Palo Duro Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Palo Duro Baptist Church in Deaf Smith County. Now settle in, because this one starts before the church ever had a name. It starts with a schoolhouse.

Around 1893, settlers in the Texas Panhandle built Union School. And because people out on those plains were hungry for community in every sense of the word, area residents started holding a non-denominational Sunday School right there in that building. No single denomination claimed it.

Everybody just showed up. That's the kind of arrangement that works fine, until somebody decides to do something a little more permanent. In 1901, the Baptists living in the Palo Duro community, named for the creek that crosses northeastern Deaf Smith County, held a revival at that same school.

And revivals have a way of clarifying things. Shortly thereafter, on October 26, 1901, twelve charter members sat down together and organized Palo Duro Baptist Church. Twelve.

Not a hundred, not fifty. Twelve people decided this thing was worth doing. The Reverend J.F.

Killman served as pastor for that congregation, which at first met one weekend a month. One weekend a month. Out here, that might have felt like plenty, or it might have felt like not nearly enough, depending on the week you'd had.

The church found its footing slowly. For a few years, they kept meeting where they could. Then, in 1905, area pioneers John and Janette Womble stepped up and offered property for a church building.

The congregation completed that structure in 1906, paid for by community donations. And in the generous spirit that seems to have defined this church from the start, they let the Methodists use it too. Through its early years, the congregation grew and declined, reflecting trends in the area's population.

The Panhandle was like that. Towns boomed and quieted with the land and the weather and the economy. The church rode those same waves.

But it held on. By 1953, Palo Duro Baptist Church was a charter member of the Amarillo Baptist Association when that association formed. And just one year later, in 1954, the congregation participated in a televised service at the KGNC television studio in Amarillo.

A congregation that started in a one-room schoolhouse, broadcasting on television. That's a long way to travel in about fifty years. But the part of this story that really sticks with you is the outreach.

In 1960, the congregation began a Spanish mission for Bracero farm workers. When that program ended, they didn't just close that chapter and move on. They kept supporting Spanish-speaking congregations in Hereford and Amarillo.

Beyond that, Palo Duro Baptist Church delivered gift baskets to shut-ins and the elderly. They hosted orphans from Buckner's Baptist Children's Home. They awarded scholarships to students.

They worked with children with disabilities. They participated in prison ministry. They organized local missions and foreign missions.

Now, that is a lot of work for a church that started with twelve people in a borrowed schoolhouse on a creek in the Panhandle. The marker puts it simply, and I think it earns the right to: Palo Duro Baptist Church continues to be a beacon of light in the Texas Panhandle and throughout the world. Twelve charter members on October 26, 1901.

Some light travels a long way.

What the marker says

Palo Duro Baptist Church has its origins in Union School, which was built by settlers around 1893. Area residents held a non-denominational Sunday School in the facility. In 1901, Baptists living in the Palo Duro community, named for the creek that crosses northeastern Deaf Smith County, held a revival at the school. Shortly thereafter, on October 26, 1901, 12 charter members organized Palo Duro Baptist Church. The Rev. J.F. Killman served as pastor for the congregation, which at first met one weekend a month. In 1905, area pioneers John and Janette Womble offered property for a church building. The congregation completed a structure in 1906, which was paid for by community donations. Methodists also used the new facility. The congregation grew and declined through its early years, reflecting trends in the area’s population. The church was a charter member of the Amarillo Baptist Association, which formed in 1953. In 1954, Palo Duro Baptist Church participated in a televised service at the KGNC television studio in Amarillo. Palo Duro Baptist Church has a rich history of giving and outreach. In 1960, the congregation began a Spanish mission for Bracero farm workers; after the program ended, the congregation supported Spanish-speaking congregations in Hereford and Amarillo. The church has also aided shut-ins and the elderly through gift baskets, hosted orphans from the Buckner’s Baptist Children’s Home, awarded scholarships to students, worked with children with disabilities, participated in prison ministry, and organized local and foreign missions. Today, Palo Duro Baptist Church continues to be a beacon of light in the Texas panhandle and throughout the world. (2010)