Central Academy church of Christ was formed about 1900. The first gospel preacher to preach in this area was Bro. Fuqua preaching under a brush arbor. A one-room schoolhouse was bought on Central Academy Road and used for a meeting place for about forty-five years. Then land was acquired on Highway 6 east of Batesville and a block building was erected that would seat about 100 people. The membership at the time of this move was about 40 Christians. Some of the first preachers were brethren J. C. Brister, J. M. Brandon, Tate Ring, A. R. Hill, and A. Y. Howell.

A brick building was completed in April, 1966 with a seating capacity of two hundred and ten. At that time, there were 115 members. In 2003, the congregation completed an addition to the building which provided several classrooms, a preacher’s office, a library, and fellowship area.

One of the most successful meetings ever held at Central Academy took place in May, 1967. O. B. Porterfield of Montgomery, Alabama, was the evangelist. During the meeting, 41 restorations and 14 baptisms took place.

In the early years, our preachers included Jack Dunn, Clinton Hamilton, Sidney Roper, Rex Newburn, Lee Brown, J. A. Thornton, Cecil May, Richard Curry, and Edward L. Burns. The first full-time preacher at the congregation was Leonard Leggett who preached his first sermon on October 8, 1967. Others who have preached here include Buddy Baker, Bruce Pate, Raymond Haygood, James Baker, Roger Jackson, Keith Dixon ('83-'87), Riley Nelson ('87-'91), Paul Coffman ('91-'93), Jonathan Jenkins ('93-'97), Tom O’Neal ('97-2000), and Chip Horton ('00-'03).

At the time of this writing, the membership is about 90. Paul Meacham, Jr., has been the local preacher since 2004

(This history is adapted from an article written by B.H. Darby, Sr., now deceased. Bro. Darby was an elder of the congregation for 39 years.)

Central Academy Church of Christ
Location: 2580 Central Academy Road
Mailing address: 653 Central Academy Road
Batesville, MS 38606
662 563-5655
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© 2005 Central Academy Church of Christ