First Baptist Church of Nocona

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the First Baptist Church of Nocona, up in Montague County. Now settle in, because every good congregation has a story, and this one starts the way a lot of Texas stories start: with a handful of determined people and a borrowed room. The summer of 1889.

The Rev. J.W. Holman gathers thirteen charter members together, and they organize what they're calling the Nocona Baptist Church.

No building of their own yet, so they meet in a local schoolhouse. You make do with what you've got. The Rev.

S.E. West steps in as the first pastor, and the work begins. Years pass.

The congregation grows. And in 1897, they finally have a sanctuary to call their own. That's no small thing, friends.

Then 1903 rolls around, and the name changes to First Baptist Church. Simple, direct, the kind of name that means business. But a congregation with that kind of momentum doesn't stop at one sanctuary.

By 1927, they've built a new one to replace the 1897 structure entirely. Two sanctuaries in one lifetime is a pretty good measure of how much this church kept growing. And it wasn't all looking inward, either.

Over the years, this congregation reached out, helping to organize the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church right there in Nocona, and lending their support to foreign missionary activities beyond Texas altogether. Thirteen charter members in a schoolhouse in the summer of 1889, and what they started is still standing. That's the kind of story a marker was made to tell.

What the marker says

Organized in the summer of 1889 by The Rev. J.W. Holman and thirteen charter members, the Nocona Baptist Church first met in a local schoolhouse. The Rev. S.E. West served as first pastor. A sanctuary was completed in 1897, and in 1903 the name was changed to First Baptist Church. A new sanctuary replaced the 1897 structure in 1927. Over the years this congregation has been involved in many outreach projects, including the organization of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Nocona and the support of foreign missionary activities. (1989)