Churches of Christ Heritage Collection

It is great to be onboard at the Rushford Center for Research on the Churches of Christ and the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement. As a lifelong member of the Churches of Christ and a part of the Pepperdine University community for more than a quarter century, I am thrilled to join Pepperdine University Libraries as the librarian and archivist tasked with directing the Rushford Center and the Churches of Christ Heritage Collection.

The Rushford Center houses the most comprehensive and well curated collection of Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement heritage material in the western US. The Churches of Christ Heritage Collection is curated by one of the foremost historians on the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement, Dr. Jerry Rushford, and supports historical research on our tradition from its beginnings on the American frontier through to its present-day churches. The strength of our collection is Restoration Movement heritage materials from the western US, Asia and the Pacific Rim and we are dedicated to the acquisition and preservation of these materials. We are embarking on a new era of description, discovery, and documentation to make these important materials more widely available for research and for classroom use. We are exploring ways to better partner with faculty and students and to invite researchers into the collections.

I am amazed by the lives represented in the Churches of Christ Heritage Collection, by the story contained within the materials, and by what the collections reveal about this movement of God and its place in the American story. Through the collections, the long trail of God's work in history comes clear, and it is a trail that surely outlasts us all. I am thankful to be part of the team. I look forward to preserving this important spiritual and cultural heritage and strengthening the university’s ties to its heritage in the Churches of Christ for years to come. 

Lucy Perrin, MLS

Director and Archivist