Bert Baker and his wife, Pearl, moved to Madison County in 1945 from eastern Kentucky. They made their home just south of a little community called Kingston, located between Richmond and Berea. Brother Baker was a Gospel preacher and preached wherever he had opportunity to do so. In 1945 he held a meeting in a school house near Berea...likely in a place known as 'Bobtown', just east of Berea. He and his family also conducted services in Baker's home.

In the fall of 1949 Paul Sampson and his wife, Maxine, and their four daughters, Nancy, Paula, Ruth Ann and Marcia, moved to Berea from Williamsburg, Kentucky. The Sampsons could not locate a church of Christ in Madison County, but this did not deter this family. They met in homes and drove to Lancaster to worship with the Lancaster church of Christ in Garrard County.

In February of 1951, Arthur Pigman, Sr. and his wife, Edna, moved to Madison County, along with their three children: Betty, Arthur and Donnie. They came from Lee County and had met Bert Baker when he had preached in a meeting in that county. The Pigmans met in the home of Bert Baker to worship and were soon joined by the Dewey Bailey family.

On April 1, 1951 a group of Christians met on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University. Brother Adron Doran was the preacher on this occasion. Those in Southern Madison County (Berea) met with this group in an effort to begin the church in Richmond.

On the following Sunday, April 8, 1951, the church met in a small room in the Glyndon Hotel at 246 West Main Street. Among those who started meeting with this congregation was the John Barton family. John and Lela Barton would later donate land for the church in Berea. The church in Richmond soon outgrew the hotel room and were able to secure the National Guard Armory for their meeting place.

In 1953 several families who were traveling to Richmond from Berea decided to start the church in Berea. Prior to the official beginning of the church in Berea, several families met in various places in and around Berea. For the first few months of this new congregation, these brethren met with Richmond on Sunday morning and then with the new congregation in Berea on Sunday afternoon. The meeting place for the new congregation of the Berea church of Christ was in the basement of John and Lela Barton's home, at the corner of John and Holly Streets. The first service was held in May of 1953. The names of those present for that service were: Bert and Pearl Baker, Paul and Maxine Sampson and their four daughters (Nancy, Paula, Ruth Ann and Marcia), John and Lela Barton (Ann), Marie Hart, Hubert and Sue Hardy, Arthur and Edna Pigman and their three children (Betty, Arthur and Donnie), and two students from Berea College: Evelyn Bates and Ruth Roberts. Bert Baker did the preaching and Hubert Hardy led the singing. John Barton became the regular song leader because brother Hardy lived in Estill County and could not attend all the services. Some song books, benches and communion trays were donated by the Number One church of Christ in Gallatin, Tennessee. This community was called 'Number One' because it was the first stop of the street car that ran from Gallatin to Nashville, Tennessee. J. B. Gaither was the preacher for the Number One church of Christ and held several meetings for the Berea church of Christ.

As the church out-grew the basement in the Barton's home, it is unclear as to just where the church met. However, it appears that they met in the old Colonial Hotel for awhile and then rented the armory building, located at the corner of North Broadway and Valley Street. The armory building still stands today, but the Colonial Hotel has been replaced by businesses. When there was a baptism, the church made their way to the edge of town, to Silver Creek, for the immersion. This location is just south of the bridge over Silver Creek, located on 1016, east of the city. Later, the church baptized in the baptistery at the Lancaster church of Christ.

As the church grew, others came to worship and help the church in her growth during the early days: Sheridan and Maggie Bowman, William and Beatrice Combs, Elvin and Bette Combs and family, Robert Crutcher and family, Esco and Ann Baker and daughter, Patsy, Amel and Ruby Evans and family.

On August 17, 1953 John and Lela Barton deeded a one-half acre lot to the church for $1.00. This lot joined Barton's home, where the church had met in its beginning in May. This was a good location, being just one-half block off Chestnut Street, which is the main street through Berea. The greatest drawback to this location was a railroad track that ran within a few feet of the property. The church erected the basement part of the building in 1954, with plans to build an auditorium above the basement at a later date.

The church met in the basement for a few years and conducted Bible classes in the four classrooms, joining a larger room for the worship assembly. In 1957 the congregation added the auditorium and the church continued to grow.

Some of the preachers who came, planted and watered, were: Bert Baker, Gene Overton, Carson Burroughs, Jon Gary Williams, Allen Phy, W. E. Albright, Charles E. Moore, Jack Hall, Bill Meade, Jim Stillwagoner, Rudy Senn, Bill Harris, and Dean Patterson. Charles E. Moore returned to Berea in December of 1997, to serve again as the minister of the Berea church of Christ, at the request of the congregation. Moore is the only minister to have served the Berea congregation on two different occasions.

After Dean Patterson resigned in early 1997, the church was left without a preacher. Mike Johnson, preacher for the Richmond church of Christ, filled the pulpit on Sunday mornings for several months. Brother Johnson would preach earlier at the Richmond congregation and then drive to Berea to preach for them, just minutes after having preached in Richmond. There were other area preachers who assisted the church in presenting lessons, while the congregation searched for a preacher who was willing to move to Berea.