DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. On August 3, 1878, two men — W.B. Bowen and P.
O'Keiffe — organized a congregation out in Crawford, McLennan County, with about a dozen original members. Now a dozen people might not sound like much, but that's how a lot of the great ones started. O'Keiffe stepped up as the first pastor, and A.F.
Damon and Phil Noland took on the role of first deacons. In those early years, the church didn't have a building to call its own — they met in the Crawford schoolhouse, the way frontier congregations often did, making do with what was there. Then came Brother J.M.
Wright, who pastored here not once but twice in the 1800s, and it was Wright who led the church into the Leon River Baptist Association, giving this little congregation a wider community to stand with. And they needed that community, because the truth is, membership struggled in those first years. Struggled — until 1884, when a revival swept through and changed the numbers in a hurry.
Forty-five baptisms. Twenty-three additions by letter. The church went from wherever it was to 80 members, and that is what a revival looks like on the books.
The congregation moved through associations over time, transferring to the McGregor Baptist Association before joining the Waco Baptist Association in 1890 — and that membership has held for more than a century now. In 1893, Brother J.M.B. Gresham became pastor, and he got to work on something the church had never had before: its own meetinghouse, built right here at 5th Street and Avenue D.
Gresham was a busy man — he was also pastoring out in the rural communities of Coryell, Patton, and Stampede at the same time. The building that went up on this site was one room, and when you needed classrooms, you hung curtains. Simple as that.
It served the purpose. Years passed, the congregation grew, and in 1923 Brother M. Hale oversaw construction of a new church building — one that would serve the congregation for more than forty years.
Along the way, groups formed to carry the work outward into the community: the Baptist Young People's Union, the Women's Auxiliary, a Girls' Auxiliary, all organizing over the years to extend the church's reach. Now, here's where the story gets a little larger than Crawford. Baylor University sits not far away, and that proximity has meant something to this church for a long time.
Back in the 1890s, a Baylor student named George W. Truett conducted a revival right here — that same George W. Truett.
Josiah B. Tidwell served the church in 1913. And in the 1950s, a formal program began to train Baylor's divinity students here, making this congregation part of the education of preachers.
From nearly the beginning of Crawford's history, this church has been both a spiritual anchor and a community leader — and that, right there, is a long time to be holding steady.
What the marker says
W.B. Bowen and P. O’Keiffe organized this congregation on August 3, 1878, with about a dozen original members. O’Keiffe served as the first pastor and A.F. Damon and Phil Noland were the first deacons. The church met in the Crawford schoolhouse in its early years. Brother J.M. Wright, who pastored here for two different terms in the 1800s, led the church to join the Leon River Baptist Association. The congregation struggled with membership in its first years, but in 1884 a revival resulted in 45 baptisms and 23 additions by letter to increase the church to 80 members. After transferring to the McGregor Baptist Association, First Baptist Church of Crawford joined the Waco Baptist Association in 1890, where it has been a member for more than a century. Brother J.M.B. Gresham became pastor in 1893 and began work on the first meetinghouse for the church at 5th Street and Avenue D. Brother Gresham was also pastor at the rural communities of Coryell, Patton and Stampede. The one-room church sanctuary built at this site had curtains to divide the building into classrooms. Brother M. Hale oversaw construction of a new church building in 1923, which served the congregation for more than 40 years. Groups including the Baptist Young People’s Union, Women’s Auxiliary and a Girls’ Auxiliary organized over the years to extend community outreach. The church’s evangelical work has been aided by nearby Baylor University; George W. Truett conducted a revival here while a Baylor student in the 1890s, Josiah B. Tidwell served the church in 1913, and a formal program to train Baylor’s divinity students here began in the 1950s. Since early in Crawford’s history, the church has been a spiritual and community leader. (2008)