Wednesday, October 2, 2024
SPRINGTOWN — The 90-degree weather Saturday made for a warm fall day, particularly for people enjoying a picnic or playing softball.
Members of Springtown First Baptist Church didn’t seem to mind the heat too much as they came together to celebrate their church’s sesquicentennial, or 150th anniversary. They gathered at the outdoor worship center at Third Street and Spring Branch Trail during the afternoon of Sept. 28 and ate together, played softball, and listened to live music. Activities continued Sunday morning as churchgoers met for breakfast and worship.
“We’re here because God’s been faithful,” First Baptist Church Pastor Bobby Cates said. “We're not perfect people who have done everything right. God is kind and faithful, and we're just going to focus on the good work that He began, and one day, it'll be completed. But 150 years in, there's no end in sight, so the goal is just going to be to rely on God’s faithfulness and humbly follow Him and serve Him and be good neighbors and love people well and tell them the truth about Jesus.”
Springtown First Baptist Church’s minutes indicate that the church was started in 1874 by Rev. J.C. Power with 25 charter members. According to the book “History of Springtown — Parker County and the Tale of Two Schools,” the church had 94 parishioners by 1877. The church has been located on the corner of Main Street and Fifth Street since 1901, and because of growth, a new building was erected in the early 1950s. More space for Sunday school and a fellowship hall was built in 1960, and a youth building was established in 1978.
Springtown First Baptist Church has multiple members who have attended services for over 50 years. Some longtime parishioners interviewed by The Tri-County Reporter had memories of being part of church activities as children, while a couple of others were plugged in as adults. Church is more than a religious experience for the group but a social one as well as they made friends and saw their kids make friends at Springtown First Baptist.
“It's a lot of good memories, a lot of friends still here and gone,” said Rhonda White, who has been a member for 68 years. “You get rooted somewhere, and that’s where you stay.”
Longtime members had several memories of the church back in the day — the trees around the building that had to be cut down to build a parking lot, how the sanctuary didn’t have air conditioning, heat, or speakers.
“You could hear the church bell all over town, which is a good memory to me,” said Jeannie Bedford, who has attended the church for her whole life, 78 years. “I've taught Sunday school now for 50 years here, started out with young people. We were young then, and we've just aged.”
Of course, the church has seen changes over the years, including societal developments in attire and music.
“What's remained the same is the Bible teaching,” said Linda Gilley, who has attended the church for 53 years. “I've seen in our lifetime the results of faithful giving of the saints of this church. They have given their tithes and offerings and made sacrifices to build the kingdom here.”
Bedford appreciates the pastors who have led the church throughout the years and the fact that the church is “the closest thing to a Biblical church there is,” in her opinion. She has visited other churches before but considers herself committed to Springtown First Baptist.
“For me, my relationship with the church is kind of like a marriage,” Bedford said. “You make a commitment in the good times and the bad times, and this church has gone through good times and bad times. I’ve always lived here and my husband, too, in Springtown, so I figured unless we got a preacher that didn't preach the Word, I would be here.”
Another longtime member Kathy Sherrill also has never felt a need to leave the church.
“It's just been our rock when things were going bad,” Sherrill said. “It's always here.”
Springtown First Baptist Church has engaged in mission and service work over the years as well, including helping to establish other churches, providing aid during natural disasters, and donating toys and supplies to children.
As the longtime members alluded to, Springtown First Baptist Church has also had its share of troubles. At one point, a pastor had to be dismissed for improper behavior, and there were financial issues when people weren’t giving as much.
“We called a pastor one time that just came to heal the church because we were having so much trouble,” Sherrill said. “He stayed for over a year.”
The parishioners credited former Pastor Hal Kinkeade for instilling order and stability within the church during his 30-year tenure.
“He was a great mediator and very Biblically sound,” Gilley said. “He was a great leader that was called specifically for that purpose.”
Longtime members also spoke positively about Cates.
“He preaches Jesus every week,” Bedford said. “That’s what we’re about.”
Cates became the pastor of Springtown First Baptist Church last year, following Kinkeade’s retirement. Cates started attending the Baptist Church in his youth and enjoyed watching his former Sunday school teachers and coaches gather to celebrate the church’s 150th anniversary.
“It warms my heart to see them sitting around and taking trips down memory lane,” he said. “It’s incredibly humbling that I get to be here and be a part of this and what God’s doing. I’m thankful. I wouldn't want to be doing anything else, anywhere else.”
The longtime parishioners interviewed by The Reporter confirmed that they liked looking at old pictures and reminiscing about the past while preparing for the sesquicentennial.
“I think it’s fun,” White said. “I think it’s a great thing for the kids coming up, the young people coming up to hear memories and pictures and things that they wouldn't have known otherwise. It’d be stuck in a book somewhere, and they would have never seen it.”
Cates joked that his diet might not allow him to be around for the next five years at the church, let alone the next 150 years. Pending the Christian rapture, the pastor foresees that church members will still be around in the next century leading humble, faithful, and patient lives while showing love to others in the community.
“If God continues to bless us, we'll still be here chugging along,” he said.
