to their credit that the story of Zion Ridge is a story worth knowing. It to their credit that we have these beautiful modern facilities. It is to their credit that we have respect and standing in our community and among our peers. Our gratitude is best stated in the church Declaration of Appreciation of 1999:

“We the people of the Zion Ridge Church of God on this occasion of our 75th anniversary:

Express our sincere gratitude to Almighty God who has brought us to this hour. He has indeed been faithful every step of the way.

Acknowledge the sacrifice of our founding fathers and mothers without whose love for God and without whose unreserved commitment to Him the church would not have survived.

Extend our heartfelt thanks to those in this community and in the many wonderful Christian churches of this area who have given us their love and acceptance over the years.

Affirm our continued commitment to the Church of God as a denomination who has given us spiritual guidance, leadership and protection, and without whose diligence the church could have been destroyed on more than one occasion.

Commit ourselves once again to the continued pursuit of the work of the kingdom of God for this hour, and to the total surrender to His Will for the reaping of this end-time harvest of souls;

May God be gracious unto us until our time on Earth is finished or until the glorious return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."