DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker for Rock Island Baptist Church in Jefferson County — let me tell you what it says, in my own way. Now, every great church has got to start somewhere, and this one started small. In 1910, a small group of Christians — going by the name of the Sixth Street Baptist Church — began worshipin' in Port Arthur.
That alone is a story worth tellin'. But here's where it gets interesting. The very next year, 1911, eleven members of that Sixth Street congregation made a decision.
They weren't leavin' the faith — they were deepenin' their commitment to it. Those eleven souls organized what would become the Rock Island Baptist Church. Eleven people.
You remember that number. For two years, this new congregation worshipped in a house rented from Reverend N.S. Gray.
A borrowed roof, a shared purpose, and a whole lot of faith. Leading them through those early years was Reverend Henry Roy, the church's first pastor — a man who served until his death in 1915. But even while grieving, this congregation kept building.
In 1913, the parishioners purchased land right on that very site and put up a large church building. And what happened inside those walls went well beyond Sunday morning. That building served as the first kindergarten for African American children in Port Arthur.
Let that settle. The first. In the whole city.
Then came 1939, and Rock Island wasn't finished yet. A new two-story building went up, and the old church — that original sanctuary — was moved to the rear of the lot. It didn't sit idle.
The Works Progress Administration used it first, and then the St. John Baptist Church called it home. Even the old building had more life to give.
The decades kept rolling, and so did Rock Island. A church parking lot constructed in 1966. Land purchased in 1967 to build a new sanctuary.
A parsonage added in 1976. And then, in 1979, the church divided, and some of those members united with the Solid Rock Baptist Church. Change comes to every congregation; Rock Island knew it too.
But here's the thread that runs through all of it — the thing that never wavered. Community outreach and missionary work, the marker tells us, have been an important part of this church's mission since the very founding. Radio ministries.
Bus ministries. Prison ministries. A scholarship fund.
A Vacation Bible School program. Support for local charities and foreign missions. Assistance to church members and community members in need.
Eleven people in 1911. A rented house. A first pastor.
A first kindergarten. A building that outlived its original purpose and kept servin' anyway. The Rock Island Baptist Church, the marker says, continues to act as a spiritual base for the Port Arthur area.
Some foundations, once laid, just don't move.
What the marker says
ROCK ISLAND BAPTIST CHURCH IN 1910, A SMALL GROUP OF CHRISTIANS (KNOWN AS THE SIXTH STREET BAPTIST CHURCH) BEGAN WORSHIPING IN PORT ARTHUR. THE FOLLOWING YEAR, IN 1911, THE ROCK ISLAND BAPTIST CHURCH ORGANIZED WHEN ELEVEN MEMBERS FROM THE SIXTH STREET BAPTIST CHURCH DECIDED TO FORM A NEW CHURCH. FOR TWO YEARS, THE GROUP WORSHIPPED IN A HOUSE RENTED FROM REV. N.S. GRAY. REVEREND HENRY ROY SERVED AS THE CHURCH’S FIRST PASTOR UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1915. IN 1913, THE PARISHIONERS PURCHASED LAND ON THIS SITE AND BUILT A LARGE CHURCH BUILDING. THE CHURCH SERVED AS A MEETING PLACE FOR RELIGIOUS SERVICES, BUT ALSO AS THE FIRST KINDERGARTEN FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN IN PORT ARTHUR. IN 1939, A NEW TWO-STORY BUILDING WAS ERECTED AND THE OLD CHURCH WAS MOVED TO THE REAR OF THE LOT. THE OLD CHURCH BUILDING WAS FIRST USED BY THE WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION AND THEN BY THE ST. JOHN BAPTIST CHURCH. THE CHURCH EXPANDED THEIR GROUNDS BY CONSTRUCTING A CHURCH PARKING LOT IN 1966, PURCHASED LAND TO BUILD A NEW SANCTUARY IN 1967, AND ADDED A PARSONAGE IN 1976. IN 1979, THE CHURCH DIVIDED AND SOME MEMBERS UNITED WITH THE SOLID ROCK BAPTIST CHURCH. COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND MISSIONARY WORK HAS BEEN AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE CHURCH’S MISSION SINCE THE CONGREGATION’S FOUNDING. THE CHURCH CREATED RADIO, BUS, AND PRISON MINISTRIES, ESTABLISHED A SCHOLARSHIP FUND, AND A VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL PROGRAM. THE CHURCH CONTINUES TO ASSIST CHURCH AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN NEED AND ALSO SUPPORTS LOCAL CHARITIES AND FOREIGN MISSIONS. THE MEMBERS AND PROGRAMS OF THE ROCK ISLAND BAPTIST CHURCH CONTINUE TO ACT AS A SPIRITUAL BASE FOR THE PORT ARTHUR AREA. 175 YEARS OF TEXAS INDEPENDENCE * 1836-2011