New Hope Missionary Baptist Church

Duane's take

The way I tell it, I'm drawing straight from the official marker for New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, right here in Burleson County. So let's honor that. Now, you have to understand what was happening in the years just after the Civil War.

African American communities across this land were building something from the ground up. Churches weren't just places of worship. They were the center of everything, spiritual guidance, education, social life, political empowerment, political organization.

The church was the community, and the community was the church. So here's where the story begins. It's 1870.

Five years out from Emancipation. A group of men and women, and the marker doesn't let us forget it was both, gathered under a brush arbor near a place called Jim Branch. No grand building, no steeple, no stained glass.

Just people, and purpose, and sky. And out of that meeting came the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. The first proper building went up near Jim Branch, too, and they had themselves a pastor.

Reverend Albert Green, a man who had come all the way from South Carolina. Membership grew. The revivals got well-attended enough that the space just couldn't hold the faithful anymore.

So they moved. Then moved again. The congregation was restless in the best possible way, always reaching for something larger.

Eventually they settled, on land donated by a man named Walter Bains, and they built a sanctuary. Then in 1910, they built a larger one. The work never really stopped.

In the late 1920s or 1930s, a choir stand and room were added, along with a pastor's study and lighting. Small details that meant everything to the people worshiping there. By the 1960s, under the leadership of Reverend C.M.

Roach, the congregation added brick facing and installed a baptismal pool right there on the property. Before that, when it came time for baptism, you went to a stock tank or you went to the Brazos River. There's something about that image that stays with you.

These days, the congregation maintains a cemetery on the property, hosts an annual homecoming, and supports a youth group, a choir, and education within the community. More than a century on from that brush arbor near Jim Branch, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church still stands as the center of the Teals Prairie community, through leadership and through faith. Some things, once planted with that kind of intention, just don't let go.

What the marker says

Following the Civil War, African American communities established churches which became centerpieces of their culture, not only through spiritual guidance but also education, social activities and political empowerment and organization. In 1870, five years after Emancipation, a group of men and women met under a brush arbor near Jim Branch and started the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. The first church building was near Jim Branch with Reverend Albert Green of South Carolina as pastor. Membership grew and well-attended revivals necessitated a larger building. The church moved several times but settled on land donated by Walter Bains and built a sanctuary. In 1910, the congregation built a larger sanctuary. A choir stand and room, pastor's study and lighting were added in the late 1920s or 1930s. The congregation continued to make improvements to the church campus. In the 1960s, under the leadership of Reverend C.M. Roach, church improvements included brick facing and the installation of a baptismal pool. Prior to this, baptisms were held in a stock tank or the Brazos River. The congregation maintains a cemetery on the property and hosts an annual homecoming. The church also supports a youth group, choir and education within the community. After more than a century, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church remains the center of the Teals Prairie community through leadership and faith. (2019)