First Baptist Church Freeport

 

There is no record of the commencement of Baptist work in Brazosport. It is an historical fact, however, that there were eleven Baptist families with Stephen F. Austin's original, "Three Hundred", that moved to Texas from the United States (1821-1822), some of which landed at Quintana in 1821.

Mexico’s constitution, ratified in 1824, made it illegal to be a Baptist anywhere in Texas. Article III read: "The religion of the Mexican Nation is and will be perpetually the Roman Catholic Apostolic. The nation will protect it by wise and just laws and prohibit the exercise of any other whatsoever".

There is no record in existence that proves that either Thomas J. Pilgrim or James Huckins (both missionaries to early Texans) ever preached in the Brazosport area. It is a matter of record, however, that they were both in Brazoria County in 1829 and 1840, respectively. It is also recorded that Huckins preached in Brazoria County in 1840.

Note: The work of these Baptist missionaries predates the organization of the Southern Baptist Convention. Also, in 1829 it was illegal for Pilgrim, a Baptist, to preach in Texas.

Huckins was in Texas during the days of the Republic of Texas. No laws forbade his preaching, but resistance to preaching was great, for some of the residents of Texas at that time were ruffians. The oldest Southern Baptist church in Brazosport is First Baptist Church of Freeport, organized November 1, 1914. There was a Baptist church in Velasco prior to 1900. The building was located at 201 North Avenue C in what is now Freeport. The disastrous hurricane of 1900 wrecked this house of worship.

The population of the area was small. Only four villages - Velasco, Quintana, Surfside and Clute, existed then.
The hurricane had destroyed so much of their meager resources, and the fact that rebuilding homes was a "must" for survival's sake, a house of worship was delayed. Then in 1909 a hurricane, more devastating to Brazosport than the 1900 storm, delayed a house of worship even more. However, prior to 1913 the non-Catholic Christians got together and erected a community house of worship. It was located at what is now 321 North Avenue D in Freeport.

As time passed, it developed that there were at least two church organizations that worshiped in the Community House. The Methodists supplied a pastor of that faith part of the time. The Baptists furnished their pastor on alternate Sundays. They probably had a joint Sunday school since that was the custom during that era. It was to this situation that S. A. Jones was called to the pastorate of the Baptist group in 1913.

It is known that Rev. Jones preached on occasions across the river in the new town of Freeport (incorporated in 1912) during 1913 and 1914. He, along with Rev. W. H. Gibson, continued alternating their mission preaching in Freeport until October 28, 1914 when these two men made a survey of Freeport in view of organizing a Southern Baptist church.

Following the survey, they conducted worship services in the newly constructed Methodist church for four days. On November 1, 1914 the consensus was that a Baptist church should be organized.
The organization went thus: Rev Gibson presiding, Rev Jones read some scripture, then offered prayer. A list of thirty-one names was read. There are no survivors of that meeting today. Following this, Rev Jones read the Church Covenant.  It was adopted. Rev Gibson declared the body to be a Baptist church after the New Testament order. It is agreed that the body would cooperate with the Union Baptist declared the body to be a Baptist was agreed that the body would Association and the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

A missionary message was preached, and an offering was taken in the amount of $13.96. They then sang "Bless Be The Tie That Binds", ending the organizational proceedings. After the organization of Freeport First the membership of the Baptist faith in the community arrangement was absorbed into First Baptist of Freeport. The First Baptist Church of Freeport shall be eternally grateful to the First Methodist Church of Freeport for permitting the use of their new building during the revival services prior to the organization and during the actual organization itself.

Too, there were some people of the Baptist faith who gave of their time, talent and money to support the church effort when the economic conditions were not the best. Time was precious, and not many people to contribute talent were in residence in Freeport. The carried on by faith and inspiration. Two people who were so inspired were Mr. William Cobb and his cousin, Albert Cobb (neither a charter member but joined the church later, in 1917). These two men each gave $75.00 to start a building fund. The church had no building. They rented several different buildings as places of worship prior to the erection of a house of worship. The Cobb cousins challenged the church to add to this fund until a house of worship could be built. By 1920 this fund had grown enough to enable the church to make a down payment on a building, the first ever erected in Freeport for Baptist worship. This building was located at 331 West Second Street in Freeport, Texas. Due to the growth of the church, Freeport First found it necessary to relocate. In 1942 this relocation occurred. She was relocated to 330 West Fourth Street. The first service was held in the new facilities on Mother's Day 1941.

Following two previous expansions, the church erected a new and beautiful auditorium. This was dedicated September 16, 1962. During these ninety years of existence, First Baptist Church of Freeport has not shut itself up within its four walls. Freeport First has been a missionary church from the beginning.

The first expansion effort began in 1941 when Baptists residing in Velasco, who were members of Freeport First, felt that they were strong enough to organize and support a church. Some of these people were those who were absorbed by Freeport First some years prior. This organization was approved and aided by Freeport First. It proved to be a good move for Velasco First was also a mission-minded church as they did mission work and helped establish three churches.

The first of these were organized in 1947 on Slaughter Road. They named themselves Calvary Baptist.

The next was Clute Temple in 1947. This is a hard one to detail who the missionaries were. The chain of events leading to the organization spanned thirty-three years. The events are these: In 1913 S.A. Jones (co-founder of First Baptist Freeport) helped organize Old Friendship Baptist in Clute and became its first pastor. The church was organized as a Southern Baptist church. Some time between its organization and 1936 the church left the Union Baptist Association, for the minutes of the 1136 meeting record Friendship's return to the Association. Then, about 1940 Friendship joined the Baptist Missionary Association and remained thus for about three years, then withdrew from that association two or three years later and became independent. They then changed their name to First Baptist of Clute.

About this time industrial expansion took a tremendous leap forward in the Brazosport area When this happens, more people populate the area, Clute included. New Southern Baptists from elsewhere came to Clute , then joined First Baptist there but soon learned that they were not in a Southern Baptist church. A group of disappointed members began to meet in any building they could find.  Rev. A. Gordon Johnson, pastor of First Church Velasco did most of the preaching during this period of development.

When the group grew strong enough to feel that they should organize a church, they did so. This was in 1947. On the day of organization, it was discovered that a small technicality was involved ... this being to organize a Baptist church properly, a group of "Baptists of like faith and order, with letters in hand, should be present and desiring such organization. No number is stipulated for such action. During the song service part for the 11:00 o'clock worship service, the telephone rang at First Baptist Church of Freeport. It was someone in Clute explaining their difficulty. Within the membership of Freeport, there were five members who lived in Clute. First Baptist of Freeport granted letters to these five people, and the clerk delivered them to the holders in time for the organization to be completed.

Another mission effort by Velasco First was at Velasco Heights. A church was organized in 1954. This church does not function as such now but is a Hispanic mission - still a Southern Baptist outreach arm.

Clute Temple, too, was mission-minded. It was in 1955 that Northside of Clute was organized because of the missionary efforts of Clute Temple. For some reason, Northside is just a memory today! However, in 1964 First Baptist Church of Richwood became another Baptist witness, with Clute Temple doing the pre-organizational missionary work there.

Emanuel Baptist of Clute was organized in 1959. Clute Temple aided there.

Oyster Creek Baptist became a church in 1943 after a period of being a mission of First Baptist of Freeport.

In 1943 Eastside Baptist mission was established. It continued as a mission to Spanish-speaking people until 1970 when an exodus of the Hispanics caused the mission to close. The personnel of the Eastside moved to Clute and organized themselves into a church and named themselves Iglesia Bautista Primera. They now do work among the Hispanics. The meeting house for the mission as such now serves as a seaman's center. The Home Mission Board pays the salary of the chaplain. Most of the Southern Baptist churches of Brazosport furnish volunteer help to operate the center while ships are in port.

In 1943 the new town of Lake Jackson came into being. Freeport First began a mission there that grew into a church before the year-end. This, too, was a mission-minded church. This church has done missionary work in two areas that grew into a church. The first was Shady Oaks, now Second Baptist of Lake Jackson. This was in 1953. Another church that Lake Jackson First sponsored was Willow Drive Baptist Church in 1957.

In 1947 Jones Creek mission because First Baptist Church of Jones Creek. This followed several months of mission work by First Baptist of Freeport.

In 1954 West End Baptist Church came into being following several months of mission status ministered by First Baptist of Freeport.

There has been no new Southern Baptist church established since 1964 in the Brazosport area, the reason seeming to be that the population of the area , to some degree, has stabilized, and the present locations organizational of the several churches are so situated that further expansion is not needed at this time to meet the needs of the people residing in the area.
Although there have been no new Southern Baptist churches organized since 1964, the Southern Baptists in the area have not been standing still.

Every church is evangelistic and missionary-minded. Almost all of the churches have some kind of bus ministry, bringing children and/or handicapped people to the worship services on Sundays. Visitation programs are the norm in the several churches of the area, and they support the Southern Baptist cooperative program.
First Freeport has been, and is now active in denominational work. The Gulf Coast Baptist Association was organized in 1946. Freeport First was a leader in the organization with her pastor serving two terms as moderator during the early years of the association’s life.

First Baptist Church Freeport is humbly proud to be called “Mother” Southern Baptist church of Brazosport area. Freeport First feels a line of kinship running throughout the churches of the area. Even though the line of succession runs rather thin in some places as far as deeds go, the thought and love of these churches and their efforts to succeed and their successes run deep, and we at First Baptist Freeport love everyone of you.

The road to where we are now has not been easy. There are hundreds of people living and dead who have contributed time, talent, prayers, money and other kinds of efforts to the cause of Christ in this Brazosport area.

 

The Word is … Continue with and for Christ