First Baptist Church of Baird

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Callahan County, in the new town of Baird, somebody had to go first. And in 1881, nine people decided that somebody was going to be them.

Nine charter members. That's all it took to organize the First Baptist Church of Baird, the very first Baptist church founded in that brand-new town. Now, you don't build a building on day one.

You make do. Elder G. P.

Johnson led worship services to get things going, and for a few years the congregation gathered in the town schoolhouse. There's something fitting about that, a community learning and a community praying under the same roof. Then came the Rev.

L. S. Knight, called as the first full-time pastor, and things started to take on a more permanent shape.

By 1889, a church building had been completed right here at this site. Not borrowed space anymore. Their own ground, their own walls.

And then in 1892, the first parsonage went up beside it. From nine people meeting in a schoolhouse to a church and a home for their pastor, all inside of about a decade. The congregation kept growing, and it kept giving back.

Several ministers came out of that membership over the years, people who had sat in those pews and gone on to lead congregations of their own. The church stayed active in mission work, and by every measure remained a vital part of community life in Baird. Nine charter members planted something in 1881.

Turns out, they planted it deep.

What the marker says

Organized in 1881 with nine charter members, this was the first Baptist Church founded in the new town of Baird. Elder G. P. Johnson led worship services until the Rev. L. S. Knight was called as the first full-time pastor. After meeting in the town schoolhouse for a few years, a church building was completed at this site in 1889, and the first parsonage was built in 1892. The congregation continued to grow and produced several ministers from its membership. Active in mission work, the church has been a vital part of community life in Baird. (1983)