First Christian Church of Wills Point

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Van Zandt County, in the town of Wills Point, a congregation got its start in 1882. Now, they didn't have a building of their own just yet, so they gathered where they could, meeting inside the local Presbyterian church.

And when it came time for baptisms, well, they had a solution for that too. North of town sat a cotton gin pond, and that's where it happened, out in the open air, no walls, no roof, just water and faith. There's a certain something about that image that's hard to shake.

A congregation finding its way, making do, building something from the ground up. By 1886, they had raised their own church building. And five years after that, in 1891, they added a baptistry inside.

The first one in town, as a matter of fact. And here's the thing about these folks: they didn't keep it to themselves. They offered that baptistry for use by other area churches.

That's a community spirit right there. Come the nineteen twenties, the congregation acquired a parsonage over on Pecan Street, putting down roots a little deeper into the life of Wills Point. Over the years, a succession of ministers has served this church, and the congregation has done something that reaches well beyond its own walls.

It's been instrumental in the training of many student pastors from Texas Christian University. Generations of young preachers who went on to serve all across who knows where, getting some part of their formation right here. The marker was placed as part of the Texas Sesquicentennial, marking 1836 to 1986.

A hundred and fifty years of Texas, and this little congregation in Wills Point had been part of the last hundred and four of them. Started by a pond. Still standing.

What the marker says

Founded in 1882, the congregation first met in the Presbyterian church, and a cotton gin pond north of town was used for baptisms. A church building was erected in 1886, and in 1891 a baptistry was added. The first in town, it was offered for use by other area churches. A parsonage on Pecan Street was bought in the 1920s. A succession of ministers have served here, and this congregation has been instrumental in the training of many student pastors from Texas Christian University. The church has played an active part in many community activities. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986