Our Eldership
Dwight McComb
Dwight McComb, a native Mississippian, grew up in Mathiston, Mississippi where he graduated from Mathiston High School. He received a B.S. degree and an M.A. degree from Mississippi State University. He and his wife, Sallie Gardner McComb, moved to Aberdeen in 1966 as newlyweds to work in the Aberdeen School System.
He worked as a teacher and coach, and later the High School principal, and Sallie worked as an elementary teacher. They have two children, Dr. William Dwight McComb, Jr. and Kathryn McComb Elliot and six grandchildren. A long-time member of the Aberdeen Church of Christ, Dwight became a deacon in the church in January 1982, and on January 18, 2004, he was appointed as an elder, a position he is honored to still serve presently.
Todd Wilemon
Todd was born in Aberdeen, MS and graduated from Aberdeen High in 1983. He was a 1987 Magna Cum Laude graduate from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Accounting degree. Upon graduation he worked for KPMG Peat Marwick in Nashville, TN. In 1988, he returned to Aberdeen and went to work at Monroe Kut, Inc. where he is currently employed.
He married Debbie Riley in 1985 and they have two daughters, Michael Ann and Laura Leigh. Michael Ann is married to Jim Tally, and they have two sons, Grayson and Jase. They live in Saltillo, MS. Laura Leigh is married to Jake Nabors, and they have one daughter, Ryleigh. They live in Kosciusko, MS.
Todd was appointed to serve as a deacon for the Aberdeen church in 1999. On January 25, 2009 he was ordained as an elder for the Aberdeen congregation. Todd also serves as one of the song leaders and has taught various Bible classes through the years. Currently he teaches the Sunday morning senior adult class.
John Allmond
John is a life-long resident of Aberdeen, MS and has attended the Aberdeen Church of Christ since birth. His grandfather, Hugo Allmond, was the preacher during the mid-1950s and his father, Tom Allmond, was an elder for several years until his passing in 2018. He is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Mississippi State University with a degree in business. John and his wife, Emily, have 3 children: Taylor, Syd, and Sawyer. John runs his family printing business and officiates college football.
John is involved and hosts multiple outreach programs in the church. He and his daughter, Taylor, served on a mission trip to Honduras in 2013. John prints all the evangelism material for the church in his family’s printing business including the church bulletin. John was ordained as an elder of the church at Aberdeen in 2018.
Our Minister
Jonathan Hagar
A native of Tennessee, brother Hagar attended Tennessee Tech University earning his Bachelor of Arts in history. He graduated from the Memphis School of Preaching in 2013. He further graduated summa cum laude from Union University in 2015 earning his M.A. in cultural religious history.
Jonathan married Anna Bennett in 2013. They have been happily married ever since with two children, Della and Declan (twins). Anna works as a homemaker and housewife while helping Jonathan in church ministry, teaching youth classes, and organizing church events.
Jonathan has worked in the church ministry since 2008, traveling abroad as a missionary to Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. He served as the Youth Minister at Arlington Church of Christ (TN) from 2009 to 2011. Brother Hagar worked as the Associate Minister at Brakebill Church of Christ (AR) from 2011 to 2013, and as the full-time Pulpit Minister at Cheyenne Church of Christ (OK) from 2013 to 2019. He currently serves as the pulpit minister at the Aberdeen Church of Christ (MS).
Jonathan has preached on several gospel meetings, Christian camps, VBS meetings, and summer series. He has hosted television and radio shows preaching the Word and authored hundreds of online articles, newspaper articles, and several books teaching the Bible.
Our Youth Minister
Matthew Irvin
Matthew is Mississippi born and bred. He grew up in the small Monroe County village of Gattman and graduated from Hatley High School in 2008. He attended Itawamba Community College and worked in retail for over eight years before deciding to pursue full-time ministry.
In December 2019, he graduated from the Northwest Florida School of Biblical Studies with a strong desire and heart for youth ministry. Since then, Matthew has served in several areas of ministry: youth, pulpit, and outreach. He began his work in January 2020 with Nettleton Church of Christ, then served as Youth Minister at Jackson St. Church of Christ in Magnolia, AR, starting in January 2023. In July, 2024, he became the Outreach Minister for Winona Church of Christ. On October 15, 2025, he returned home to Monroe County to serve as the Youth Minister at the Aberdeen Church of Christ.
In addition to ministry work, Matthew serves as a daily subsitute teacher at Hatley Attendance Center.
Matthew is married to his wonderful wife, Keshia Irvin of Smithville. She is his helpmeet and biggest supporter. Keshia works as a Rehabilitation Specialist for AbilityWorks in Tupelo, where she helps individuals with disabilities enter the workforce.
Over the years, Matthew has been active in numerous work camps, VBS meetings, stateside mission efforts, and church camps.
Our History
The seven charter members of the Aberdeen Church of Christ were Joe and Lena Johnson, their daughter, Alice, Clarence and Della Swiney, Lee Swiney, and Zora Mitchell. The Johnsons and Swineys originally lived and worshiped in Hamilton before planting the church in Aberdeen. One Sunday in 1928, the seven were unable to gather in Hamilton as a result of the flooding from the Tombigbee River. They congregation meet that Sunday in the Aberdeen City Hall and considered planting the church in Aberdeen. H.L. Meeks, who had moved to Nettleton from Birmingham in 1925, and B.E. Seal, who was instrumental in planting the church in Columbus, MS in 1921, had visited with the members living in Aberdeen and suggested that they organize a congregation. The seed had been planted and many would come to water the seed. The Seals worshipped in Aberdeen on many occasions in those early years to help the congregation grow.
There were twelve members of the church who met faithfully and patiently for 16 years in the City Hall. The church grew slowly in those years. The Great Depression and World War II made the work in Aberdeen difficult, but in 1933, the church came up with $300 to pay down on a house located on the corner of Columbus and Washington Streets. The house was later torn down to make way for the first floor of a church building, which was constructed in 1954, an auditorium was later added for $20,000. The church continued to meet there until the present building was constructed on Highway 45 North in 1969. The total cost of the new building, lot, and furniture was $100,000. A preacher’s house was built in 1980 for $30,000. Zora Mitchell, a charter member, worshipped with the church in Aberdeen from 1928 until she moved Texas in 1952; and because of her love for the church in Aberdeen, she remembered the congregation in her will with a generous gift of $45,000. This helped make possible the latest addition of a fellowship hall, church library, and additional restrooms for a total cost $190,000. The words of John in Revelation 14:13 were written for Christians like sister Mitchell.
In 1956, Edward Birkholz and Johnny Hickman were appointed elders. The deacons selected at the time were Lee Swiney, Brewster Neal, Andrew Rogers, and James House. On February 16, 1975, Greely Kirkpatrick and Billy Stockton were added as deacons. James House was ordained as an elder on June 4, 1978, and on July 16, 1978, Morgan Stephenson and Randall Henry were ordained as deacons. Tom Allmond, Sam Carpenter, Jimmy Grace, Dwight McComb, James Gardner, and James Stockton were selected as deacons in January 1982. Jeff Phillips and James Irwin were added as deacons in July 26, 1987. In 1992, Tom Allmond, Jeff Phillips, and Billy Stockton were appointed elders. Allen Boyd, Billy Killian, John McArthur, and Terry Walters were selected as deacons. In 1998, Ernie Allmond was appointed a deacon. Todd Wilemon was selected in 1999, and John Allmond in 2004 as deacons. On January 18, 2004, Dwight McComb was ordained an elder. Todd Wilemon was ordained an elder on January 25, 2009.
Because of death, moving, or health reasons, some of the men no longer serve. At the present time, Dwight McComb, Todd Wilemon, and John Allmond serve as elders while Ernie Allmond, John McArthur, David Smith, Chad Cooper, and James Stockton serve as deacons.
A number of preachers have contributed to the work in Aberdeen over the years, and only eternity will reveal all their names. H.L. Meeks, who lived in Tupelo, came down from Nettleton and preached some in the early years. Howard White, who preached in Columbus from 1933-36, also preached at different times for the church. C.W. Brannan, who lived in Columbus from 1944-48, taught some Bible classes here during that time. Ferris Havard, who preached in Amory, Christian Chapel, and West Chapel in the early 1950s, also taught classes here. Hudson Nichols, the first full-time preacher from the church in Amory, taught Bible classes on Thursday nights from 1952-54. Orland Miller, a student at Freed Hardeman College, preached by appointment in the late forties. Other students from Freed Hardeman College preached some during the forties including Richard Cline, who was later moved to Columbus and continued to drive from Columbus on Sundays and Wednesdays to work with the church. The first full-time preacher in Aberdeen was Frank Rogers in 1952. Jack Glasgow followed in 1953, and Aubrey Blue Jr. became the preacher in the new auditorium in 1954-55. Brother Hugo Allmond moved to Aberdeen in 1956 to work with the church but was killed in an automobile accident on September 1, 1957. Later preachers included: Hobart Ashby (1958-61), Paul Sparks (1962), Bill Cline (1963-64), and James Willcutt, who preached for the church just before the arrival of Jerry Jones in February of 1965. Brother Jerry Jones became a strong pillar of the community as he preached for nearly forty years before his death on January 15, 2003. Adam Pearson became the minister after the death of brother Jones and served from 2003 to 2006. On August 27, 2006, Charles Tharp became the pulpit minister at Aberdeen until his retirement in August 2015. Derrick Maranto of Amory, MS became the minister at Aberdeen and served until February 2019. In September 2017, Edwin Fritch, born in Aberdeen and long-time member of the church, was hired as the church’s first official youth minister. Jonathan Hagar was later appointed in May 2019 from Cheyenne, OK to be the pulpit minister at Aberdeen Church of Christ and continues to work with the church at the present time.