Seventh & James Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll pass it along just as it stands. On June 26, 1898, a group of Waco Baptists did what Baptists have always done when the spirit moves them: they formed a new congregation. They called it Third Street Baptist Church, and they meant business from the start.

By July of that same year, they had themselves a pastor, the Reverend William D. Bowen, and he wasn't the kind of man to let the grass grow. Come June of 1899, Reverend Bowen stepped up to deliver the opening sermon in the church's very first building.

Now, a congregation with that kind of momentum doesn't sit still for long. In 1903, they relocated to a new site, and with the new address came a new name: Seventh and James Baptist Church. Three years later, in 1906, a larger building went up, because a growing family needs more room, and this congregation was very much a growing family.

Facilities were altered as needed over the years, which is a quiet way of saying they kept adapting, kept building, kept showing up. And here's the thread that runs through all of it: Seventh and James has always kept one foot on the campus of Baylor University. The church claims a global extended family of Baylor students, and many of its pastors have served as professors of religion there, faith and scholarship walking the same road together.

That congregation of Waco Baptists who gathered on a June day in 1898 planted something that took deep root. Seventh and James Baptist Church carries their traditions forward still.

What the marker says

On June 26, 1898, a group of Waco Baptist formed a new congregation called Third Street Baptist Church. The Rev. William D. Bowen became their pastor in July 1898. bowen gave the opening sermon in the church's first building in June 1899. In 1903 the congregation relocated to this site and became known as Seventh and James Baptist Church. A larger building was erected in 1906; facilities were altered as needed. The church claims a global extended family of Baylor University students, and many of its church pastors have served as professors of religion at Baylor. Seventh and James Baptist Church continues to uphold the traditions of its founders. (1998)