First Methodist Church of San Benito

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, in my own words. San Benito was barely a town, friend. Less than one year after the place was even platted on a map, a pastor named the Rev.

C.E.W. Smith rode up from Brownsville and, on January 22, 1908, organized the First Methodist Church right there in the young settlement. Now, they didn't have a building.

They didn't have much of anything. So the Rev. Smith would come by once a month and preach to whoever showed up in a local one-room schoolhouse.

Once a month. You picture that congregation marking the calendar, waiting on their preacher to come back around. From that one-room schoolhouse, the church moved its meetings to a two-room schoolhouse, and then, when they needed more room still, they gathered in a Baptist church sanctuary.

Borrowing space, making do, building something out of next to nothing. Then in 1910, they finally raised their own Methodist church building on this very site. The following year, the Rev.

W.N. Vernon stepped in as the church's first full-time pastor. A steady hand at last.

The early years brought growth, and that growth picked up real momentum under the pastorate of the Rev. J. Fisher, who led the congregation from 1915 through 1922.

Membership climbed. The church reached outward too, sponsoring international mission teams, organizing interdenominational associations and classes, weaving itself into the wider community of faith across the lower Rio Grande Valley. And when hard times came knocking, the congregation answered.

Counseling, food, clothing projects, a steady hand for people who needed one. When war came, twice over, the women of the congregation made medical supplies and clothing for soldiers during both World Wars. In 1931, the members constructed a new sanctuary at this site, expanding what their predecessors had started on bare ground.

You think about all the hands that went into that, all the years, all the borrowed schoolrooms and shared sanctuaries and carefully kept faith. Today the First United Methodist Church of San Benito is still right here, still helping those in need, still playing what the marker calls a vital role in the betterment of the community and the lower Rio Grande Valley. Some things, it turns out, you can build to last.

What the marker says

On January 22, 1908, less than one year after the platting of San Benito, the Rev. C.E.W. Smith, a pastor in Brownsville, organized the First Methodist Church. The Rev. Smith preached to the congregation once a month at a local one-room schoolhouse. The church would move meetings to a tow-room schoolhouse and then to a Baptist church sanctuary before constructing a Methodist church building on this site in 1910. The following year, the Rev. W.N. Vernon became the church's first full-time pastor. The early years of First Methodist Church were marked by increased membership, particularly under the pastorate of the Rev. J. Fisher (1915-1922). From its beginnings, the congregation has been involved in sponsoring international mission teams and has been an active participant and organizer of interdenominational associations and classes. Through a variety of programs, including counseling and food and clothing projects, the church has been instrumental in aiding others. The church has also shown concern for servicemen, as women of the congregation created medical supplies and clothing for soldiers during World Wars I and II. Members have expanded facilities at this site over the years, constructing a new sanctuary in 1931. Today, First United Methodist Church of San Benito continues as a vital spiritual leader, helping those in need and playing a vital role in the betterment of the community and the lower Rio Grande Valley. (2007)