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Prior to 1898 Seventh-day Adventists were hardly known in Chattanooga. But in Graysville, Tennessee, a little town about 27 miles north of the C & S Railroad, a small body of Sabbath keepers were meeting regularly. These believers were actually pioneering both the Southern Missionary College and the Chattanooga Church. Many of them suffered at the hands of the law for their work on Sunday, but their Missionary zeal could not be stopped and other interests were discovered around Chattanooga. J.W. Franklin and several co-workers finally gathered together enough members to have regular services in the homes of the believers.
By 1903 the church was out-growing the space provided by the members in their homes, so they rented an old empty store building on East Ninth Street near the spot where the Volunteer building now stands. It wasn't until December 21, 1907 under the leadership of Elder J. F. Poque, then president of the Georgia Cumberland Conference of S. D. A. that the twenty-six charter members organized the first Chattanooga Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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