Carroll Springs Methodist Church

Duane's take

Now, I'm tellin' this one straight from the official marker, the way Henderson County wants it remembered. Pull up a log and listen close, because this congregation has been movin' longer than most families have been keepin' records. Carroll Springs Methodist Church.

Henderson County, Texas. And the road to that little church is a winding one. It starts, like so many things out here, in somebody's living room.

The earliest worship services in Carroll Springs were held in private homes, with the Reverend William D. Sansom occasionally leading them. No building, no steeple, just neighbors gathered together in whatever space they had.

That's a particular kind of faith, right there. The kind that doesn't wait on a building to get started. Then, in 1859, a Methodist church was organized at the county line, and the worshipers made their way there.

Six years later, in 1865, the church moved again, this time to New Hope, with the Reverend Joseph Franklin Lambright serving as pastor. Now, keep that name in your mind, because the Lambrights are not done with this story. Not by a long stretch.

The congregation moved once more, to Coolsprings in 1872, and Reverend Lambright stayed right with them. Same pastor, new town. He must have packed light and believed heavy.

Then came 1883. The Methodist congregation relocated to Carroll Springs, and this time, they stayed. No more moving.

The roots went down. Forty charter members started that chapter, and they were served by J. F.

Lambright as pastor until his resignation in 1891. Now here's the part that'll warm you right down to your boots. When Lambright stepped away, the congregation didn't lose the Lambright name entirely.

His son, the Reverend J. M. M.

Lambright, followed him into the pulpit. The Reverend R. E.

Gibbs has also served among the pastors of this church. But there is one tradition at Carroll Springs that deserves its own moment of quiet reverence. Every year, beginning the first Sunday in August, the church holds a revival under the brush arbor.

Not a gymnasium, not a fellowship hall. A brush arbor. Open sky above, the smell of summer, voices carrying out into the Henderson County air.

That tradition has held. And the descendants of many of those original forty charter members, they are still there, still worshiping in the same place their people chose back in 1883. Some stories end with a marker on the side of the road.

This one ends with the same families, still showing up, first Sunday in August, under the brush arbor, just like always.

What the marker says

This congregation traces its history through several Henderson County Methodist churches. Earliest worship services in Carroll Springs were held in private homes, with the Rev. William D. Sansom occasionally leading them. Worshipers went to county line after a Methodist church was organized there in 1859. The church was moved to New Hope in 1865 with the Rev. Joseph Franklin Lambright as pastor. He continued as the minister when the congregation moved to Coolsprings in 1872. In 1883, the Methodist congregation relocated to Carroll Springs, where it has remained since that time. The forty charter members were served by J. F. Lambright until his resignation in 1891. Other pastors have included his son, the Rev. J. M. M. Lambright, and the Rev. R. E. Gibbs. Carroll Springs Methodist Church traditionally has held a revival under the brush arbor beginning the first Sunday in August. An important part of this rural community, the church continues to reflect the ideals and traditions of its founders. Descendants of many of the charter members still worship here.