First Baptist Church of Floydada

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Baptist Church of Floydada, out there in Floyd County. Now picture this. July 19, 1891.

The Texas Panhandle sun is doing what it does, and a man named Reverend I. B. Kimbrough gathers a small group of worshipers together.

Not in a grand sanctuary, not under some soaring steeple. They meet in a dugout home. Joe Arnold's dugout home, to be precise.

That's how the Floyd City Baptist Church came into being, right there below ground level, in the kind of modest circumstance that tends to make a foundation all the stronger. In the early going, the congregation had to borrow other people's spaces to hold their services. They worshiped in the North Side School building.

They worshiped at the local Methodist church, neighbors generous enough to share their roof. And through those traveling years, several traveling ministers came through to serve the people. Then the town itself went and changed its name to Floydada, and the church followed suit, becoming the First Baptist Church of Floydada.

A new name, but the same people, still reaching for something. By 1897, the congregation called Reverend R. E.

L. Muncy as their first resident pastor. A man who put down roots.

And in 1899, Reverend Muncy organized the first Sunday School, planting something that would outlast him. The congregation kept building, in every sense of the word. In 1908, they completed their first frame sanctuary, right on this very site.

That was a moment. A real, physical place of their own, after all those borrowed rooms and early dugout dreams. And over the years that followed, more property was acquired, larger structures were built, membership grew, and the work kept expanding.

Foreign missions. Home missions. Worship, education, outreach.

The First Baptist Church of Floydada kept showing up for Floyd County across generations. Start in a dugout, end up a cornerstone of the community. That's not a bad arc for any institution, if you ask me.

What the marker says

On July 19, 1891, the Rev. I. B. Kimbrough and a small group of worshipers met in the dugout home of Joe Arnold to organize the Floyd City Baptist Church. The congregation conducted early worship services in the North Side School building and at the local Methodist church. After the town's name was changed to Floydada, the church was renamed First Baptist Church of Floydada. Several traveling ministers served the congregation during its early years. The Rev. R. E. L. Muncy was called as first resident pastor in 1897, and he organized the first Sunday School in 1899. The congregation completed its first frame sanctuary at this site in 1908. Over the years additional property was acquired and larger structures were built to serve the growing membership. Throughout its history, the First Baptist Church has served the community with a variety of worship, educational, and outreach programs. The members and pastors have placed an emphasis on both foreign and home mission activities. The church continues to play an important role in Floyd County history. (1991)