First Baptist Church of Kennedale

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the First Baptist Church of Kennedale. Now settle in, because this congregation has been through more than most folks would believe, and they're still standin' to talk about it. The story starts before 1887, which is itself a kind of mystery.

Nobody wrote down the exact date this church first drew breath. What we know is that believers were gatherin', meetin' in a local schoolhouse, and when the time came to baptize new members, they headed out to nearby creeks and a small lake, singin' 'Shall We Gather at The River.' That's not a metaphor. That's just how it was done.

In 1887, land was deeded to the Kennedale Baptist Church. In 1895, they joined the Tarrant County Baptist Association, which meant they were no longer just a neighborhood affair. They were part of something bigger.

And when the congregation needed more room for socials and revivals, they shared a community tabernacle with the area Methodists. Now there's a partnership you don't see every day. By 1896, though, the congregation had a place of their own.

One room. Reverend G. W.

Green as pastor. Small, sure, but theirs. Time kept movin'.

In August of 1903, the Women's Missionary Union was established. In 1938, a parsonage went up on church property. By 1940, that original one-room structure needed an addition, because the congregation had simply outgrown what they started with.

And then came the crown jewel. In 1954, they built a two-story Austin stone structure, tall stained glass windows catchin' the light, a balcony lookin' out over the auditorium. You can picture it.

You can almost hear it. Then 1959 arrived, and fire took it. The whole thing, gone.

Now here is where the story decides what kind of story it wants to be. Undaunted, that's the word on the marker, and it earns every letter. Church members raised three thousand five hundred and eighty-five dollars and sixty-five cents.

They sold the parsonage. And they erected a fellowship hall. By 1961, a new church building stood facing east.

Over one hundred and ten years of community service, programs like the Women's Missionary Union, a taped ministry for shut-ins, all of it continuing forward. A congregation that nobody even wrote a founding date for turned out to be the kind you simply cannot stop.

What the marker says

Believed to have been organized before 1887, this congregation met for worship in a local schoolhouse and baptized new members in nearby creeks and a small lake to the tune of "Shall We Gather at The River." Land was deeded to the Kennedale Baptist Church in 1887; in 1895 the church joined the Tarrant County Baptist Association. The Kennedale community tabernacle, shared with area Methodists, was used for larger socials and revivals. By 1896 the congregation was installed in a one-room structure of its own with the Reverend G. W. Green as pastor. A parsonage was built on church property in 1938, and by 1940 an addition to the original one room building was required. A new two-story Austin stone structure with tall stained glass windows and a balcony in the auditorium, built in 1954, was destroyed by fire in 1959. Undaunted, church members raised $3,585.65, sold the parsonage, and erected a fellowship hall. By 1961, a new church building faced east. The First Baptist Church of Kennedale continues a proud tradition of over 110 years of community service with such programs as the Women's Missionary Union, established in August 1903, and a taped ministry for shut-ins. (1997)