Van United Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of the official marker for Van United Methodist Church, as recorded by the Texas Historical Commission. Pull up a chair, because this one starts small, under the open sky, and grows into something that outlasts the boom and the bust alike. In 1885, a group of area Christians in the community of Swindall, the place that would later be called Van, decided they'd had enough of the hard business of travelin' to churches in surrounding settlements.

So they established their own congregation right there at home. They called it Antioch Church, and in the beginning, they met under a brush arbor. No walls, just timber and branches overhead, and when the weather turned mean, they moved inside the community school.

That's where it started. Simple as that, and yet here we are. Now, the community of Swindall had a namesake, two of them in fact.

George and Lizzie Swindall. In 1891, they deeded property across from the school to the church, and the members got to work and built a sanctuary. The first preacher to pastor the congregation was the Rev.

S. N. Allen, a circuit riding preacher, the kind who covered more ground on horseback than most folks see in a lifetime.

Under his watch, the church wasn't just a place of worship. It hosted community events too, a gathering place for the whole settlement. That original structure served its purpose and was replaced in 1910.

Then came 1929, and the kind of thing that changes a town overnight. Oil was discovered in Van. A population boom followed, the way it always does when the earth gives something up like that.

Church membership increased right along with the headcount, and in 1931, an oil well was drilled on church property itself. That same year, the Rev. John W.

Mills, Jr. became the congregation's first full-time pastor. The church was growin' into something permanent. And in 1936, they finished construction on a three-story brick structure.

Three stories. That's a statement in any small Texas town. The congregation kept adding to its footprint, purchasing additional adjoining property in 1955 and again in 1972.

Then in 1987, a fourth church building was constructed on the original site, the very ground where George and Lizzie Swindall had made their deed more than ninety years before. Now here is the part that doesn't always make the headlines but maybe should. Van United Methodist Church built a record of community outreach as long as the road that leads into town.

Members offered meals to the needy, taught English language classes, ran educational programs for children, visited nursing homes and the homebound, and opened their doors to various organizations needing a place to meet. The marker says the church continues, more than a hundred and twenty-five years after its establishment, to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the Van community. Started under a brush arbor because the road to the next town was just too long.

Still standing. Still at it.

What the marker says

VAN UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IN 1885, A GROUP OF AREA CHRISTIANS ESTABLISHED A CONGREGATION IN THE COMMUNITY OF SWINDALL (LATER VAN) BECAUSE OF THE DIFFICULTY IN TRAVELING TO CHURCHES IN SURROUNDING SETTLEMENTS. ORIGINALLY NAMED ANTIOCH CHURCH, MEMBERS FIRST MET UNDER A BRUSH ARBOR, USING THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DURING POOR WEATHER. IN 1891, GEORGE AND LIZZIE SWINDALL, THE COMMUNITY NAMESAKES, DEEDED PROPERTY ACROSS FROM THE SCHOOL TO THE CHURCH, AND MEMBERS SOON BUILT A SANCTUARY. THE REV. S. N. ALLEN WAS THE FIRST CIRCUIT RIDING PREACHER TO PASTOR THE CHURCH, WHICH HOSTED COMMUNITY EVENTS IN ADDITION TO WORSHIP SERVICES. THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE WAS REPLACED IN 1910. IN 1929, OIL WAS DISCOVERED IN VAN, WHICH LED TO A POPULATION BOOM. CHURCH MEMBERSHIP ALSO INCREASED AND IN 1931, AN OIL WELL WAS DRILLED ON CHURCH PROPERTY. THE REV. JOHN W. MILLS, JR. BECAME THE CONGREGATION’S FIRST FULL-TIME PASTOR THAT SAME YEAR. IN 1936, CONSTRUCTION WAS COMPLETED ON A THREE-STORY BRICK STRUCTURE. ADDITIONAL ADJOINING PROPERTY WAS PURCHASED IN 1955 AND 1972, AND IN 1987, A FOURTH CHURCH BUILDING WAS CONSTRUCTED ON THE ORIGINAL SITE. VAN UNITED METHODIST CHURCH HAS A RICH HISTORY OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH. MEMBERS HAVE OFFERED MEALS TO THE NEEDY, TAUGHT ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSES, OFFERED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS TO CHILDREN, VISITED NURSING HOMES AND THE HOMEBOUND, AND HOSTED VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS’ MEETINGS. TODAY, MORE THAN 125 YEARS AFTER ITS ESTABLISHMENT, THE CHURCH CONTINUES TO MEET THE SPIRITUAL AND PHYSICAL NEEDS OF THE VAN COMMUNITY. 175 YEARS OF TEXAS INDEPENDENCE * 1836-2011