Toliver Chapel Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to honor every word. Now, most great institutions start with something small — a single room, a handful of people, a shared conviction that something bigger is coming. Toliver Chapel Baptist Church in Waco started with a Sunday school class.

The man leading that class was the Reverend I. Toliver — described by those who knew him as a highly respected Baptist minister and civic leader in Waco's African American community. Whatever he was teaching in that Sunday school, people were listening.

Because out of that class grew something that would endure for generations. In July of 1895, Reverend Toliver organized the Toliver Chapel Baptist Church — and the congregation that bore his name was underway. Their first pastor was the Reverend J.

Cole, called to lead this new flock. And they didn't waste time putting down roots. In 1896, the congregation purchased slightly more than four acres in east Waco — bought from a man named W.M.

Walton. That's real estate. That's a statement of intent.

They stayed on that land until around 1900, when they moved to a sanctuary built across Price Street from where the marker now stands. And here's a detail that somehow tells you everything about the spirit of those early members — they recalled that services were often interrupted by the sounds of interurban rail cars running along Price Street. Picture that.

Someone deep in a sermon, or a choir just finding its groove, and here comes the rail car. And yet they stayed. And they grew.

By 1917, the congregation had prospered enough that a new sanctuary was erected to accommodate an expanding membership. That word — expanding — doesn't quite prepare you for what comes next. By the early 1940s, Toliver Chapel Baptist Church boasted more than eleven hundred members.

Eleven hundred. From a Sunday school class. In 1948, a new church building was erected at this very site.

Over the years, an educational building and a music chapel were added. Several prominent area citizens have counted themselves among this congregation's members. And Toliver Chapel Baptist Church — more than a century on from that July in 1895 — continues to maintain active outreach and youth programs in the community.

A Sunday school class. That's where it started. Don't ever let anybody tell you small beginnings don't matter.

What the marker says

This congregation grew out of a Sunday school class led by the Rev. I. Toliver, a highly-respected Baptist minister and civic leader in Waco's African American community. The Rev. Toliver, for whom the church is named, organized the Toliver Chapel Baptist Church in July 1895. The Rev. J. Cole was called as first pastor. The church purchased slightly more than four acres in east Waco from W.M. Walton in 1896. The congregation remained at that location until about 1900 when they moved to a sanctuary built across Price Street from this site. Early church members recalled that services were often interrupted by the sounds of interurban rail cars which ran along Price Street. The church prospered and in 1917 a new sanctuary was erected to accommodate an expanding membership. The church continued to grow and by the early 1940s boasted more than 1,100 members. In 1948 a new church building was erected at this site. Facilities which have been added over the years include an educational building and a music chapel. Several prominent area citizens have been members of this congregation. Toliver Chapel Baptist Church continues to maintain active outreach and youth programs in the community. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995