Oak Cliff Presbyterian Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Oak Cliff Presbyterian Church. Now, seventeen doesn't sound like a big number. Seventeen people could fit in a modest living room with a little elbow room to spare.

But in 1890, seventeen charter members was enough: enough to plant something, enough to start a church that would outlast every single one of them and then some. That was the founding of Oak Cliff Presbyterian Church, and from those seventeen souls, a congregation grew. They met first over at Ninth and Patton streets, then picked up and moved to Tenth and Madison streets, and the whole time, steady growth.

Not a flash in the pan. Not a burst and a fade. Steady.

The kind of growth that tells you something about the people doing the tending. Worship, education, outreach, missionary work (foreign and domestic both), this church cast a wide net and kept casting it. And when the time came to put down permanent roots on a new piece of ground, they didn't just talk about it.

On July 19, 1970, land at this very site was acquired and construction of new facilities began. That's a real date. Marked on a calendar, set in motion.

Beyond their own four walls, Oak Cliff Presbyterian played an active role in creating new congregations across the Dallas area; a church that didn't just grow itself, but helped grow others. Seventeen members in 1890. That's all it took to start something that's still standing.

What the marker says

Founded in 1890 with seventeen charter members, this church has served the community with a variety of worship, educational, outreach, and missionary programs. Meeting in facilities first at Ninth and Patton streets and later at Tenth and Madison streets, the church experienced steady growth. Land at this site was acquired and construction of new facilities began on July 19, 1970. Oak Cliff Presbyterian Church has played an active role in creating new congregations in the Dallas area and maintains a commitment to both foreign and domestic missionary endeavors.