Central Baptist Church

Duane's take

Now, I'm going to tell you this one the way the official marker tells it, so buckle in. In 1924, fourteen people walked into the Bradley's Corner Community Center with one purpose in mind: to organize a missionary Baptist church. Fourteen.

You could seat that whole congregation at a couple of long tables, and probably did. The Reverend J.L. Walters stepped up as the church's first pastor, and those fourteen souls began meeting at the community center regular as clockwork.

But a small congregation with big ideas doesn't stay put for long. Not far from Bradley's Corner sat an oil boom town called Thrift, and Thrift was a more central location for the membership. So that's where they headed.

And here's the part I love: when it came time to put up a real building, they didn't have to start from scratch. An Iowa Park Church was constructing a new building of its own, and it donated its used lumber. Now that is the kind of neighborly transaction that keeps a story warm.

Come September of that same year, 1924, Thrift Baptist Church rose up on the east side of Thrift, on the Waggoner property, built from boards that had already held a house of worship together once before. Time moved along, as it does. By 1952, more and more church members had traded rural life for town life, and the congregation made another move, this time into Burkburnett.

The building came with them, and the name changed with the address: Thrift Memorial Baptist Church. Then came 1959 and a new educational building. Then 1961 brought another addition to the campus, and something else too.

The name changed again, to Central Baptist Church, chosen deliberately to reflect the congregation's identity as a city church now. Another addition followed in 1999, the campus growing quietly across the decades. Along the way, the congregation's members founded organizations that reached into the surrounding community.

The Women's Missionary Union took shape during the 1920s. The G.A. Girls' Youth Organization formed in the 1950s.

And in time came a homebound ministry, a youth praise team, and the Sonshiners senior adult group. What started as fourteen people in a community center at Bradley's Corner became something that outlasted the oil boom, outlasted the town of Thrift, and took root in Burkburnett for the long haul. Central Baptist Church stands today as a reminder of that small founding group, and as a spiritual leader in the Burkburnett community.

Not bad for fourteen folks and a pile of donated lumber.

What the marker says

In 1924, fourteen individuals met at the Bradley’s Corner Community Center for the purpose of organizing a missionary Baptist church. The Reverend J.L. Walters served as the church’s first pastor. After a short period of regular meetings at the community center, the small congregation decided to move to the adjacent oil boom town of Thrift, which was a more central location for the church’s membership. In September of that year, Thrift Baptist Church constructed a building from used lumber donated by an Iowa Park Church that was constructing a new building. The new church was built on the east side of Thrift, on the Waggoner property. In 1952, as more and more church members moved into town from rural areas, the congregation moved the church building to Burkburnett, and the church’s name was changed to Thrift Memorial Baptist Church. An educational building was constructed in 1959, and later additions to the church campus were made in 1961 and 1999. In 1961, the church’s name was again changed to Central Baptist Church, to better reflect the church’s new image as a “city” church. Among the many organizations founded by members of the congregation are the Women’s Missionary Union, established during the 1920s, and the “G.A.” Girls’ Youth Organization, which formed in the 1950s. The congregation has served the community through the establishment of a homebound ministry, a youth praise team and the Sonshiners senior adult group. Today, Central Baptist Church serves as a reminder of the small group of individuals who founded Thrift Baptist Church, while continuing as a spiritual leader in the Burkburnett community.