First Baptist Church of Grapevine

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out on the Grapevine prairie, long before there was much of anything to speak of, Baptists were already gathering. As early as 1846, they were meeting in each other's homes (no steeple, no pew, no bell rope to pull).

Just neighbors, a little faith, and a whole lot of open prairie around them. After a while, they moved their worship into a log schoolhouse, right there on what is now Dooley Street in the community of Grapevine. A schoolhouse on a weekday, a sanctuary on Sunday; the frontier had a way of making things do double duty.

Now, here's where the story gets a particular kind of memorable. Those pioneers picked their moment with some intention. December 25th, 1869 (Christmas Day) they gathered together and formally organized a Baptist Church.

Eighteen charter members, standing together in the middle of winter, deciding that this community deserved something permanent. They chose A.J. Hallford as their first Pastor.

Eighteen people and a man to lead them. That was the seed of it. And seeds, given enough time and tending, have a way of surprising you.

By 1871, the church's first sanctuary was completed: an actual building, raised up from that same prairie where folks had once been squeezing into living rooms and log schoolhouses. From those eighteen charter members on a Christmas morning, First Baptist Church of Grapevine grew steadily over the years, putting down roots deep enough to provide real service and leadership to the community around it. Eighteen people.

Christmas Day. And look what took hold.

What the marker says

Baptist in the Grapevine prairie area began meeting in their own homes as early as 1846. Worship services later were held in a log schoolhouse on what is now Dooley Street in the community of Grapevine. On December 25, 1869, the pioneers gathered to form a Baptist Church. The eighteen charter members chose A.J. Hallford as their first Pastor. The Church's first sanctuary was completed in 1871. Over the years, First Baptist Church of Grapevine has grown steadily in membership and has provided significant service and leadership to the community. (1984)