South MacArthur Church of Christ

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna pass it right along to you. Way out here in Dallas County, a congregation was already gathering for Church of Christ worship services as early as 1890. No building yet, just believers finding a place to meet.

Then came 1903, and something more permanent took shape: a sanctuary, completed that year on land donated by the town's founders themselves. With a home of their own, the congregation took on a name to match: South Delaware Church of Christ. That was the beginning of something with some staying power.

Decades rolled by, and in 1948, a branch grew from the trunk; some members of South Delaware stepped out and started the East Side Church of Christ. Now you had two congregations, both carrying the same roots forward but doing it their own ways, in their own corners of the community. For more than twenty years they ran parallel, until 1972, when the two came back together.

They merged, folded their histories into one, and adopted the name you see today: South MacArthur Church of Christ. From those early gatherings in 1890, through a donated piece of land, through a split and a reunion, through more than eight decades of Christian education, evangelism, and community service, this congregation kept the faith of its founders. Some things, it turns out, are harder to scatter than you'd think.

What the marker says

Church of Christ worship services were being held in this area as early as 1890. In 1903, a sanctuary was completed on land donated by the town's founders, and the congregation adopted the name South Delaware Church of Christ. In 1948, some members of the South Delaware Church began the East Side Church of Christ. The two congregations merged in 1972 and adopted the present name. South MacArthur Church of Christ has continued to uphold the ideals and traditions of its founders, with emphasis on Christian education, evangelism, and community service. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986