Before the turn of the century, around 1876, a group of religious individuals gathered at Mitchell Elementary School to establish Mitchell Methodist Church, later renamed Lonsdale A.M.E. Zion Church. Finally named Lomax Temple African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in honor of Bishop J. H. Lomax (1876-1908), a Stalwart Giant in Zion Methodism.
After Mitchell Elementary School, the church rented a house for its congregation until they could afford to buy their own. The church purchased half an acre of land for twenty dollars ($20) from Thomas Fitzgerald and his wife on November 3, 1886. It was located several hundred feet away from the Gap Road hill.
In 1914, the church’s vision had become a reality. A beautiful House of God was built with great sacrifice and a genuine labor of love for God. Mr. James Blanton, Sr. donated most of the lumber from his farm to build the church. Some of the tree poles from his farm were used as the floor support columns, but later, they were replaced. Finally, Lomax Temple A.M.E. Zion Church was built on the land purchased by the Trustees of the A.M.E. Zion Church of Knox County.
Many families were staunch pillars of its existence in this community. The following names on the current cornerstone are Rev. R. M. Crawford, Sisters Mollie Sterling, Malinda Hartman, Emma Smith, Ola Riggins, and Lizzie Stephens. In 1914, the Board of Trustees members were Brothers W. B. Jefferies, Joe Young, Russell Wright, Wilson Steele, Will Davis, Shed Smith, Amy Sterling, Frank Pearce, and J. L. Johnson.
In the 1940’s, Rev. Jackson A. Brown was serving as Pastor. It was during his tenure that the church was renovated at a cost of almost ten thousand dollars ($10,000). Membership increased, and the church budget increased from two thousand ($2,000) to six thousand ($6,000). The church acquired its first parsonage, paying one-half the costs in cash. During this period, the church’s greatest blessing was the ordination of Rev. Melvin Smith, a product of Lonsdale and Lomax Temple. Also, Rev. Brown is credited with initiating the concept of the Union of Churches, which brought together many of the churches in the Lonsdale Community to worship and fellowship.
Records indicate that Lomax Temple is one of Knoxville, Tennessee's oldest active A.M.E. Zion Churches. We honor those pastors who served in the history of Lomax Temple A.M.E. Zion Church:
(All names may not appear in order of service, and some are unknown)
| Rev. R. M. Crawford | Rev. C. F. Felton | Rev. C. C. Hunter |
| Rev. R. H. Armstrong | Rev. J. H. Lee | Rev. Ed Whitley |
| Rev. Claude Spurgeon | Rev. C. Caruthers | Rev. Jackson A. Brown |
| Presiding Elder A. F. Johnson | Rev. Elizabeth Harris | Rev. Thurston |
| Rev. James Chandler | Rev. E. T. Carter | Rev. J. R. Cullom |
| Rev. Willie Hardin | Presiding Elder Marcus Walker, Sr. | Rev. Joel Walker |
| Rev. Eleazar Merriweather | Rev. Edward L. Hill, III | Rev. David M. Walker |
| Rev. Roxianne S. Sherles | Rev. Ivan D. (Marc) Green – Present |
In 1992, Lomax Temple was having structural problems in the church building located on Gap Road. The City of Knoxville deemed the building condemned, and the congregation moved into Sam E. Hill School, located in the Lonsdale Community on Delaware Avenue. The membership began a building project soon after led by Rev. Merriweather, along with Brother Douglas Kitchen serving as Project Chairperson.
The Board of Trustees during this time were Sister Monica Reed (Chairperson), Brother Douglas Kitchen (Vice Chairperson), Brother Douglas Blair (Treasurer), Sister Annie S. Bailey (Secretary), Brother James Turner, Brother John Reynolds, Brother Charles Birden, Sister Christine Maddox, and Sister Sandra Maddox Gurley. The present edifice was built, and the congregation moved in October 1995. Even though there were loose ends to tie up, we moved in and had our dedication service in our beautiful edifice.
In 2002, Rev. David M. Walker came to Lomax Temple with a vision and zeal for Kingdom Building; Lomax was taken to the next level in ministry. The church focused on three levels of growth: Spiritual Foundation, Community Based Ministry, and Excellence in Worship.
Rev. Roxianne Sherles was appointed by Bishop Roy A. Holmes as Pastor of Lomax Temple in January 2009. She came to Lomax with her sleeves rolled up to work for God and the church. She was able to get the church’s financial obligations current, establishing a financial system for tracking and accountability to manage God’s gifts for the building of God’s Kingdom. With God’s guidance, she reorganized the church to include a Leadership Team that focused on developing ministries to involve working and serving with nonprofit organizations in the Knoxville Community. She also focused on the church's spiritual growth while expanding several ministries, including the Men and Women’s Ministries. The Youth Ministry was launched in a new direction, and a Unified Choir was created to include the Adult, Men, and Youth Choirs.
Rev. Sherles left a long-lasting legacy that prepared Lomax Temple for the 21st Century. She led the Financial Team in refinancing the church mortgage loan, a new roof, upgraded bathrooms, a computer system, a sound system, and many other enhancements for Kingdom Building and preparation to better serve the members of Lomax Temple, the Lonsdale, and Knoxville Community.
The 2014 - 2015 Conference Year began with our new pastor, Rev. Ivan D. (Marc) Green; his wife Stephanie, and their children, Nathan and Andrew. Rev. Marc Green came to Lomax Temple ready to make a difference and Godly presence in the Lonsdale Community. We are eagerly anticipating what God is going to do through him.