First Christian Church of Beaumont

Duane's take

This one comes straight from the official marker, and I'll tell it to you just like it's written. Now, every good story starts with somebody answering a call, and this one is no different. Back in 1894, a Dallas evangelist by the name of A.

J. Bush heeded the call of a local group of Christians down in Beaumont. He came, he conducted a number of religious meetings in the area, and something took root.

The kind of thing that doesn't let go easy. Now here's where it gets interesting. When a congregation needs a home, you make do with what you've got.

A local Episcopal church donated a structure, and that building was relocated and put to work as a sanctuary for First Christian Church beginning in 1899. Somebody else's walls, made into something new. Then the Ladies Aid Society of First Christian gets into the picture, and if you've ever underestimated a Ladies Aid Society, well, you've made a costly mistake.

They helped raise the funds to erect a brand new church building at a nearby site in 1904. The congregation kept growing, and growth has a way of demanding more room. So in 1962, a new sanctuary, a fellowship hall, and other facilities were built right here on this very ground.

But First Christian wasn't content to tend only its own garden. The church helped establish and nurture Washington Blvd. Christian Church, Northwood Christian Church, and University Christian Church, all right there in Beaumont.

And then there's Camp Wildurr. A youth camp, developed by the congregation on fifty acres, built up in 1955 and 1956. They grew it, loved it, and then gave it away.

Donated it to the Texas Association of Christian Churches. The camp was later acquired by the Beaumont Independent School District. During the 1960s and 1970s, the church organized a Mother's Day Out program, a Meals for the Elderly project, helped establish an interfaith preaching series, and had a hand in founding something called Some Other Place, an outreach program providing food, clothing, and other help to the needy.

That's a congregation that kept finding more ways to show up. And the marker tells us the congregation continues to provide spiritual guidance for the religious community of Beaumont. One call answered in 1894, and they're still answering it.

What the marker says

Dallas evangelist A. J. Bush heeded the call of a local group of Christians and conducted a number of religious meetings in the area in 1894. A structure donated by a local Episcopal church was relocated and used as a sanctuary for First Christian Church beginning in 1899. First Christian's Ladies Aid Society helped raise funds to erect a new church building at a nearby site in 1904. Growth in church membership prompted the building of a new sanctuary/fellowship hall and other facilities here in 1962. The church helped establish and nurture Beaumont's Washington Blvd. Christian Church, Northwood Christian Church, and University Christian Church. Camp Wildurr, a youth camp developed by the congregation on 50 acres in 1955-56, was donated to the Texas Association of Christian Churches. The camp later was acquired by the Beaumont Independent School District. During the 1960s and 1970s the church organized a Mother's Day Out program; a Meals for the Elderly project; and helped establish an interfaith preaching series and "Some Other Place," an outreach program providing food, clothing, and other help to the needy. The congregation continues to provide spiritual guidance for the religious community of Beaumont.