First Missionary Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll pass it along just as it stands. John Henry Kirby and Nathaniel Silsbee were developing the timber resources of East Texas, and they built a railroad running northward out of Beaumont. The first terminal on that railroad they named Silsbee, and the town grew rapidly once the Santa Fe Railroad began operating passenger trains through it daily.

A town on the move, you might say, and wherever people gather and put down roots, a church is never far behind. Around 1900, Reverend J.B. Dunbar organized a congregation for the African American community of Silsbee.

They called it First Baptist Church. Now, John Kirby furnished the land and the materials for the church building, and the arrangement came with a condition worth noting. The building was to be used for worship as long as there was a congregation.

But if the church ever ceased to be, that land would revert back to Kirby Lumber Company. That is the kind of clause that focuses a congregation's mind. The church held on.

Then in 1922, Reverend F.K. Kirkwood, a missionary for the Trinity Valley Baptist Association, came to Silsbee and reorganized the church. At that time the name was changed, from First Baptist Church to First Missionary Baptist Church, specifically to eliminate the confusion with the other First Baptist Church in town.

Two First Baptist Churches in one town. Somebody had to blink. A new sanctuary was completed in 1928, and for a moment things looked settled.

Then 1939 arrived, and a storm blew the church clean off its blocks. Just lifted it right off. The congregation moved worship services into the Masonic Hall and stayed there until 1940, when the church was rebuilt.

They did not quit. They never quite quit. By 1969 the congregation had grown enough that a new church sanctuary was completed, and here is the detail that says everything about what this community was carrying forward, that new sanctuary included the original bell.

Under Reverend Booker, the congregation purchased the original site outright from the trustees of the land, the Trinity Valley Baptist Association, finally owning the ground they had worshipped on for generations. The church went on to support the Christian Care Center, the Shelter, the Youth Young Adult Fellowship Alliance Foundation, and local and foreign missions. Organized around 1900, blown off its blocks in 1939, rebuilt in 1940, expanded in 1969, and still reaching outward into the community and beyond.

That original bell has been ringing through all of it.

What the marker says

FIRST MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH JOHN HENRY KIRBY AND NATHANIEL SILSBEE BEGAN DEVELOPING THE TIMBER RESOURCES OF EAST TEXAS AND BUILT A RAILROAD FROM BEAUMONT NORTHWARD. THE FIRST TERMINAL ON THE RAILROAD, NAMED SILSBEE, GREW RAPIDLY ONCE THE SANTA FE RAILROAD BEGAN OPERATING PASSENGER TRAINS THROUGH TOWN DAILY. THE FIRST MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH OF SILSBEE, ORIGINALLY CALLED FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, WAS ORGANIZED AROUND 1900 BY REVEREND J.B. DUNBAR FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY. JOHN KIRBY FURNISHED LAND AND MATERIALS FOR THE CHURCH BUILDING. THE BUILDING WAS TO BE USED FOR WORSHIP AS LONG AS THERE WAS A CONGREGATION, BUT IF THE CHURCH CEASED TO BE, THE LAND WOULD REVERT BACK TO KIRBY LUMBER COMPANY. REVEREND F.K. KIRKWOOD, A MISSIONARY FOR THE TRINITY VALLEY BAPTIST ASSOCIATION, CAME TO SILSBEE AND REORGANIZED THE CHURCH IN 1922. AT THIS TIME, THE NAME WAS CHANGED TO FIRST MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH TO ELIMINATE THE CONFUSION WITH THE OTHER FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH. A NEW SANCTUARY WAS COMPLETED IN 1928. A STORM BLEW THE CHURCH OFF ITS BLOCKS IN 1939 AND WORSHIP SERVICES WERE HELD IN THE MASONIC HALL UNTIL 1940 WHEN THE CHURCH WAS REBUILT. REALIZING THE NEED FOR MORE ACCOMMODATIONS, A NEW CHURCH SANCTUARY WAS COMPLETED IN 1969 THAT INCLUDED THE ORIGINAL BELL. UNDER REV. BOOKER, THE ORIGINAL SITE WAS PURCHASED FROM THE TRUSTEES OF THE LAND, THE TRINITY VALLEY BAPTIST ASSOCIATION. THE CHURCH SUPPORTED THE CHRISTIAN CARE CENTER, THE SHELTER, THE YOUTH YOUNG ADULT FELLOWSHIP ALLIANCE FOUNDATION AND LOCAL AND FOREIGN MISSIONS. THE CHURCH CONTINUES TO EXPAND, HONOR THEIR HERITAGE AND ASSIST THE COMMUNITY THROUGH OUTREACH AND SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE. (2012)