St. John Missionary Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Harris County. Now settle in, because this is a story about a congregation that refused to quit.

It starts small, grows through a storm, survives a split, and ends up with a bell that's still ringing. You ready? Good.

In 1899, Reverends Gilbert Green and Hilliard R. Johnson organized St. John Missionary Baptist Church, and that first congregation gathered in a small building near Calhoun Avenue and Live Oak Street.

Modest beginnings, no question. But then in 1901, Reverend James B. Bouldin purchased property in the 2100 block of Broadway, the street now called Bastrop, and later conveyed that land to the church trustees.

A small frame building went up on that ground. And for a while, things were looking up. Then a storm came along and demolished it.

Just like that. Gone. Now, a lesser congregation might have scattered.

Not St. John. They set up a tent and held their worship services right there, determined as ever.

Between 1907 and 1915, they built a new sanctuary. And they didn't hold back. This one had a baptismal pool, an auditorium, a partial balcony, an elevated choir stand, additional rooms, and a bell installed in the left tower.

That bell, by the way, continues to be used today, though now it rings from the right tower. A small miracle of relocation, that. Then came 1917, and the church faced something harder than any storm.

Due to various misunderstandings, St. John split, and that split created another St. John Baptist Church over on Dowling Street.

Those kinds of fractures leave marks. But the congregation on Bastrop held on, and kept growing. After World War II, more people moved to the city, membership increased, and it became clear a larger building was needed.

So in 1946, a man named James M. Thomas got to work. Thomas was a local Black contractor who would go on to become Houston's most prominent architect for Black congregations.

What he built was a three-story Gothic Revival masonry structure, with a nave and twin towers, a design exemplifying the African-American church architecture of the nineteen-thirties through the nineteen-fifties right there in Houston. St. John had many struggles.

It grew slowly. The marker doesn't dress that up. But through all of it, this church became one of the most important congregations of the early nineteen-hundreds, recognized for its attitude toward civic and benevolent movements.

It started as a traditional service. It has progressed into what the marker calls a spirit-filled, praise and worship experience. And it continues, to this day, as an influential African-American institution.

That bell is still ringing. Just from a different tower than the one they started with.

What the marker says

ST. JOHN MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH, ORGANIZED IN 1899 BY REVERENDS GILBERT GREEN AND HILLIARD R. JOHNSON, FIRST MET IN A SMALL BUILDING NEAR CALHOUN AVENUE AND LIVE OAK STREET. IN 1901, REV. JAMES B. BOULDIN PURCHASED PROPERTY, LATER CONVEYED TO CHURCH TRUSTEES, IN THE 2100 BLOCK OF BROADWAY (NOW BASTROP STREET). A SMALL FRAME BUILDING WAS LATER ERECTED THERE, BUT AFTER A STORM DEMOLISHED IT, A TENT WAS USED TEMPORARILY FOR WORSHIP SERVICES. BETWEEN 1907 AND 1915, A NEW SANCTUARY WAS BUILT WITH A BAPTISMAL POOL, AUDITORIUM, PARTIAL BALCONY, ELEVATED CHOIR STAND, ADDITIONAL ROOMS, AND A BELL IN THE LEFT TOWER THAT CONTINUES TO BE USED TODAY IN THE RIGHT TOWER. IN 1917, THE CHURCH SPLIT DUE TO VARIOUS MISUNDERSTANDINGS, CREATING ANOTHER ST. JOHN BAPTIST CHURCH ON DOWLING STREET. AS MEMBERSHIP INCREASED WITH MORE PEOPLE MOVING TO THE CITY AFTER WORLD WAR II, A LARGER BUILDING WAS NEEDED. IN 1946, JAMES M. THOMAS, A LOCAL BLACK CONTRACTOR WHO BECAME HOUSTON’S MOST PROMINENT ARCHITECT FOR BLACK CONGREGATIONS, BUILT THE THREE-STORY GOTHIC REVIVAL MASONRY STRUCTURE WITH THE NAVE AND TWIN TOWERS EXEMPLIFYING 1930s TO 1950s LOCAL AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHURCH ARCHITECTURE. ALTHOUGH ST. JOHN HAD MANY STRUGGLES AND GREW SLOWLY, IT BECAME ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CHURCHES IN THE EARLY 1900s, NOTED FOR ITS ATTITUDE TOWARDS CIVIC AND BENEVOLENT MOVEMENTS. IT HAS PROGRESSED FROM A TRADITIONAL SERVICE TO A SPIRIT FILLED, PRAISE AND WORSHIP EXPERIENCE AND CONTINUES AS AN INFLUENTIAL AFRICAN-AMERICAN INSTITUTION.