McDade Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the McDade Baptist Church, out there in Bastrop County. Now settle in, because this one starts the way all good stories do: with a beginning that's firmer than most. July 18, 1880.

That's the day this congregation was organized, and they didn't ease into it either. They came in under the leadership of the Reverend J. D.

Wright, who then turned right around and served as their first pastor. Man showed up to do a job and did two of them. The fellowship went by a mouthful of a name in those early days: the McDade Baptist Church of Christ.

And here's where it gets interesting. They weren't worshiping in a building of their own. No sir.

They were sharing a union church building with other denominations, all of them under one roof, making it work the way folks out here always have, by figuring it out together. Now, sharing is a virtue, but owning has its appeal. Come 1900, the Baptists purchased the Union Building from those other congregations.

What had been common ground became their sanctuary, and it served them faithfully in that role clear through to 1948. Then something remarkable happened. An army chapel, purchased from nearby Camp Swift, was moved to this very site.

Think about that for a moment. A chapel that had seen one kind of service was now called to another. The McDade Baptist Church has carried on since, rooted in worship and education, woven deep into the cultural and religious life of this community.

Some congregations flicker. This one, organized on a summer day in 1880, is still here.

What the marker says

McDade Baptist Church This congregation was organized on July 18, 1880, under the leadership of the Rev. J. D. Wright, who also served as first pastor. Originally known as the McDade Baptist Church of Christ, the fellowship worshiped in a union church building shared with other denominations. In 1900, the Baptists purchased the Union Building from the other congregations, and it served as the church's sanctuary until 1948, when an army chapel, purchased from nearby Camp Swift, was moved to this site. With an emphasis on worship and education, the McDade Baptist church has been a strong part of the community's cultural and religious history. (2002)