First Baptist Church of Kennard

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Baptist Church of Kennard, right there in Houston County. October 1903. Fourteen men and women — give or take — gathered together in Kennard, Texas, and decided they were going to build something that would last.

They organized the First Baptist Church of Kennard, and before the month was out, they had themselves four trustees to hold the whole thing together. Dr. T.M.

Sherman. George W. Willis.

M.B. Matchett. And Hugh P.

English — a man who, by all the marker's telling, served that church in just about every capacity imaginable throughout his entire life. Some folks just find their calling and they never let go of it. On October 23rd, those trustees went ahead and purchased land.

The plan was modest but it was solid: one room, four walls, a place to worship. Nothing fancy. Just a congregation and their faith staking a claim on a piece of East Texas ground.

Now, for the first several years, the church held services once or twice a month. They made do with shared pastors, traveling pastors — whoever could get to Kennard and preach a Sunday. That arrangement held for a good long while.

Decades, in fact. It wasn't until 1945 that the congregation called the Reverend W.P. Lott.

First full-time pastor in the church's history. That's forty-some years of making it work before they ever had somebody who was all theirs. Though, even then, Reverend Lott split his time between Kennard and a congregation over in nearby Ratcliff.

Still — during his years in Kennard, something else worth noting happened: Lott's wife organized a Women's Missionary Union for the congregation. While the reverend was tending to two flocks, his wife was building something right where she stood. The decades rolled on, and the church kept building — new facilities, parsonage housing for its ministers.

Then came the 1960s, and this congregation was not sitting quietly. They took an active role campaigning against the sale of liquor and pari-mutuel horseracing in their community. They had opinions, and they were not shy about voicing them.

By the 1970s, the church had turned its energy inward and outward both — establishing a lay school of evangelism and launching a local outreach program. A congregation that started with fourteen souls and one room was now training its members and reaching beyond its own walls. As the centennial year approached, First Baptist Kennard kept right on growing.

Strengthening the music program, building up the youth program, creating a college scholarship fund. One hundred years in, and still adding chapters to the story. Fourteen people in October 1903.

One room on a patch of purchased land. That's where it started. What they built in Kennard — well, the marker says it plain: it remains an important religious institution in that community to this day.

Some things, when you lay the right foundation, just refuse to fall.

What the marker says

In October 1903, approximately fourteen men and women organized the First Baptist Church of Kennard. The congregation selected four trustees: Dr. T.M. Sherman, George W. Willis, M.B. Matchett and Hugh P. English, who served the church in many capacities throughout his life. On October 23, the trustees purchased land upon which to build a one-room structure to be used as a place of worship. Kennard's First Baptist congregation held church services once or twice a month for several years, utilizing shared or traveling pastors. Members called the Rev. W.P. Lott in 1945. He served as the church's first full-time pastor but soon split his time between the Kennard congregation and one in nearby Ratcliff. During his years in Kennard, Lott's wife organized a Women's Missionary Union for the congregation. Over the years, the congregation has constructed new facilities and provided parsonage housing for its ministers. Throughout the 1960s, the church took an active role in campaigning against the sale of liquor and pari-mutuel horseracing. It maintained an active community presence in the 1970s, when it established a lay school of evangelism and began a local outreach program. As the congregation approached its centennial year, it continued to grow, strengthening its music and youth programs and creating a college scholarship fund. First Baptist Church remains an important religious institution in the community of Kennard. (2006)