First Baptist Church of Brownfield

Duane's take

Here's the story as the official marker tells it, and I'll let Duane do the honors. Way out on the South Plains, before Brownfield had much of anything to call its own, the earliest settlers still wanted to gather and worship. And so they did, in a local schoolhouse, led by circuit riding preachers who covered more ground in a week than most folks covered in a month.

That was the way of it on the frontier, and nobody complained. Then came April 1, 1906. Now, that date might make you raise an eyebrow, but there was nothing foolish about what happened that day.

Several area residents came together and formed a Baptist church. Just like that, a congregation was born. The Reverend M.D.

Williams stepped up as the first pastor, and the people had themselves a spiritual home. For a few years they made do, but by 1910 the church was ready to put down something permanent. They built their first sanctuary in the 300 block of West Hill Street, and here is the part worth savoring.

The Woman's Missionary Society went out and raised the funds for the lumber. Every plank, every beam, paid for by their effort. Then the men of the congregation took that lumber and put the building up with their own hands.

That is a church built twice, once by the women who funded it and once by the men who raised it. They kept addin' on as the years went by and the congregation grew, until 1923, when they set their sights on something bigger and began planning a new house of worship at the present site. From a schoolhouse and a circuit rider to a sanctuary built board by board, and then onward still.

The marker tells us the congregation has kept right on growing, sponsoring projects both locally and worldwide. Some things that start small just refuse to stay that way.

What the marker says

Circuit riding preachers led early Brownfield settlers in religious services at a local schoolhouse. On April 1, 1906, several area residents formed a Baptist church. The Rev. M.D. Williams became the congregation's first pastor. The church built its first sanctuary in 1910 in the 300 block of West Hill Street. The Woman's Missionary Society raised funds for the lumber, and the men constructed the building. Facilities were added as needed until 1923, when the church began plans for a new house of worship at the present site. The mission-minded congregation and its facilities have continued to grow, sponsoring projects locally and worldwide. (2004)