First Baptist Church of Edom

Duane's take

The way the marker in Edom tells it, here's the story of the First Baptist Church of Edom, Van Zandt County — and it's got more fire, more grit, and more perseverance than you might expect from a country church on a back road in East Texas. Way back in the 1850s, early settlers in this vicinity organized a baptist church right here, making this congregation one of the first of its kind in all of Van Zandt County. Elder J.

J. Whitmore stepped up as the first pastor, and from that beginning, membership grew as new families put down roots and found their way to the pews. By 1929 the congregation had grown enough that they erected a larger frame church building to hold them all.

That's a good problem to have. Then 1934 rolls around, and the Edom school structure burned. Now the community had a real problem — children with no place to learn.

The church opened its doors and let those school facilities become temporary classrooms while the school was rebuilt. That's a congregation putting its money where its mouth is. A new wing was added in 1949.

A parsonage was built in 1956. Then in 1961, a larger brick sanctuary went up — solid, permanent, the kind of building that's supposed to outlast everybody in it. It did not.

In 1979, that brick sanctuary was destroyed by fire. Now here's where the story turns remarkable: the congregation didn't scatter. They held services in a large tent while a new structure was completed.

Rain or shine, canvas overhead, First Baptist kept the doors open — or at least the tent flaps. Worth noting too that until the early 1950s, worship services were held only on the second and fourth Sundays. It wasn't until then that First Baptist became a full time church.

Today this congregation runs scholarship funds, holds Vacation Bible School, and operates a registered American Red Cross disaster shelter — the kind of resource a small community prays it never needs and is awfully glad exists. And if you think their reach stops at the county line, think again: the church supports missionary work in Minnesota and Poland. From a handful of settlers in the 1850s to a congregation with one eye on Van Zandt County and the other on the wider world — First Baptist Church of Edom has been, as the marker puts it, a significant institution in this part of the county ever since its founding.

Two fires and still standing. That right there says everything.

What the marker says

One of the first baptist churches in Van Zandt County, this congregation traces its origins to the 1850s when early settlers organized a baptist church in this vicinity. Elder J. J. Whitmore was the first pastor. Membership increased as new families settled nearby. In 1929 the congregation erected a larger frame church building to accommodate its growing numbers. When the Edom school structure burned in 1934, the church facilities were used as temporary classrooms while the school was rebuilt. A new wing was added to the church in 1949, and a parsonage was built in 1956. A larger brick sanctuary constructed in 1961, was destroyed by fire in 1979. Services were held in a large tent while a new structure was completed. Worship services were held on the second and fourth Sundays until the early 1950s, when First Baptist became a full time church. Active in outreach programs, church members serve the community with scholarship funds, and Vacation Bible School, and provide a registered American Red Cross disaster shelter. The congregation also supports missionary work in Minnesota and Poland. Since its founding, First Baptist Church has been a significant institution in this part of Van Zandt County. (1996)