DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — and it's a story worth tellin'. Evangelist David Pennington arrived in San Antonio in 1883 and did something that would echo for over a century: he organized a Christian, Disciples of Christ, congregation in a city that was already changin' fast. San Antonio had gotten its railroad in 1877, and growth was pouring in from every direction.
Pennington held worship services wherever he could borrow space — a different facility, then another — until finally, in 1884, a sanctuary went up right here at this site. That's how Central Christian Church put down its roots. It wasn't fancy, but it was theirs.
Then in 1903, under the leadership of the Reverend Homer Wilson, the congregation built larger church facilities to hold the people who kept coming through the doors. The city was growing, and the church was growing with it. The building dedicated in 1950, when Dr.
Floyd Allen Bash was Minister, is the one standing today. But here's where the story gets bigger than one building. During the pastorate of the Reverend Hugh McClelland, Central Christian Church led in the establishment of the Mexican Christian Institute — known now as Inman Christian Center — to minister to refugees fleeing from the revolution in Mexico, and to others in the southwest section of the city.
And the congregation didn't stop there. They also led in organizing a Disciples of Christ Church specifically for Spanish-speaking people in San Antonio. A church that started in borrowed rooms was now building institutions for an entire community.
And then there are the firsts. In 1924, Central Christian became the first church in San Antonio to broadcast worship services over radio. Think about that — 1924, voices of faith crackling out across the airwaves to folks who couldn't be in those pews.
Thirty years later, in 1954, they did it again — first church in the city to put services on television. Over a hundred years of service and leadership to San Antonio, all of it tracin' back to one evangelist who showed up in 1883 with a congregation to build and nowhere yet to build it.
What the marker says
Evangelist David Pennington came to San Antonio in 1883 and organized this Christian (Disciples of Christ) congregation. He held worship services in a variety of borrowed facilties until a sancturary was constructed at this site in 1884. Central Christian Church was established during a period of great growth in San Antonio due to the coming of the railroad in 1877, and church membership grew as well. Larger church facilities were built in 1903 under the leadership of The Rev. Homer Wilson. The current building was dedicatd in 1950, when Dr. Floyd Allen Bash was Minister. During the Pastorate of the Rev. Hugh McClelland Central Christian Church led in the establishment of the Mexican Christian Institute ( now Inman Christian Center) to Minister to refugees fleeing from the revolution in Mexico and to others in the southwest section of the city. The congregation also led in organizing a Disciples of Christ Church for Spanish-speaking people in San Antonio. Central Christian was the first church in the city to broadcast worship services over radio (1924) and the first to air services on television (1954). For over 100 years, Central Christian Church has provided significant service and leadership to San Antonio.