First Christian Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Christian Church of Anderson County. Now settle in, because this story starts the way the best Texas stories do — with two very different men who somehow agreed on the thing that mattered most. The year was 1847, and a lawyer named Joseph A.

Clark and a farmer named John F. Taylor set out to organize a church. Clark would go on to found and administer a college that eventually became T.C.U. — but right then, he and Taylor were united by something bigger than their different stations in life.

They were both followers of the Campbell-Scott movement for Christian unity, and unity was exactly what they intended to build. Sixteen charter members walked through the door, and here's the remarkable part — those sixteen came from different faiths. Different traditions, different habits of worship.

And yet, through a document they called the Articles of Faith, which laid out their most basic shared beliefs, they made it work. Sixteen people of different faiths, one congregation. That's not a small thing.

The very first pastor was a Reverend Mr. Jordan, who had relinquished his affiliation with the Baptist church to take on the role. And he didn't just tend to that one congregation — he ministered to other settlements near and far.

The evangelistic spirit was baked in from day one. Then in the early 1850s, a Reverend Carroll Kendrick took the pulpit, and he shared that same conviction about the need for evangelism. He pressed Joseph Clark to work alongside him, and Clark answered the call — setting forth to strengthen congregations already formed, establish new churches, and expound the gospel across the region.

That work rolled on and on, interrupted by only one thing: the Civil War. And when the war ended, the work resumed and continues, the marker tells us, to this day. Now, a church that lives long enough leaves a trail of buildings behind it, and this one is no exception.

The first church building went up in 1859, standing at the corner of Poplar and Fannin streets. By 1884, the congregation had moved to a second building at Houston and Crawford. A third building followed in 1905 — and that one is still standing, still in use as an educational building.

The present church was constructed in 1955. Four buildings across more than a century, each one a new chapter in the same long story. Started by a lawyer and a farmer who believed sixteen strangers could find common ground — and proved it.

What the marker says

Organized in 1847 under leadership of lawyer Joseph A. Clark (founder and administrator of college now T.C.U.) and John F. Taylor, a farmer. Both Clark and Taylor were followers of Campbell - Scott movement for Christian unity. Though 16 charter members were of different faiths, they successfully united through "Articles of Faith" which expressed their basic beliefs. From its very beginning, the church has been of evangelistic nature. A Rev. Mr. Jordan (relinquishing affiliation with the Baptist church) became the first pastor, ministering not only to the newly-formed congregation but to other settlements near and far. In the early 1850s, Rev. Carroll Kendrick became pastor. He too believed in the need for evangelism and pressed Joseph Clark to work with him. Clark set forth strengthening congregations already formed, establishing new churches and expounding the gospel. Interrupted only by the Civil War, evangelistic work by the church continues to this day. The first church building, erected in 1859, was located on Poplar and Fannin streets; the second on Houston and Crawford in 1884; the third, built in 1905, is now used for an educational building. The present church was constructed in 1955.