First Baptist Church of Kountze

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll pass it along best I can. Back in 1860, a congregation called the Baptist Church of Hardin got itself organized, with Pastor D. W.

Jordan at the helm. Hardin was the county seat at the time, and things must have looked pretty settled. Then 1881 came along, and the railroad made its decision.

It bypassed Hardin entirely. Now, when the railroad passes you by in Texas, that tends to say something about a town's future, and sure enough, area residents began moving to nearby Kountze. The Hardin Baptists are believed to have followed.

They probably gathered in a multi-denominational building, the first house of worship erected in Kountze, back in 1887. A shared roof, a new town, a congregation finding its footing. Southern Baptist Convention records list the origin of the Baptist Church of Kountze in 1890, and then in 1893, under Pastor J.

W. Rhodes, the congregation declared itself. Made it official.

That matters. In 1908, a loan from the Southern Baptist Convention helped the First Baptist Church of Kountze put up a frame structure on Redwood Street, two blocks from that original building, which by then had become the Methodist Church. The congregation kept growing, kept planning.

In 1951 they started fundraising and laying the groundwork for something more permanent, and in 1955 they dedicated a new brick building. By 1979 a two-story wing had been added. Then came the 1980s, and with them an expanded church library, an expanded sanctuary, and new youth programs taking shape.

When the church's hundredth anniversary arrived, they didn't just mark it with a single Sunday service. That celebration ran from the spring of 1990 all the way to January of 1993. Two and a half years of marking where they'd been and where they were headed.

A new fellowship hall was added in 1997, and the church carries on, serving the community, same as it always has. Started in Hardin, found its way to Kountze, and never really stopped moving forward.

What the marker says

The Baptist Church of Hardin was organized in 1860 with Pastor D. W. Jordan. When the railroad bypassed Hardin (then the county seat) in 1881, area residents began moving to nearby Kountze. Hardin Baptists are believed to have followed, probably meeting in a multi-denominational building known as the first house of worship in Kountze erected in 1887. Southern Baptist Convention records list the origin of the Baptist Church of Kountze in 1890; the congregation declared itself in 1893 under Pastor J. W. Rhodes. In 1908 a loan from the Southern Baptist Convention to the First Baptist Church of Kountze facilitated the erection of a frame structure on Redwood Street. It was located two blocks from the original building, which had become the Methodist Church. In 1951 fundraising and planning began for a new brick building, dedicated in 1955. By 1979, a two-story wing was added; in the 1980s the church library and sanctuary were expanded and new youth programs established. The First Baptist Church of Kountze marked its 100th anniversary with a celebration lasting from the spring of 1990 to January of 1993. With such developments as a new fellowship hall added in 1997, the church continues to serve the community. (1998)