First Baptist Church of Lavon

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Baptist Church of Lavon. Now settle in, because this story doesn't start in 1949; it starts nearly a century before that, on the side of a hill. Way back in 1857, a congregation called Mt.

Pleasant Baptist Church took root out in the Collin County countryside, built right near the Abston Cemetery. It grew, and it grew well, under the leadership of a man named Rev. J.B.

Daniel. He guided that church until his ministry ended in 1877. Then, a few years after Rev.

Daniel's time was done, something happened that's as old as human nature itself: the church divided. Not over doctrine, mind you. Over geography.

Some members went south of Nevada and organized what they called South Church, or Pleasant Hill Baptist Church. That was 1882. Pleasant Hill prospered.

Put down roots deep enough to establish its own cemetery. Meanwhile, out near Farmersville, another congregation was finding its footing; Spring Hill Baptist Church, formed in 1888. Two churches, two communities, both carrying the Baptist tradition forward through the decades.

Now here's where the story takes a turn. The 1940s were hard years for both of them. Hard times have a way of humbling even the most deep-rooted institutions, and one by one, Pleasant Hill and Spring Hill closed their doors.

Spring Hill transferred its building to the Collin County Baptist Association. And that, right there, is where the pieces started coming together. In cooperation with that association, the First Baptist Church of Lavon was organized on September 25, 1949, with twenty-five charter members standing up to claim it.

But those charter members weren't starting from nothing; not exactly. They built their new church using the actual lumber from Pleasant Hill Baptist Church and Spring Hill Baptist Church. The pews came from Spring Hill.

The piano came from Spring Hill. The old pulpit came from Spring Hill, and it stood at the front of that sanctuary for many years. All those decades of worship, hauled up and reassembled into something new.

The first revival was held in 1950, and that tradition carried on for many years to come. Then on May 27, 1951, the church building was officially dedicated; with three pastors delivering sermons that day, which tells you something about the roots this congregation was honoring. The church kept growing from there, adding a parsonage, an education building, and an education activity center to its campus.

Through school sponsorships, Vacation Bible School, Royal Ambassadors, Women's Ministry Union, Girls' Auxiliary, and youth groups, the congregation wove itself into the fabric of the Lavon community, year after year. Before all of that (before 1949, before the lumber was hauled and the old pews were carried in), those Baptists in the Lavon area had been sharing a two-story schoolhouse with the Presbyterians, the Methodists, and the Assembly of God, swapping Sundays like neighbors borrowing a cup of sugar. From a hillside church in 1857 to a shared schoolhouse to a building made of borrowed lumber and inherited pews, the First Baptist Church of Lavon is, in every timber and plank, the sum of what came before it.

What the marker says

For years, Baptists in the Lavon area worshipped in the two-story Lavon School House, alternating Sundays with the Presbyterian, Methodist and Assembly of God congregations. The First Baptist Church of Lavon was organized on September 25, 1949, but the history of the church began with three other rural churches. Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church (1857-1882) was built on the side of a hill near the Abston Cemetery and grew under the leadership of Rev. J.B. Daniel (1838-1884). A few years after Rev. Daniel's ministry ended in 1877, the church divided for geographic reasons. Some members organized a church south of Nevada called South Church, or Pleasant Hill Baptist Church (1882-1947), which prospered and established a cemetery. In 1889, another Baptist Church formed near Farmersville named Spring Hill Baptist Church (1888-1948). In the 1940s, both churches fell on hard times and closed, with Spring Hill transferring its church building to the Collin County Baptist Association. In cooperation with the association, the First Baptist Church of Lavon was organized in 1949 with 25 charter members. A church was built using the lumber from the Pleasant Hill Baptist Church and Spring Hill Baptist Church. The pews and piano came from Spring Hill church, as well as the old pulpit that was used for many years. The first revival was held in 1950, a tradition that continued for many years. The church building was officially dedicated on May 27, 1951, with sermons by three pastors. The church continued to grow and add to its campus with a parsonage, education building and education activity center. Through school sponsorships and events, hosting Vacation Bible School and offering programs such as Royal Ambassadors, Women's Ministry Union, Girls' Auxiliary and youth groups, the church has continued its strong heritage of community involvement. (2020)