First Christian Church of Aubrey

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way before there was a proper church building to speak of, the early Disciples of Christ in this part of Denton County were makin' do, gatherin' together with other denominations out in the Spring Hill community, holdin' services under a brush arbor and in a local schoolhouse. Now, a brush arbor ain't much more than timber poles and cut branches stacked overhead to keep the sun off, but folks worshipped under those leaves with everything they had.

That's where this congregation got its start: not in brick, not in stained glass, but out under the open Texas sky. Then came October of 1894. The Disciples of Christ decided it was time to stand on their own ground, and they established this Christian church right here in Aubrey, led by elders R.

C. Horn and E. B.

Holmes. They built themselves a proper frame sanctuary, a real building, four walls and a roof, and for years that church stood as the heart of the congregation. But here's where the story takes a hard turn, the kind that separates the committed from the fair-weather.

In 1918, a tornado came through and destroyed that sanctuary. Not damaged. Destroyed.

The kind of loss that could end a young congregation right there. But these folks didn't scatter. Members rebuilt.

They kept right on supporting missions and benevolences through the whole of it. And somewhere in all that history, an early commitment to area Bible schools sparked dramatic growth for the church, setting the course, the marker says, for its entire history of worship, service, and outreach. A brush arbor to a schoolhouse to a frame church to rubble to something built again; that's the story of the First Christian Church of Aubrey, and that kind of stubborn faithfulness tends to outlast just about anything a Texas sky can throw at it.

What the marker says

Early Disciples of Christ in this area met as part of a union church in the Spring Hill community, where several denominations held services under a brush arbor and in a local schoolhouse. In October 1894, the Disciples established this Christian church in Aubrey under the leadership of elders R. C. Horn and E. B. Holmes. A frame sanctuary here served the church until a tornado destroyed it in 1918. Members soon rebuilt and continued their support of missions and benevolences in the process. An early commitment to area Bible schools meant dramatic growth for the young church and set the course for its history of worship, service and outreach. (2005)