DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about this place — and friend, the name alone ought to stop you in your tracks. Loafer's Glory. Just sit with that for a moment.
Loafer's Glory Apostolic Church, right here in Williamson County. Now, every church has a beginning, and this one's beginning has all the makings of a proper story. It was 1908, and a Wesleyan Holiness preacher by the name of George Sutton came through and conducted a revival — not in a grand hall, not in some established sanctuary, but at Loafer's Glory School, out on Wilson Atwood's farm.
You plant a seed in ground like that, in a place with a name like that, and something's bound to take root. And take root it did. Come 1909, an evangelist named Fred Lohmann stepped in as minister, and he did not come quietly.
He conducted tent revivals — the kind that drew hundreds of people. Hundreds. Out to a place called Loafer's Glory.
Think about that caravan of souls making their way across Williamson County to gather under canvas and raise their voices. Around 1910, a small frame sanctuary went up, built on land donated by a man named Jim Moore. Jim Moore didn't just give the land — he led that congregation.
Shepherded it. Right up until his death in 1917. What grew out of that little frame church is something worth remarkin' on.
Many ministers and missionaries originated from Loafer's Glory Church. It kept its doors open, kept its services going under several leaders, all the way until 1930. A revival sparked on a farm, a tent full of hundreds, a frame church on donated land — and from that soil, a whole generation of ministers and missionaries went out into the world.
From Loafer's Glory, of all places. Maybe the name wasn't so ironic after all.
What the marker says
Loafer's Glory Apostolic Church was organized in 1908 after Wesleyan Holiness preacher George Sutton conducted a revival at Loafer's Glory School on Wilson Atwood's farm. Beginning in 1909, evangelist Fred Lohmann served as minister and conducted tent revivals which drew hundreds of people. A small frame sanctuary was erected about 1910 on land donated by Jim Moore, who led the congregation until his death in 1917. Many ministers and missionaries originated from Loafer's Glory Church, which continued services under several leaders until 1930. (1994)