First Baptist Church of Bastrop

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Baptist Church of Bastrop. Pull up a chair, because this one starts small, grows slow, weathers a fire and a war, and ends up the biggest Baptist congregation in the whole county. That's a story worth telling right.

It starts on August 3, 1850. Elder G. G.

Baggerly, pastor over at the First Baptist Church of Austin, rides into Bastrop and organizes what they're calling the Missionary Baptist Church of Bastrop. Eleven members. Eleven.

You could seat the whole congregation at two dinner tables and still have room for pie. But those eleven folks don't waste any time. Just over a month later, September 5, 1850, the brand-new church sends its first messengers all the way to Seguin for the Colorado Baptist Association's fourth annual session.

First month of existence, and they're already showing up on the regional stage. That tells you something about the spirit of the thing. Membership climbs.

By 1853, thirty-four souls are calling this congregation home, and the church is worshipping in a two-story frame structure at the corner of Pecan and Chestnut streets, sharing that building with two other organizations. Now, they were only meeting once a month, which, if you've ever tried to hold a community together, you know makes the math harder. And then the Civil War and Reconstruction arrived, and membership suffered through those difficult years the way a lot of things in Texas suffered.

Hard times have a way of thinning a congregation. And then, 1863, the building burns. The whole two-story frame structure at Pecan and Chestnut, gone.

Just like that. Now here's where the story turns, because a church is not a building. It's the people who keep showing up.

And by the 1880s, the Baptist church in Bastrop is enjoying a resurgence. Membership is growing again, and they build a new structure on Pecan Street, right near the site of that 1853 building. Same street, new chapter.

The congregation keeps prospering through the following decades, and in 1909 the name changes. Missionary Baptist Church of Bastrop becomes the First Baptist Church of Bastrop. Twenty years after that, someone donates a lot on the corner of Water and Farm streets for a new building.

The congregation accepts it, starts construction, and finishes that building during the years of the Great Depression. Think about that timing. The whole country is on its knees financially, and this church is completing a new building.

That's a particular kind of determination. Growth keeps coming. More property, larger facilities, decade after decade.

And by the end of the twentieth century, the First Baptist Church of Bastrop has become the largest Baptist congregation in Bastrop County. From that first gathering of eleven members, this church was organized around a purpose: supporting local, state, and foreign missionary endeavors. And the marker tells us it continues to do exactly that, playing a vital part in mission work and serving the community in a variety of ministries.

Eleven members to the largest Baptist congregation in the county. August 3, 1850 to the end of the twentieth century. Same street, same mission, same stubborn refusal to quit.

Some things in Texas are built to last.

What the marker says

On August 3, 1850, Elder G. G. Baggerly, pastor at the First Baptist Church of Austin, organized the Missionary Baptist Church of Bastrop with eleven members. On September 5, 1850, the new church sent its first messengers to the Colorado Baptist Association's fourth annual session in Seguin. Membership grew to 34 by 1853, and the church, in cooperation with two other organizations, shared a two-story frame structure at the corner of Pecan and Chestnut streets. The congregation met only once a month, and membership suffered during the difficult years of the Civil War and Reconstruction. The building was destroyed by fire in 1863. By the 1880s, the Baptist church was enjoying a resurgence in membership and built a new structure on Pecan Street near the site of the 1853 building. The congregation continued to prosper in the following decades, and in 1909 was renamed First Baptist Church of Bastrop. Twenty years later, a lot on the corner of Water and Farm streets was donated to the congregation for a new building, which was completed during the years of the Great Depression. Continued growth resulted in acquisition of additional property and construction of larger facilities. By the end of the 20th century, it had become the largest Baptist congregation in Bastrop County. From its beginning, the First Baptist Church of Bastrop was organized to support local, state and foreign missionary endeavors. It continues to play a vital part in mission work and to serve the community in a variety of ministries. (2001)