Hondo Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way before Hondo had much of anything you'd call a building, the Methodists were already out there holding church. Not in a fine sanctuary, not under a proper roof.

Under a live oak tree, right on the banks of Hondo Creek. Picture that congregation, standing in the shade of that old tree, sky wide open above them, creek moving along nearby. That was their house of worship, and by all accounts, they made it work.

By 1857, they had organized themselves as a proper church, and they graduated from the live oak to a log hut. Modest, sure, but it was theirs. Then 1859 comes around, and somebody gave that congregation ten acres of land.

Ten acres, a genuine gift, and on that ground they built something that served double duty as both a church and a Masonic lodge. Now that is getting the most out of your real estate. And preaching didn't come easy or often in those days.

Circuit riding ministers made the rounds, holding services once a month. Once a month. You waited, you prepared, and when that minister finally rode in, you showed up.

In 1890, the congregation moved to this very site, and from that point on, newer buildings kept replacing the ones the growing church had simply outgrown. One structure after another, each one a sign that the congregation kept expanding, kept going. And through all of it, the Hondo Methodist Church held onto its heritage, its ministries for members, its missions reaching out into the wider community.

From a live oak on a creek bank to a standing church with more than a century of roots sunk into Medina County soil. Some things, once started, just don't stop.

What the marker says

Early Methodist settlers in this area worshipped under a live oak tree on the banks of the Hondo Creek. The Methodists organized as a church in 1857 and held services in a log hut. A church/Masonic lodge was built on ten acres of land given to the church in 1859. Circuit riding ministers held services once a month. After the congregation moved to this site in 1890, newer buildings replaced outgrown structures. The church maintains its heritage of ministries for its members and a variety of community missions. (1997)