First Methodist Church of Azle

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just the voice along for the ride. Out in Azle, in Tarrant County, there's a congregation with roots that go back to 1895. And if you think starting a church from scratch is easy, well, let me walk you through it.

The Rev. Will A. Stephens and fifteen charter members organized this church that year, and they weren't waiting around for somebody else to build them a house of worship.

They went out and purchased a church building from the United Brethren Church, and they secured a parsonage on top of that. Fifteen people and a preacher, and they already had a plan. Now, Sunday school classes didn't get going until 1930; sometimes the pieces come together on their own schedule.

And it wasn't until 1942 that the church called its first full-time minister. You get the feeling things were about to shift, and sure enough, by 1946 membership had more than doubled. More than doubled.

That's the kind of growth that makes you start looking at your walls differently. An education building was erected between 1949 and 1951, and then in 1960 a new brick sanctuary went up. The congregation was building in every sense of the word.

Then came 1968, and a change arrived not just for this church but across the country: the Evangelical United Brethren and the Methodist denominations merged, and right along with that, this congregation was renamed First United Methodist Church of Azle. What started as fifteen people and a borrowed building had grown into something that could carry a new name without losing a single thread of what came before. This marker was placed as part of the Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood, marking 1845 to 1995, a reminder that communities, like states, are built one stubborn, faithful year at a time.

What the marker says

The Rev. Will A. Stephens and 15 charter members organized this church in 1895, then purchased a church building from the United Brethren Church and secured a parsonage. Sunday school classes began in 1930. The church called its first full-time Minister in 1942, and by 1946 membership had more than doubled. An education building was erected in 1949-51 and new brick sanctuary was built in 1960. The congregation was renamed First United Methodist Church in 1968, following the merger of the Evangelical United Brethren and the Methodist denominations. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995.