Eden Church of Christ

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Eden Church of Christ, out there in Concho County. Now settle in, because this one's got a long memory. It goes all the way back to 1903, when a group of area residents started gathering for worship services in the Eden schoolhouse.

No building of their own, just a schoolhouse and a shared faith. Three years on, a few new families moved into the area, and they were welcomed right into the fold of that existing Church of Christ group. The congregation kept growing, kept meeting, until 1910, when a second schoolhouse was erected and the congregation moved their services to the new structure.

Things were building, you might say, slowly but with intention. Then in 1915, trustees purchased land on Broadway Street and erected the Broadway Church of Christ. They had their own home at last.

But here's where the story takes a turn. That small group that had joined back in 1903, they continued on with the Broadway congregation for a good while, right up until 1925, when they went and formed a second congregation of their own, the Church of Christ at Main and Bryan. Two congregations now, growing in separate directions under the same wide Texas sky.

Broadway erected a new building in 1939, then came back and added an education wing and a basement in 1947. Over at Main and Bryan, that congregation had grown as well, adding a baptistry and other facilities to their site. Both of them building, both of them thriving, both of them keeping their own programs through the whole of the twentieth century.

And then, by 1997, something quietly remarkable happened. Each congregation had come down to about twenty-five members. Not struggling exactly, but leaning.

So they did what the founders back in that 1903 schoolhouse might have smiled at. They sat down together to talk about reunification. They debated the merits, they rotated services through the summer of 1997, and then in September of that year they came together as one congregation in the Main and Bryan facility.

The Eden Church of Christ, reunited, carrying the traditions of both those long roads forward. And today that congregation stays active in international and local mission work and community service. Two branches, one root, and nearly a century of Texas Sunday mornings between them.

What the marker says

In 1903 a group of area residents began meeting for worship services in the Eden schoolhouse. Three years later, a few new families moved into the area and they were welcomed to the services of the existing Church of Christ group. A second schoolhouse was erected in 1910 and the congregation moved their services to the new structure. In 1915, trustees purchased land on Broadway Street and erected the Broadway Church of Christ. The small group that had joined the church in 1903 continued to meet with the Broadway congregation until 1925 when they formed a second congregation, the Church of Christ at Main and Bryan. Broadway Church of Christ erected a new building in 1939, adding an education wing and basement in 1947. By this time, the Main and Bryan congregation also had grown, adding a baptistry and other facilities to their site. The two congregations continued individual programs throughout the 20th century. By 1997 there were only about twenty-five members in each congregation, and they met together to discuss reunification. They debated the merits of the change and rotated services during the summer of 1997, and in September of that year they met as one congregation in the Main and Bryan facility. Now reunited as the Eden Church of Christ, the two historic churches continue to worship in the traditions of their founders. Eden Church of Christ is active in international and local mission work and community service. (2000)