DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. On January 7, 1877, a group of Trenton Baptists gathered in the Burns school house and started something. No grand cathedral, no stained glass.
Just folks and their faith in a school house. They organized as the Smyrna Baptist Church of Christ, and their first pastor was a man named Martin W. Gentry.
That's where the story begins, quiet as a winter morning. Now, a congregation needs more than a beginning. In 1878 they entered into fellowship with the Sister Grove Association, finding their place in something bigger than themselves.
Then in 1886 the church called their second pastor, Jno. William Connelly. The years kept moving.
By 1889, the Fannin County Baptist Association had formed, and that became the fellowship they belonged to. But here's where the story takes a real turn. In 1897, under the leadership of Reverend J.
M. Harder, the church built a frame building on the present site. A proper home, at last, rooted in the ground.
They had no way of knowing what November of 1953 would bring. Fire. A fire that completely destroyed the sanctuary.
Everything they had built on that site, gone. Now, you might expect a congregation to scatter after something like that. But these folks met in the high school auditorium, held together, and by July of 1954, a new church was completed.
From ashes to open doors in under a year. The marker tells us the church continues to support global missions and community needs. Started in a school house in 1877, still standing, still serving.
Some stories don't just end. They keep going.
What the marker says
On January 7, 1877, Trenton Baptists began worshiping in the Burns school house. The church body organized as Smyrna Baptist Church of Christ, with Martin W. Gentry as the first pastor. In 1886, the church called their second pastor in Jno. William Connelly. The church entered into fellowship with the Sister Grove Association in 1878 until the Fannin County Baptist Association formed in 1889. In 1897, under the leadership of Rev. J. M. Harder, the church built a frame building on the present site. A fire in November 1953 completely destroyed the sanctuary. The congregation met in the high school auditorium until a new church was completed in July 1954. The church continues to support global missions and community needs. (2013)