First Baptist Church of Copperas Cove

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way back in 1885, a man named Reverend J. F.

Baker gathered thirteen charter members together in Copperas Cove, and right there, the First Baptist Church was born. Now, they didn't have a grand building, no steeple catching the afternoon light. They met in a community schoolhouse.

Thirteen people and a reverend, making do with what they had. There's something about that image that stays with you. The congregation grew, as congregations do, and by 1890 they had their first sanctuary.

Here's where the story gets a little interesting. The Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railway Company provided a plot of land for the price of one dollar. One dollar.

The members took that plot and built their first true church on it. Then came 1908, and the congregation had grown enough that a second sanctuary was needed. That second building, the one they raised up in 1908, is still standing today, still in use for Sunday School classes.

Think about that. A building that old, still doing what it was built to do. Over the years, this congregation has sent out missionaries, ministers, and full-time Christian service professionals, and it keeps right on providing ministries to the community of Copperas Cove.

Started with thirteen people and a schoolhouse. Some things, when they take root, just don't let go.

What the marker says

Organized in 1885 by the Reverend J. F. Baker and thirteen charter members, this congregation first met in a community schoolhouse. The Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railway Company provided a plot of land for one dollar on which the members built their first sanctuary in 1890. The second sanctuary, built in 1908 to serve the growing congregation, is still in existence and used for Sunday School classes. The churches has produced several missionaries, ministers, and full-time Christian service professionals as it continues to provide important ministries to the community.