First Christian Church of Bryan/College Station

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Christian Church of Bryan and College Station. Now settle in, because this story stretches across more than a century and a half, and it has got a fire in it — so pace yourself. Bryan, Texas was first platted as a town in 1860.

It was formally incorporated as a city in 1871. But even before that ink was dry on the city charter, a congregation was already taking shape. The First Christian Church was organized in Bryan in 1866 — five years before the city was even official.

Now that tells you something about the people involved. They weren't waiting on paperwork. In those early days, the congregation held its meetings wherever they could find a roof and a welcome — local businesses, private homes, the kind of arrangements that require a certain stubbornness of faith.

Two names stand out from that founding moment: Colonel J. S. Proctor and Judge Spencer Ford.

Both men were prominent not just in organizing the church, but in the civic life of Bryan during this time. Men with titles and standing, choosing to plant something lasting. By 1868, just two years after organizing, the congregation built its first sanctuary — a proper one, red brick, on the corner of 27th and Dallas Streets, which we now know as Texas Avenue.

It had a steeple and a bell. You could hear it. You could see it.

That building stood as a landmark until 1907, when it was torn down and replaced with something new. And the new building served the congregation well enough — until December 1925, when fire made short work of the whole thing. The church and all its records, gone.

Decades of history, the names and the dates and the minutes of every meeting — destroyed. The congregation didn't scatter. They gathered in the Masonic lodge building and held their services there while they rebuilt.

By 1928, the new church was completed. That is the kind of persistence that doesn't get announced, it just gets done. Then December 1941 arrived, and with it the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Bryan and College Station saw a rise in military personnel, the whole area shifting under the weight of the war. When World War II ended, the region kept growing, and the congregation — watching all of it unfold around them — recognized that expansion wasn't optional anymore, it was necessary. The church began acquiring land on Ennis Street.

By 1962, they held just over two acres there. And notably, the new structure on Ennis Street had already been dedicated by then — in March 1961. Expansions followed in 1974 and again in 2009.

Around this same period of growth, the church formally changed its name from First Christian Church of Bryan to First Christian Church of Bryan/College Station. Both cities, both communities, held in one name. Over all those years — through the founding meetings in borrowed rooms, through the fire, through the wars, through the rebuilding — the church stayed involved.

Youth outreach, community programs, disaster relief, hospice work, missions. As one of the first religious organizations in the town of Bryan, the marker says, its heritage of service continues into the 21st century. Organized in 1866, before the city was even the city.

Still going. That bell may be long gone, but the echo carries.

What the marker says

Bryan was first platted as a town in 1860 and was formally incorporated as the city of Bryan in 1871. The First Christian Church was organized in Bryan in 1866 and early meetings were held in local businesses and private homes. Colonel J. S. Proctor and Judge Spencer Ford were prominent in the organization of the First Christian Church and in the civic life of Bryan during this time. The first sanctuary was built in 1868 on the corner of 27th and Dallas Streets, now Texas Avenue. The building was constructed with red brick and featured a steeple and bell but was torn down and replaced with a new building in 1907. However, in December 1925, the church and all records were destroyed by a fire. The congregation held services in the Masonic lodge building until the new church was completed in 1928. In the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Bryan and College Station saw a rise in military personnel. With the end of WWII, the area continued to grow and congregants soon realized the need for expansion. The church began acquiring land on Ennis Street, with just over two acres of land by 1962. The new structure on Ennis Street was dedicated in March 1961 with expansions made in 1974 and 2009. Around this time, the church formally changed its name from First Christian Church of Bryan to First Christian Church of Bryan/College Station. Over the years, the church has been involved with many public and church projects and programs, including youth and community outreach, disaster relief, hospice, mission work and more. As one of the first religious organizations in the town of Bryan, the First Christian Church’s heritage of service continues into the 21st century. (2016)