Eastside Church of Christ is on Sevierville Road in Maryville, Tennessee, where a congregation of about 160 is known for a deliberately Bible-centered approach to worship and community life. Its motto, Love. Serve. Reach. Teach., frames a church that identifies the Bible as the only guide for life and worship, sings without instruments, and observes the Lord's Supper every first day of the week. Eastside also welcomes people visiting the Smoky Mountains who want a church home away from home.
Love. Serve. Reach. Teach. in Maryville
Eastside defines its purpose in three directions: as a resource for its members, as an outreach to the community, and as a means of sharing truth with people in East Tennessee and around the world. The congregation describes itself as striving to do God's will. With about 160 people, its worship schedule shows many members sharing responsibility rather than leaving the work to a handful of people.
The Sunday pattern includes opening and closing prayers, Scripture reading, song leading, announcements, attendance, presiding over the Lord's Supper, and serving at its tables. Wednesday's pattern includes song leading, announcements, and prayer. This breadth of participation gives Eastside's weekly schedule a practical shape, with members involved in both the acts of worship and the organization of congregational life.
Five Practices at the Heart of Worship
Eastside identifies five primary forms of worship: singing, praying, preaching, giving, and partaking of the Lord's Supper. Its governing principle is that the Bible should speak where it speaks and the church should remain silent where it is silent. The stated goal is worship in spirit and truth, using the Bible rather than human creeds as the authority for both belief and practice.
A cappella singing is one of the most visible features. Eastside teaches that the New Testament does not ordain instruments, so mechanical instruments are left out and singing is the only form of music used in worship. The church also points to the history of opposition to instrumental music in Christian worship, grounding its practice in what it sees as the teaching and practice of the New Testament church.
The second distinctive practice is the weekly Lord's Supper. Eastside observes it on the first day of every week, using unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine as symbols of Christ's body and blood. The congregation traces the practice to Jesus' establishment of the memorial and to Acts 20:7, which describes the disciples meeting on the first day of the week to break bread. Weekly observance therefore joins the church's stated commitment to New Testament teaching with one of its central acts of worship.
In explaining why it understands the first day of the week as every first day, Eastside compares that reading with the Old Testament Sabbath command and with early Christian practice. This attention to the words of Scripture reflects the broader conviction that additions and subtractions are condemned.
A Sunday and Wednesday Rhythm
Eastside keeps a simple weekly rhythm with four regular gatherings:
- Sunday at 9:00 a.m. - Bible Study
- Sunday at 10:00 a.m. - Morning Worship
- Sunday at 5:00 p.m. - Evening Worship
- Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. - Bible Study
The gathering location is 2543 Sevierville Road in Maryville. Worship is also carried through YouTube, where viewers can set a reminder for an upcoming broadcast and watch past live videos through Eastside's YouTube channel.
Eastside describes a newcomer as someone who may be local and looking for a church family or may be visiting the Smoky Mountains and wanting a church home away from home. That welcome sits alongside the practical facts of four recurring gatherings each week and the forms of worship the congregation identifies: teaching, singing, prayer, preaching, giving, and Communion.
Education from Nursery Through Twelfth Grade
Eastside assigns two deacons to education: Greg Husband for Nursery through 4th grade and Jake Goza for 5th through 12th grade. The arrangement gives the church's educational work a defined span across childhood and the school years, with separate leadership for the two age groups.
The preaching archive adds a youth dimension through past Youth Service entries, including messages classified as Young Men's Service. Speakers associated with those recordings include Hunter Lewis, Scott Hicks, Matthew Rodgers, Matthew Kuhl, Russell Hatcher, Jake Stone, Eli Wininger, Charlie Johnson, and Jonah Pena. Youth-specific messages are therefore a distinct part of the congregation's teaching history.
Missions and the Work of Caring for the Congregation
Foreign and local missions are under the responsibility of deacon Steve Johnson. The remaining deacon roles make the practical shape of congregational service clear: Brian Wininger handles building and grounds, Curtis Stone handles safety and security, and Brook Nash handles visitation. These assignments connect the motto's call to serve with concrete responsibilities for property, security, member contact, and mission.
The emphasis on mission appears in both the deacon's assignment and the church's statement of purpose. Eastside seeks to be an outreach to the community and to carry truth beyond East Tennessee and around the world. The local and foreign pairing keeps that outward aim alongside the day-to-day work of maintaining a functioning congregation.
An Extensive Library of Bible Teaching
Eastside's sermon archive is extensive and designed for navigating by preacher, series, topic, and biblical book, with separate morning and evening collections. Audio recordings preserve messages such as 'Biblical Love,' 'The Hope of the Resurrection,' 'Defending the Truth,' 'The Last Words on the Cross,' 'The Parable of the Sower,' 'The Parable of the Mustard Seed,' and 'The Transformative Power of God's Word.' The preacher collection includes a broad circle of names associated with Eastside's teaching history across Sunday morning and evening services.
Other recurring categories in the archive include Eastside Devo, Eastside Sermons, seasonal meetings, student lectures, and Q&A. These labels reflect a church that has preserved not only isolated messages but repeated forms of teaching: expositions of biblical books, topical lessons, meetings, and question-and-answer sessions.
The teaching history can be explored through Eastside's sermons, while recorded live broadcasts extend the preaching life of the congregation beyond the building.
Restored on First-Century Principles
Eastside describes the church of Christ as a restoration rather than a new denomination. It traces the impulse to the late 18th century, when Christians began questioning denominational establishments, creeds, and practices that could not be sustained by the Bible. The church's position is that teaching only what the Bible teaches, without additions or subtractions, is the proper course.
That approach also shapes how the church understands its organization. Each congregation is autonomous and independent, and Eastside states that congregational affairs are not placed under a human-made bureaucracy. Its leadership roles are therefore local, with four elders, a preacher, and deacons assigned to particular areas of responsibility.
Membership does not follow a written initiation process. Eastside points instead to the New Testament conditions for becoming a Christian:
- The gospel is heard, with faith coming by hearing the word of God.
- Jesus Christ is believed.
- Past sins are repented of and the person turns away from them.
- Jesus is confessed as Lord.
- The person is baptized for the remission of sins.
The church also teaches that no one is predestined for salvation or condemnation; people are called to choose salvation through faith and obedience. The invitation is framed broadly, and the stated promise is that those who come to Christ in faith and obedience will be saved.
TJ Gifford and Local Leadership
Preacher TJ Gifford was raised in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains and describes himself first as a servant of Christ and a family man. He began preaching at 15 and has lived and worked with churches in Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, Ohio, South Carolina, and Florida. His formal education includes Tri-Cities School of Preaching and Bear Valley Bible Institute. Outside preaching, he enjoys good food, good music, the Tennessee VOLS, and the outdoors.
The elders are Gary Kirtley, Eddie Kuhl, Lee Martin, and James Robertson. The deacons are Brian Wininger, Greg Husband, Curtis Stone, Steve Johnson, Brook Nash, and Jake Goza, each assigned to a particular area of responsibility. The pattern presents leadership as a combination of oversight, preaching, practical work, education, missions, safety, and visitation.
Bible Study by Mail at the Student's Own Pace
Eastside also offers a Bible Correspondence Course for study by mail. The first lesson is mailed after enrollment. Students complete each lesson and quiz at their own pace; the church grades the completed quiz and mails the next lesson. The course is a postal program rather than an emailed course and is intended to support extended study of the Bible.
Enrollment is handled through the Bible Correspondence Course. Eastside's broader study links include Apologetics Press, Bible Gateway, Christian Courier, Gospel Advocate, Gospel Broadcasting Network, Good News Today, Gospel Radio Network, Truth for the World, Polishing the Pulpit, PTP365, and Latin American Missions. The church reviews these external materials for doctrinal soundness.
A Maryville Church for Locals and Travelers
Eastside is located at 2543 Sevierville Road, Maryville, Tennessee 37804. Its church phone is (865) 681-1800, and its general email is eastside@eastsidecoc.net.
At its heart, Eastside is a congregation organized around the Bible, active member service, missions, and teaching. Its four weekly gatherings, educational work through twelfth grade, mission assignments, and extensive preaching record give concrete form to the motto: Love. Serve. Reach. Teach.