Abbott Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of the official marker for Abbott Baptist Church, as the Texas Historical Commission recorded it. Now, every congregation worth its hymnal has a founding story, and this one starts not in Abbott at all, but two miles south of where that marker stands. The year was 1876.

Thirteen founding members came together and organized what they called the Liberty Grove Baptist Church. They met in the Liberty Grove Schoolhouse, a modest enough setting, but those thirteen souls were planting something they intended to last. And last it did.

Three years on, in 1879, the congregation got a new name. Liberty Grove Baptist became the Abbott Baptist Church. Then in 1885, the church made the move to Abbott itself.

Now, you might think a church named Abbott Baptist would roll right into a building of its own the moment it hit town. Not quite. The congregation held services in the Methodist Church while they found their footing.

Seven years they worshipped as guests of their Methodist neighbors, and you've got to appreciate that kind of hospitality. Then in 1892, a Baptist sanctuary was finally erected, and the congregation had a roof to call its own. That wasn't the end of the building.

Membership kept growin, and in 1923 the facilities got their first addition. Then again in 1949, they expanded once more. By the time this marker was recorded in 1996, the Abbott Baptist Church had been an integral part of that Hill County community for more than a hundred and twenty years.

Active community outreach, foreign missionary programs, roots going back to thirteen determined people and a schoolhouse two miles down the road. Thirteen members in 1876. That's all it took to start something that just kept going.

What the marker says

Organized in 1876 as the Liberty Grove Baptist Church by 13 founding members, this congregation met in the Liberty Grove Schoolhouse 2 miles south of here. Renamed the Abbott Baptist Church in 1879, the church moved to Abbott in 1885. Services were held in the Methodist Church until 1892 when a Baptist Sanctuary was erected. Additions to the facilities were made in 1923 and in 1949 as the membership grew. The church has maintained active community outreach and foreign missionary programs, and has been an integral part of the community for more than 120 years. (1996)