First Christian Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, as best as I can give it to you. Way back in the 1850s, before Sulphur Springs was quite the place it would become, the town went by another name. Bright Star.

And the Disciples of Christ living in that pioneer town didn't have a church building to call their own. So they did what people do when the spirit moves but the walls aren't there yet. They gathered in neighbors' homes.

They gathered in a vacant store. Wherever there was room, there was worship. That went on for years.

Then, in 1870, two evangelists rode in. The Reverend Charles Carlton and the Reverend J. M.

Baird. They took those scattered gatherings and organized them into a proper congregation. Now, a congregation needs leadership, and until a full-time minister could be found, a church elder named Joseph Hooten stepped up as interim pastor.

Then came the Reverend Lawrence W. Scott, the first full-time minister this fellowship ever had, and he served from 1871 all the way through 1879. Shortly after that stretch, the congregation needed a place to meet that was actually built for the purpose.

What they found was a white frame sanctuary the Methodists were moving on from. Now here's the part that'll make you smile. The Disciples didn't buy it alone.

They went halves with the First Baptist Church. One building, two congregations, worshiping on alternate Sundays. You take this week, we'll take next.

It worked, apparently, until 1884, when the Disciples sold their share to the Baptists and struck out to build something of their own. And what they built was something to see. A clapboard building in the Gothic style.

Steep roof. Tall arched windows. A central bell tower and spire reaching up like it had a point to make against the Texas sky.

That building served this fellowship as the congregation kept on growing. Then, under the leadership of the Reverend D. Cephas Shelburne, a larger white brick sanctuary was completed in 1914.

Classrooms were added on. A two-story house on a lot right next to the church property was purchased to serve as an education building. And still the congregation kept moving forward.

In 1962, a new sanctuary replaced that old church structure entirely. From a vacant store in Bright Star to a new sanctuary more than a century later. That is one congregation that never stopped finding room for what came next.

What the marker says

(Disciples of Christ) In the 1850s, Disciples in the pioneer town of Bright Star, also known as "The Sulphur Springs," gathered for religious meetings at neighbors' homes and in a vacant store. Two evangelists, the Rev. Charles Carlton and the Rev. J. M. Baird, organized this congregation in 1870. Joseph Hooten, a church elder, acted as interim pastor until the arrival of the first full-time minister, the Rev. Lawrence W. Scott, who served 1871-79. Shortly afterward, this fellowship purchased, in partnership with the First Baptist Church, one-half interest in a white frame sanctuary being vacated by the Methodists. The congregations worshiped on alternate Sundays.The Disciples sold their share to the Baptists in 1884 and constructed a separate church to accommodate the growing membership. This was a clapboard building in the Gothic style with a steep roof, tall arched windows, and a central bell tower and spire. Under the leadership of the Rev. D. Cephas Shelburne, a larger white brick sanctuary was completed in 1914. Classrooms were later annexed and a two-story house on a lot adjoining the church property was purchased for an education building. In 1962 a new sanctuary replaced the old church structure.