Mt. Providence Baptist Church

Duane's take

Now, this one comes straight from the official marker, and I'm just the one lucky enough to tell it to you. Mt. Providence Baptist Church, Henderson County, Texas.

Pull up a chair and listen close, because this story has been building since 1888, and it is not done yet. It started, as so many good things do, without a building to call its own. The church was first organized in 1888 inside the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, under Reverend F.M.

Jackson. No walls of its own, no steeple, no deed. For a while, the congregation met wherever it could, different churches, homes, and brush arbors.

You know the kind of faith it takes to keep showing up when there is no fixed address. That is the foundation this church was built on, before a single board was ever nailed. Then came April 19, 1890, and three men stepped forward to change things.

Church trustees S.M. McIntire, Green Wright, and Henry Cook purchased land for Mt. Providence Baptist Church.

That same year, a small building went up, and Reverend McIntire became the first minister to stand in it. Services were held once a month in those early days, and ministers, the way things worked back then, preached at several different churches, not unlike those circuit rider preachers moving from place to place, carrying the word with them wherever they rode. Baptisms were something else entirely.

Less frequent, and held outdoors in the summer, at the pool near the old Harbison-Walker brickyard. You can almost feel the heat of a Texas summer afternoon in that image. By 1902, the congregation had grown enough that building expansion was necessary.

New classrooms went up, and during the weekdays, those rooms doubled as space for students at Blackshear School. One building, more than one purpose. That is a community working with what it has.

Now, here is the turn in the story that you might not see coming. After World War II, the government sold off military buildings, and Mt. Providence purchased one from Camp Fannin, located near Tyler.

Old barracks, the kind of structure where soldiers once slept before shipping out, became the new church home. And several years later, that former barracks was bricked. The congregation took something left over from a world at war and turned it into a place of worship.

If that is not a tall tale worth telling, I do not know what is. The improvements kept coming. In the 1950s, Reverend J.C.

Delly became the first full-time pastor, and with his arrival came an indoor baptismal pool and a small organ. No more summer trips to the pool by the old brickyard. Then under Pastor C.C.

Taylor, a fellowship hall was added and the church interior saw more improvements still. Layer by layer, decade by decade, the congregation kept building. Today, Mt.

Providence Baptist Church is a large part of its community. It makes donations to the sick and those in need, contributes to scholarship funds, visits nursing homes, donates to the African Relief Fund, distributes Christmas cheer baskets, and operates an in-house food pantry. Started in 1888 without a building to its name, meeting in homes and brush arbors.

Today it is a cornerstone. That is the whole story, and every bit of it is true.

What the marker says

Mt. Providence Baptist Church was first organized in 1888 in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church under Reverend F.M. Jackson. For a while the church would meet in different churches, homes, and brush arbors. On April 19, 1890, church trustees S.M. McIntire, Green Wright and Henry Cook purchased land for Mt. Providence Baptist Church. In 1890, a small building was constructed and Reverend McIntire served as the first minister. At this time, church services were held once a month, but by 1902 building expansion was necessary. During the weekdays, the newly built classrooms were used to accommodate students at Blackshear School. In the early days ministers preached at several different churches similar to circuit rider preachers. Baptisms at Mt. Providence were less frequent and held at the pool near the old Harbison-Walker brickyard during the summer. After World War II, the government sold military buildings and Mt. Providence purchased a building from Camp Fannin located near Tyler. The old barracks became the new church home and, several years later, the structure was bricked. During the 1950s, Reverend J.C. Delly became the first full-time pastor and improvements were made to the church that included an indoor baptismal pool and a small organ. Under Pastor C.C. Taylor, a fellowship hall was added and improvements made to the church interior. Today the church is a large part of the community and makes donations to the sick and those in need, contributes to scholarship funds, visits nursing homes, donates to the African Relief Fund, distributes Christmas cheer baskets and operates an in-house food pantry. (2012)