Sublime Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Sublime Baptist Church in Lavaca County. Now, every good story starts somewhere, and this one starts at a place the old-timers called tick hill, four miles south of where the church stands today, near Geiger Cemetery. That's where Sublime Missionary Baptist Church of Christ first held services, back in 1853.

No permanent building, no set schedule. Services happened on Saturday night and Sunday morning whenever a preacher could make it out that way. And making it out that way was no small thing.

The traveling preacher, the circuit rider, had a long road to cover. When he finally arrived, he'd stay at the home of James Robert Brooks, J.R. to the congregation, one of the early deacons of the church. The man kept a spare room ready and a community counting on him.

The church officially organized in 1878. That's a quarter century of tick-hill services, borrowed hospitality, and faith running on a circuit rider's schedule before anyone put it down on paper. Then came 1887, and a man named Robert Miller, the founder of the town of Sublime, donated land.

It took a little while for the pieces to come together, but by 1905 a wooden frame building was erected and ready for use as a church. Now, services still weren't held regularly. But revival meetings, those happened often, come summertime, out in a tent or right there in the open air.

Membership was never large, the marker is honest about that, but the community held on. Decades passed. And by 1953, the congregation voted to construct something new, something built for the future.

September 1954, they dedicated it: a new auditorium, six classrooms, restrooms, and storage. A parsonage followed in 1966. Today those buildings carry more than Sunday morning services.

They hold fifth Saturday singings, reunions, parties, weddings, the whole rhythm of a community's life. And when church members pass on, many of them choose to be buried at Geiger Cemetery, right near that original location at tick hill, as if even in death they're keeping the circle unbroken. Tick hill to a frame building to a dedicated auditorium, and through all of it, well over a century of missions and service to the Sublime community.

Some things, it turns out, are right there in the name.

What the marker says

Originally called Sublime Missionary Baptist Church of Christ, the Sublime Baptist Church first held services in 1853, four miles south of its present location at a place known as "tick hill," near Geiger Cemetery. Services were held on Saturday night and Sunday morning whenever a preacher could come to the area. The traveling preacher, or circuit rider, would stay at the home of James Robert (J.R.) Brooks, one of the early deacons of the church. The church officially organized in 1878. In 1887, Robert Miller, the founder of the town of sublime, donated land and a wooden frame building was erected by 1905 for use as a church. Services were not held regularly but revival meetings were conducted often in the summertime in a tent or in the open. Although membership was not large, a new church building was required and, by 1953, the church voted to construct a new building. In September 1954, Sublime Baptist Church dedicated its new auditorium, six classrooms, restrooms and storage. A parsonage was added in 1966. In addition to church activities such as fifth Saturday singing, the buildings are used as the site for community events, including reunions, parties and weddings. Many church members have deep ties to this community and chose to be buried at Geiger Cemetery, near the original church location. Through missions and service, Sublime Baptist Church has been a source of guidance and support to the Sublime community for well over a century. (2017)