Barnett Chapel Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Barnett Chapel Methodist Church in Kerr County. Now, some stories start with a building. This one starts with two people.

It's 1896 in Kerrville, and Jim and Josephine Barnett are doing something that takes a particular kind of determination. They're organizing the first religious services for African Americans in that town. No building yet.

No full-time preacher. Just the work of two people who believed a congregation needed to exist, and so they made sure it did. The congregation that grew out of those early gatherings was named Barnett Chapel, in their honor.

That name has carried ever since. Then came the matter of land. On March 8, 1898, a man named John T.

Page sold a piece of property to four trustees: Josephine Barnett, Levi Butler, Z. T. Wilson, and James Askey.

That same ground, that very same property, is where the congregation worships to this day. Think about that for a moment. In the years before a permanent minister arrived, circuit-riding preachers made the journey from Bandera, from Uvalde, from Fredericksburg, coming in on whatever road would take them, serving the congregation and then riding on again.

That went on until 1902, when the Reverend W. M. Mosby became the first full-time minister Barnett Chapel ever had.

What this congregation built over the generations is a whole life together. Worship and evangelism. Outreach and emergency relief.

Juneteenth and heritage celebrations. Youth programs, music, and mission work. The oldest African American church in Kerr County didn't just survive.

It shaped the community around it, and it is still doing exactly that.

What the marker says

This is the oldest African American church in Kerr county. In 1896, Jim and Josephine Barnett were instrumental in organizing the first religious services for African Americans in Kerrville. The congregation was named Barnett Chapel in their honor. On March 8, 1898, John T. Page sold, to trustees Josephine Barnett, Levi Butler, Z. T. Wilson and James Askey, property which remains the congregation's home today. Circuit-riding ministers came from Bandera, Uvalde and Fredericksburg before the Rev. W.M. Mosby became the first full-time minister in 1902. Through worship, evangelism, outreach, emergency relief, Juneteenth and heritage celebrations, youth programs, music, and mission work, the congregation has made a significant impact on the community. (2017)