Where did it all begin?
The Vandalia Church of Christ
Our story begins in 1839 when a group of Christian believers who had settled in the area of Vandalia, Michigan were determined
to fellowship and worship after God’s revealed plan. They chose to call themselves simply Christians and gave to their group of believers a scriptural church name. They met in homes for their worship service until around 1850 when they secured a small schoolhouse in Vandalia which became their first public meeting place and served the congregation until they built their new building in 1854. That building is pictured above and still stands today.
The legal organization was effected March 15, 1855, with Ephraim Alexander, John Hurd, Stephen Jones, John Hollister, Reason S. Pemberton and John Alexander as trustees. David Miller was their minister. The Vandalia Church of Christ had been served through the first 100 years by 36 different ministers and by only 4 in the next 50 years with Larry Settle serving nearly 39 years from 1967 until 2005.
The church body had already begun making plans to construct a new building before the coming of Pastor Settle. In 1971 the congregation gave 100% approval to move forward and purchased a parcel of land at the corner of M-60 East and Crooked Creek Road in Cassopolis. In May of 1972 the sound of a bulldozer came to life and the excavation began. On November 26th, 1972 approximately 350 gathered in the sanctuary to dedicate the present facility to the glory and service of God. At that time the church changed her name from the Vandalia Church of Christ to the Pleasant View Church of Christ. It’s been said that Virginia Richmond, wife of Richard Richmond an elder at Pleasant View said of the new location, “Oh, what a pleasant view.” and thus that is how the church got it’s new name.
The Pleasant View Church of Christ
In October of 2005 Larry Settle retired from the pulpit at Pleasant View and his son-in-law Jeff Oliver was called from a 15 year ministry in St. Joseph, Michigan to come and fill the pulpit. Jeff began his 17th year here at Pleasant View on October 1, 2021.
In 2013 the church purchased an additional 2 acres on the west side of the existing property which will give them room to expand their facility as the Lord leads.
In 2018 the church donated the parsonage to the Underground Railroad Society of Cass County. The house was an important
site used to house runaway slaves and part of the Kentucky Raid of 1847. The house is being turned into a museum.
The influence of the Pleasant View Church has been felt around the world as it continues to reach people for Jesus Christ. Pleasant View uses 18% of it’s weekly tithes and offerings for mission work, both locally and across the globe including,
Michigan, Indiana, Japan, Poland, Mexico and Brazil.
Pleasant View continues in her original mission to:
“Go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit and to continue
to teach everything that Jesus commanded.”
Matthew 28:19-20
“As We Strive to Walk in the Footsteps of Jesus”