San Saba Church of Christ

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the San Saba Church of Christ. Now settle in, because this congregation has been through more than a few storms and come out standing every time. San Saba County was organized in 1856, and by 1860 the commissioners court was already handing out land to religious bodies.

Each congregation got a block, the Christian church among them. But here's where it gets interesting. That congregation looked at their block, looked at another block, and decided to make a trade.

On that second piece of ground, they built a small frame structure, and that was the beginning of it all. The first documented preacher of the Christian church in San Saba was a man named J. A.

Henderson. After him, for many years, services were carried on by lay elders and traveling ministers, men who came through with the Word and then moved on down the road. San Saba, it turns out, had a taste for a good argument in the best possible sense.

Popular religious debates were held in town, and members of the Christian church were right there in the thick of them. Then came the twentieth century, and with it, a reckoning. In 1904 a division split the Christian church, and the San Saba congregation had to make a choice.

They chose the Church of Christ. That split could have broken them. It didn't.

The Depression era tested them further, those lean years that tested just about everybody. Still, the San Saba Church of Christ thrived. Summer revivals packed people in, membership grew, and new facilities went up as the congregation needed them.

Then 1957 brought another controversy, this one over the support of mission work, and it resulted in a separate congregation branching off. You might think that would leave the original church diminished. It didn't.

They carried on, regained their strength quickly, and by the 1970s the San Saba Church of Christ was flourishing. Today they uphold the traditions of their founders through worship, missionary work, and community outreach reaching across Texas and beyond. Some roots, it seems, just don't give up their hold on the ground.

What the marker says

San Saba County was organized in 1856, and in 1860 the commissioners court issued a block of land to each religious body; the Christian church was one of these. The congregation traded their land for another block upon which they built a small frame structure. The first documented preacher of the Christian church in San Saba was J. A. Henderson. For many years, services were conducted by lay elders and by traveling ministers. Popular religious debates held in San Saba often involved members of the Christian church. The 20th century was ushered in by the 1904 division in the Christian church, which led the San Saba congregation to choose the Church of Christ. Despite the split and such lean years as those of the Depression era, the San Saba Church of Christ thrived. Popular activities such as summer revivals increased membership in the church, with new facilities erected as needed. A controversy over the support of mission work resulted in the founding of a separate congregation in 1957, but the original San Saba congregation carried on and quickly regained its strength, flourishing in the 1970s. The San Saba Church of Christ upholds the unique traditions of its founders through worship, missionary, and community outreach programs in Texas and beyond. (1998)