DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — and it's worth every word. The First Baptist Church of Wills Point got its start in 1873, with a man named Dr. J.
L. Matthews leading the way. Now, Matthews wasn't your typical founding pastor — the marker makes a point of telling you he was a doctor of medicine.
A man who spent his days tending to the body, and apparently wasn't finished when Sunday rolled around. He took on the soul as well. That's a full week's work by any measure.
The congregation came together, found their footing, and by 1876 they had thirty members ready to put up a building. Thirty people. Enough to fill a room, enough to raise one.
And raise one they did. But here's where the story takes a turn — because that same year, that very same year the building went up, it is said to have been destroyed in a tornado. The marker doesn't flinch from that.
Doesn't dress it up. A congregation builds, and the wind takes it. That's the kind of setback that ends lesser stories.
But this one kept going. The church continued to grow, expanding its educational programs and erecting new facilities in the years that followed. They became a charter member of the Van Zandt Association, established in 1905 and reorganized again in 1935.
And perhaps the truest measure of a congregation isn't the building it raises but the people it sends out into the world — because the First Baptist Church of Wills Point has produced several missionaries and pastors from its own membership. Started in 1873 with a doctor-preacher and thirty determined souls, and the roots held even when the walls didn't.
What the marker says
The First Baptist Church of Wills Point was founded in 1873, with Dr. J. L. Matthews, a doctor of medicine, serving as the first pastor. In 1876 the 30-member congregation erected a building, which is said to have been destroyed in a tornado the same year. Despite such setbacks, the church continued to grow, expanding its educational programs and erecting new facilities in later years. A charter member of the Van Zandt Association, established in 1905 and reorganized in 1935, the First Baptist Church has produced several missionaries and pastors from its membership. (1983)