Fulton Community Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Fulton Community Church, out in Aransas County. Now, picture Fulton before the fishing boats and the tourist crowds rolled in. A quiet little community, about two hundred settlers strong.

They had Sunday schools meeting right there in town, sure, but come time for actual worship services, folks had to make the trip over to Rockport. That's just how it was. Then 1943 rolls around, and a man named Frank Walker comes through.

He's not moving here, he's not scouting the place. He's on a fishing trip. Just passing through, rod in hand, minding his own business.

Except he ends up preaching to a gathering right there in Fulton. And something about that moment, that little congregation in that little coastal town, it took hold of him. Because Frank Walker went back to Fort Worth, resigned his position, packed up his life, and moved to Fulton to organize a church.

A man came to fish and stayed to build something. The very next year, the members erected a sanctuary. A nondenominational congregation, open to the community, and it grew.

It became what the marker calls a vital community institution, and that's not a small thing for a town of two hundred. Decades passed. By 1983, the congregation had outgrown what they had, and members supplemented their old sanctuary with a whole new structure.

And today, the church still serves Fulton, Rockport, Lamar, and the surrounding area. Frank Walker came for the fish. The community got something that lasted a whole lot longer.

What the marker says

Before the growth of fishing and tourism industries, Fulton was a community of only about 200 settlers. Although Sunday schools met in town, residents had to travel to Rockport for worship services. In 1943, Frank Walker, visiting the area on a fishing trip, preached to a gathering in Fulton; he resigned a position in Fort Worth and moved here to organize a church. The next year, members erected a sanctuary. This nondenominational congregation grew and became a vital community institution. In 1983, members supplemented their old sanctuary with a new structure. Today, the church continues to serve Fulton, Rockport, Lamar, and the surrounding area. (2010)