Magnolia Missionary Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to do it justice. November 1890. A group of Christians gather in a schoolhouse in what would become Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas.

No grand cathedral, no steeple cutting the sky. Just folks with faith and a borrowed room. That's where this story begins.

From the schoolhouse, worship spilled out into prayer meetings held in various homes, moving from one living room to the next, building something invisible but stubborn. And stubborn things have a way of becoming permanent. Before long, the congregation had purchased land at the corner of Pine and Prince Streets, and Evergreen Baptist Church was established.

Rev. Dickerson was called as the first pastor. Now hold that name in your mind, because this congregation was just getting started collecting names, each one belonging to a different chapter of the same long story.

By 1900, the congregation was moving under a new voice, Rev. Jack Rhone, and with that new leadership came a new name: Magnolia Baptist Church. Then 1925 arrives, and during the term of Rev.

Jim Alford, the church purchased property for its current location. Rev. Rhone, not finished with this story yet, came back for a second term, and it was during that second run that the first sanctuary was completed.

Think about that. The man helped name the church, stepped away, and then returned to see it rise in brick and mortar. After Rev.

Rhone, the pastors kept coming with purpose. Rev. Ed Cannon.

Rev. C. B.

Baily. Rev. D.

C. Coney. And under Rev.

Coney, on December 4, 1965, a new education building was dedicated. Church membership kept growing, the way a deep-rooted thing does when the ground is right. So on September 6, 1981, a new sanctuary was completed and dedicated.

Then on April 30, 1995, the name was changed once more, this time to Magnolia Missionary Baptist Church. And that word, missionary, wasn't just decoration. This church has supported missionary enterprises, home mission, Christian education, and foreign missions, reaching not just its community, not just its state and nation, but stretching all the way to Haiti and Africa.

Locally, it has fed the homeless, supported nursing homes, given recovering addicts and others a changed environment, and poured itself into prayer and family ministries. The most recent chapter, so far, was written on May 15, 2011, when the current sanctuary was dedicated. More than a century after a handful of believers borrowed a schoolhouse for a Sunday service, Magnolia Missionary Baptist Church of Beaumont stands as what the marker calls a light and beacon for all.

Their motto, rooted in First Corinthians two and two, says it plainest of all: Jesus Christ only, always. After all the names, all the buildings, all the decades and dedications, that's the one thing that never changed.

What the marker says

This historic congregation began in November 1890 with a group of Christians holding services in a schoolhouse. Worship extended to prayer meetings held in various homes. Eventually the congregation purchased land at the corner of Pine and Prince Streets and established Evergreen Baptist Church with Rev. Dickerson called as the first pastor. In 1900, under Rev. Jack Rhone, the name was changed to Magnolia Baptist Church. Property for the current location was purchased in 1925 during the term of Rev. Jim Alford. Rev. Rhone served for a second term, during which the first sanctuary was completed. Rev. Ed Cannon, Rev. C. B. Baily, and Rev. D. C. Coney followed as pastors. Under Rev. Coney, a new education building was dedicated on December 4, 1965. As church membership continued to grow, a new sanctuary was completed and dedicated on September 6, 1981. The church's name was changed to Magnolia Missionary Baptist Church on April 30, 1995. The current sanctuary was dedicated on May 15, 2011. Magnolia Missionary Baptist Church has supported missionary enterprises, home mission, Christian education and foreign missions. Through these efforts, the church has impacted its community, state, and nation, as well as reaching Haiti and Africa. The church supports local missions through its giving recovering addicts/others a changed environment, feeding the homeless, local nursing homes, prayer and family ministries. Since its inception, Magnolia Missionary Baptist Church of Beaumont has been a light and beacon for all. The church's motto, based on 1 Corinthians 2:2, is "Jesus Christ only, always."