First Baptist Church of Bishop

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Forty people walked into Moser Hall in downtown Bishop on January 29, 1911, ready to start something. They weren't alone.

The Rev. J. B.

Bruce had come up from Kingsville, and seven organizers came with him, and together with those forty applicants they sat down and established a missionary Baptist church right there in the heart of town. Now, they needed a pastor, and the congregation called the Rev. B.

F. Goodwin to fill that role, at least on a temporary basis. He held two services a month for a salary of four hundred dollars a year, and when that wasn't quite enough, he picked up carpentry work to make ends meet.

A preacher who could build a sermon and a bookshelf. There's something deeply Texan about that. The town of Bishop was growing, and church membership was expanding right along with it, so in 1912 the Missionary Baptist Church of Bishop borrowed thirteen thousand dollars from the Baptist Home Mission Board to put up its first real building.

That new structure had a stained glass window inside it, a gift from F. Z., Mary, and A. E.

Bishop, given in memory of their parents. Then 1916 arrived, and with it, a hurricane. It was among several natural disasters the people of Bishop had to endure, and this one took Moser Hall, that same ecumenical meeting space on the second floor of a downtown building where the whole congregation had first come together.

Gone in the storm. The congregation pressed on, as congregations do, and eventually outgrew the 1912 building entirely. In 1949 they dedicated a new sanctuary, built just west of the older site.

An east wing followed in 1952, a west wing in 1958. The structure was remodeled in 1970 and again in 1974. Then came an extensive renovation in 1986, all of it done in anticipation of the congregation's Diamond Jubilee celebration.

And the work didn't stop there. The First Baptist Church of Bishop kept building outward into the community. The Iglesia Bautista, constituted as a church in 1996, carries on the tradition of missions.

The Share Center makes clothing and Bible study available to area citizens. From forty applicants in a borrowed hall to a living, working institution, the founders would likely recognize what their church became.

What the marker says

The Rev. J. B. Bruce of Kingsville and seven organizers met with forty applicants on January 29, 1911, in Moser Hall in downtown Bishop to establish a missionary Baptist church. The congregation called the Rev. B. F. Goodwin as a temporary pastor. He held two services a month for a salary of $400 per year, supplementing his income with carpentry work. The Missionary Baptist Church of Bishop borrowed $13,000 from the Baptist Home Mission Board in 1912 for its first building as the town grew and church membership expanded rapidly. The new structure featured a stained glass window given by F. Z., Mary and A. E. Bishop in memory of their parents. The 1916 hurricane was among several natural disasters endured by the people of Bishop and the congregants of the Baptist church. Moser Hall, an ecumenical meeting space located on the second floor of a downtown building, was destroyed in that storm. In time the congregation outgrew its 1912 facility and dedicated a new sanctuary just west of the older site in 1949. An east wing was added in 1952 and a west wing in 1958. The structure was remodeled in 1970 and 1974, and extensively renovated in 1986 in anticipation of the congregation's Diamond Jubilee celebration. The First Baptist Church of Bishop continues in the traditions of its founders through missions such as the Iglesia Bautista, constituted as a church in 1996; community service such as the Share Center, where clothing and Bible study are made available to area citizens; worship; and religious education. (2000)