DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about St. Luke United Methodist Church in Tarrant County. Now settle in, because this one starts small — seventeen people small — and grows into something worth the drive.
September 28, 1928. Seventeen charter members gathered in the Birdville community, the place that would later become Haltom City, under the leadership of the Reverend C.O. Hightower, and they organized what they called Birdville Methodist Church.
Before that day, Methodists in the area had been making do with sporadic services — a Sunday here, an afternoon there. Nothing you could really plant roots in. But now they had something.
The Reverend Hubert C. Smith came on as pastor, and the congregation settled into a rhythm: one Sunday morning and one afternoon of services each month. It wasn't much, but it was theirs.
Then came 1930, and the members put up their first building, right there on Belknap Street. Brick and mortar. A home.
And then, well — you know what came next, because everybody from that era knows what came next. The Great Depression hit, and it hit hard. The church struggled financially.
Attendance thinned out. There were probably Sundays that felt more like a vigil than a celebration. But here is where the story turns, and it turns on one name.
In 1935, the Reverend J.D.F. Williams was appointed as pastor, and under his leadership, the church grew — not a little, not politely — dramatically. By 1941, Birdville Methodist Church was made a station charge, having originally been part of a circuit.
And by 1948, membership had climbed to more than three hundred souls. Three hundred. From seventeen.
Now World War II ends, and Haltom City starts growing the way Texas towns do when they get a notion — fast and in every direction. The church rode that wave. In 1950, St.
Luke Methodist Church, as it was known by then, moved to a new facility on Denton Highway. A new address for a new era. By 1964, the congregation had built a third sanctuary.
A third. And in 1968, when the Methodist and United Brethren Churches merged, the name changed one final time to what it carries today — St. Luke United Methodist Church.
That same year, 1968, the congregation turned their eyes well beyond Haltom City. They began raising funds to build a church in Daet, in Camarines Norte Province, in the Philippines. A Texas congregation, planting something on the other side of the world.
That is not a small thing. Back home, the membership kept serving — running ministries, offering English as a Second Language classes, holding the community together stitch by stitch. From seventeen charter members on a September morning in 1928 to a congregation with roots in the Philippines and a hand in the lives of Haltom City's newest neighbors — St.
Luke United Methodist Church didn't just survive the Depression or outgrow its first little building on Belknap Street. It just kept becoming more than it was.
What the marker says
On September 28, 1928, seventeen charter members, under the leadership of the Rev. C.O. Hightower, organized Birdville Methodist Church. Before that time, there were only sporadic services for Methodists in the Birdville (now Haltom City) community. The congregation began to hold services one Sunday morning and one afternoon of each month, with the Rev. Hubert C. Smith serving as pastor. In 1930, members built their first building, on Belknap Street. During the Great Depression, the Church struggled financially and with attendance. However, under the Rev. J.D.F. Williams, who was appointed as pastor in 1935, the Church grew dramatically. Originally part of a circuit, Birdville Methodist Church was made a station charge in 1941, and by 1948, membership had increased to more than 300. The rapid population growth of Haltom City after World War II coincided with church growth; in 1950, St. Luke Methodist Church, as it was then known, moved to a new facility on Denton Highway. By 1964, the congregation built a third sanctuary, and in 1968, its name changed to St. Luke United Methodist Church after the merger between the Methodist and United Brethren Churches. Membership has supported the community through a variety of ministries, including English as a Second Language classes. The Church has also focused on worldwide missions; in 1968, the congregation began to raise funds which were used to build a church in Daet (Camarines, Norte Province), Philippines. Today, St. Luke United Methodist Church continues to be a spiritual and community leader in Haltom City. (2009)