El Bethel Missionary Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about El Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, out in Smith County, Texas. Now, local tradition holds that a man by the name of Rev. J.D.

James arrived in this area circa 1840. He didn't come light. He brought his family, his household goods, and about three hundred slaves.

That is the weight this story carries from its very first line, and we are not going to let you forget it. The community that grew up around his plantation became known as Jamestown. James led a local church where white residents worshiped in the morning, and black slaves worshiped later in the day.

They started under a brush arbor, which is about as humble a beginning as a congregation can have, just open sky and gathered people. That congregation became known as El Bethel, and from it, several other area congregations formed, including two Missionary Baptist churches also called El Bethel. The first of those two was formed following the Civil War.

And the members of El Bethel Missionary Baptist Church No. 1, they didn't wait long to put down roots. They built their first sanctuary right at this site, circa 1872. Now, the church's first ministers were white.

But early African American pastors stepped forward and shaped what this place would become. The marker names them, and they deserve to be named: the Revs. Jessie Rowe, Reuben Wright, Dr.

S.S. Stephens, S.L. Thomas, A.H.

Whitfield, T.W. Hickman, and R.B. Brantley.

Each one of them a thread in this congregation's fabric. The church kept growin. New facilities, new programs.

Auxiliary groups took root and gave the community structure: the Usher Board, the Benevolent Fund, the Junior and Senior Choirs, the Ruth Circle, and Branch Sunday at Douglas School. People finding ways to hold each other up, week after week. But Jamestown itself, the town that started all this, began to decline in the 1870s.

The I and GN Railroad went through nearby Overton instead of through here, and that kind of thing has a way of pulling a community's center of gravity somewhere else. Then in the 1940s, during World War II, numerous area residents left to serve in wartime industries and the Armed Forces. The population thinned again.

Through all of it, the church held. Many dedicated deacons and other staff strengthened it over the years. The congregation has inspired many of its own members to become ministers.

And it continues, right now, to support area residents in worship and services. A brush arbor in 1840 to a living church still standing in Smith County. That is the whole long arc of El Bethel Missionary Baptist Church No. 1, and it is something worth pullin over for.

What the marker says

Local tradition holds that the Rev. J.D. James arrived in this area circa 1840, bringing with him his family, household goods and about 300 slaves. The community that grew around his plantation became known as Jamestown. James led a local church where white residents worshiped in the morning and black slaves worshiped later in the day. Initially meeting under a brush arbor, the congregation became known as El Bethel, and from it several other area congregations formed, including two Missionary Baptist churches also called El Bethel. The first of these was formed following the Civil War. Members of El Bethel Missionary Baptist Church No. 1 built their first sanctuary at this site circa 1872. Although its first ministers were white, early African American pastors included the Revs. Jessie Rowe, Reuben Wright, Dr. S.S. Stephens, S.L. Thomas, A.H. Whitfield, T.W. Hickman and R.B. Brantley. The church continued to grow, building new facilities and adding new programs over the years. Auxiliary groups have included the Usher Board, Benevolent Fund, Junior and Senior Choirs, Ruth Circle and Branch Sunday at Douglas School. The Jamestown population began to decline in the 1870s when the I&GN Railroad went through nearby Overton. In the 1940s, during World War II, numerous area residents left to serve in wartime industries and the Armed Forces. Over the years, many dedicated deacons and other staff have strengthened the church, which has inspired many members to become ministers and continues to support area residents in worship and services. (2005)