First Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about First Baptist Church in Runnels County. Pull up a chair, because this one's got roots that go way back into the Texas soil. It starts in the 1880s, when settlers began pushing into the area with a familiar set of ambitions: schools, churches, and businesses.

The kind of people who don't just pass through, they build. And build they did. Then, just after the town of Winters received its name, something worth remembering happened.

On March 22, 1890, eighteen individuals gathered in a one-room schoolhouse to organize the first church in the community. They called it Bethel Baptist Church. The first pastor was J.W.

George, and for a good while, that same schoolhouse served as both classroom and congregation hall. Now, a church that's growing has a way of outgrowing its first name, and this one was no exception. In August of 1903, the congregation met and voted to change the name to Winters Baptist Church of Christ.

That same year, they made another decision: it was time to find a proper church site. The dedication ceremony for their new church, located on West Pierce Street, was celebrated in May of 1906. Something worth celebrating, no question about it.

From 1906 to 1918, the church kept growing, adding members, establishing committees and programs, including a women's missionary union. They also began construction on a new church home on Truett Avenue. And somewhere along the way, by 1918, the name had evolved again, settling finally into First Baptist Church.

Then came World War II. The marker doesn't linger on this, and neither should we rush past it. Several members of the congregation served, and some of them gave their lives for the cause.

That's the kind of weight a community carries forward, quietly, in the rows of a Sunday morning. After the war, the congregation bought acreage on Lake Brownwood and eventually built a cabin at the site. They didn't hold onto it, though.

They donated it to the Heart of Texas Encampment. That's the move of a church that understood what generosity looked like in practice. And through the 1950s, the campus itself kept expanding, with an educational building and a new sanctuary taking shape.

Over the years, the congregation promoted missions and new churches all over the world. Right there in Winters, they sponsored a food pantry, Thanksgiving meals, bible studies, youth activities, and meetings with other community church leaders through the Winters Ministerial Alliance. Eighteen people in a one-room schoolhouse.

That's where it started, on a March day in 1890. What they built from there, well, the marker makes clear it was considerably more than a building.

What the marker says

In the 1880s, settlers interested in establishing schools, churches and businesses began to populate the area. On March 22, 1890, just after the town of Winters received its name, eighteen individuals met in the one-room schoolhouse to organize the first church in the community, named Bethel Baptist Church. The first pastor was J.W. George and the congregation continued to meet in the schoolhouse. In August 1903, the church met and voted to change the name to Winters Baptist Church of Christ. That same year, they decided to locate a church site. The dedication ceremony for their new church, located on West Pierce Street, was celebrated in May 1906. From 1906 to 1918, the church grew in numbers and established committees and programs, including a women's missionary union, and began construction on a new church home on Truett Avenue. By 1918, the name evolved to First Baptist Church. During World War II, the church had several members serve and give their lives for the cause. After the war, the congregation bought acreage on Lake Brownwood and eventually built a cabin at the site, later donating it to the Heart of Texas Encampment. The church campus also expanded during the 1950s with an educational building and a new sanctuary. Over the years, the congregation promoted missions and new churches all over the world. Within the community of Winters, the church sponsored many outreach programs, including a food pantry, Thanksgiving meals, bible studies, youth activities and meetings with other community church leaders through the Winters Ministerial Alliance.