The following history, 1853-1953, is taken from Dr. W. H. Vann’s One Hundred Years, a booklet published by First Baptist Church for its centennial celebration. In the Foreword, then-Pastor James Basden says, “As you read this story let it be remembered that it was written not to point with pride but to magnify the Lord who has done such great things for us.” In that spirit, we offer this brief account, with additional material (mostly from an unsigned paper, “First Baptist Church History”) for the years since 1953.

In 1853 a group of eight people met in Belton in a small frame building on what is now Pearl Street, near the jail, for the purpose of organizing a Baptist church. The account given by one of the charter members, Captain R. T. Taylor, of Jackson County, is as follows: “The First Missionary Baptist Church organized in the town of Belton was in the latter part of the summer of 1853, by the Reverends S. G. O’Bryan of Waco and David Fisher of Gay Hill, Washington County, with the following members: Dr. W. D. Eastland, Mrs. Ermine Holbert and her two sisters the Misses Sally and Jonaphine Wilson; James Clark and his wife, known as ‘Uncle Jimmie’; and R. T. Taylor and Olivia J., his wife.”

Less than ten years before, Texas had been admitted as a state; and only three years before, Nolan Springs, later known officially as Nolanville and then as Belton, had been decided upon as the county seat of Bell County.

This church continued in existence a little over two years. It had no regular pastor, but was supplied occasionally by Rev. S. G. O’Bryan and Rev. John Claybaugh, a missionary. In addition to the preaching of these two, services were frequently conducted by Judge R. E. B. Baylor. While holding court in Belton, it was his custom to preach on Sunday, and at nights also during the week; and he often preached when passing through on his way from Waco to Austin.

During the war there was no preaching except an occasional sermon from some visiting brother, until the summer of 1864. At this time Elder W. W. Harris, with the assistance of another minister, held a meeting at the court house which resulted in a large number of conversions and about thirty additions to the church. Brother Harris was called as pastor and accepted, but he was interested primarily in evangelistic work and never served as pastor.

The history of the church for the next twenty years, and indeed the history of the town and of all Bell County, is intimately bound up with the lives of two great men, who not inappropriately were both named after presidents of our country - George Washington Baines and Martin Van Buren Smith.

In 1871, with Dr. B. H. Carroll, Brother Baines was instrumental in reorganizing the Belton church, and served as pastor until 1874.

In January, 1875, Elder M. V. Smith was called to be pastor. Born in South Carolina in 1837, he moved with his family to Mississippi and later to Texas. He served in the Confederate Army, the first two years of the war he served as captain and chaplain, then he resigned to become missionary for the Baptist Convention, preaching to troops west of the Mississippi.

In the early eighties there was a movement to relocate the two branches of Baylor, nearer the center of population and railroad facilities. Bro. Smith was instrumental in getting the girls’ college moved to Belton. The college faculty and students have made an important contribution to the church, while being allied with a strong local church has been great benefit to the college.

At the end of his pastorate of eighteen years - the longest at that time in the state, M. V. Smith had endeared himself to the town and county as well as to his own congregation. He was friend and mentor to all who sought his counsel. He had a prominent part in gaining for the town water works, electric lights and a telephone exchange, the dam across the Leon River, and both the Santa Fe and M. K. and T. railroads. Firm in his convictions, he was yet never a controversialist, being above all a man of peace. His comparatively early death was mourned by the entire community, all the stores closing for the whole day of the funeral, including the six saloons.

Following M. V. Smith was a succession of good pastors, each of whom made his contribution to the life of the church. Rev. Walter C. Lattimore, who had come from Mississippi to be city missionary in San Antonio, followed Bro. Smith in 1893. The success of his ministry is evidenced by the report for that year of 70 baptisms, a total membership of 427, and gifts of $2,417.93.

In 1897 Dr. R. K. Maiden, of Kansas City, became pastor. He was a scholarly man and an excellent preacher. The outstanding event of his ministry was the enlargement of the church building, made necessary by the growing membership, with a wing added on each side.

Rev. E. G. Townsend was called to be pastor in 1902. Born in Missouri, he moved with his family to Texas, graduated from Baylor University, and soon thereafter came to Belton as a teacher in the college. His tenure of a little more than five years was a period of continuous growth. The membership had increased to 488 in 1905, 533 in 1906, and 570 in 1907. Brother Townsend resigned to give full time to his work at the college. He continued to preach as needed.

Rev. William B. McGarity was called to the local church in 1908. A native of Kentucky, he came here from Hillsboro, and remained until his death in 1915. The first year of his ministry 41 were received by baptism. The next year the church reported 627 members and a total expenditure of $4,825.00.

Brother J. R. Nutt came as pastor to Belton from Gilmer, in 1915. He was a genuine man and a faithful pastor. The church continued to prosper during his ministry. By 1918 the membership was increased to 755, and in that year there were 51 baptisms. The budget system was inaugurated, and in 1917 the Sunday School first gained recognition as a standard Sunday school.

Rev. B. W. Vining was our next pastor, coming from Corsicana, in 1920. With the end of the first World War, life had become more normal, and there was a new spirit in educational and religious activities. In our denomination, this new spirit gave birth to the Seventy-five Million Campaign, designed to strengthen the Baptist program throughout the South. The Belton church subscribed to this campaign $25,000.00, and actually paid in a little more than $26,000.00, a record matched by few churches. Although there were three pastors in the next five years, the work of the church did not suffer. Bro. Vining resigned in 1922 to accept a position as assistant secretary to the Baptist State Convention. He was succeeded by Rev. W. B. Kendall, who came from the church at Paris. He died soon after assuming the pastorate, being thus the second one to die in service. Bro. Kendall was one of our very best preachers. The church membership has now reached 859; the pastor’s salary was $3,300.00; and the college Sunday School reported an average attendance of 500.

Following Bro. Kendall, Bro. W. R. Hornburg served for a little more than a year, before he was called back to the Coggin Avenue Church at Brownwood.

Bro. Layton Maddox became pastor in 1924. He was a man of great energy, whose ministry here was noted for two special accomplishments. The first was a two-story addition to the church, on the south side. Built of wood, it was intended to be a temporary structure, but was actually in use until the destruction of the church plant. The second achievement was a great revival, in which he himself did the preaching. Using a specially constructed tank, in an outdoor service, at the conclusion of the meeting he baptized 102 converts.

Our next pastor, Dr. R. C. Campbell, came to us from North Carolina. He remained a little less than a year, accepting a call to Lubbock, and soon thereafter being named executive secretary of the Baptist State Convention.

He was here long enough, however, to establish a firm reputation as pastor and preacher. The membership rose to an all-time high of 1830.

This era of our history is featured by the culmination of the efforts to secure an adequate house of worship, the extension of the activities of the church, and the remarkable increase in the budget.

For a long while the congregation had felt the need of a new church building. A lot had been secured on upper Main Street in 1919, but conditions at that time were not favorable, and it was later sold. When Rev. A. C. Miller assumed the pastorate, coming from Cisco in 1930, he designated one Sunday each month as church building day, and in this way several thousand dollars were raised. Later, when it was realized that a new building was not yet feasible, the interior was redecorated, a new roof was put on, and a kitchen was added.

Other improvements followed during the Rev. Miller’s pastorate. L. E. Waite became our first director of music and education. The Senior Breakfast for high school students was instituted. The Women’s Missionary Union flourished, establishing organizations for the young people of the congregation. In 1931, Mrs. Charlie Miller led in the formation of the Girls’ Auxiliary. In 1934, Mrs. J. R. Fellrath sponsored the Young Women’s Auxiliary, and later in the same year Mrs. R. L. Henderson helped to establish the Royal Ambassadors. Under the leadership of Mrs. Lillie J. Meyer and others, the Lottie Moon Christmas offering grew rapidly.

Bro. Miller was a man of scholarly habits and an inquiring mind who would have been at home in a seminary classroom. Yet the direction in which his most important work was later to be accomplished began with his interest in the Mexican mission, which he helped to develop into a separate church. It was this sympathy with the underprivileged members of our population, especially those of other races, that led to his selection as minister of minorities for the Texas Baptist Convention, and later still to have charge of that important work for the Southern Baptist Convention. When he left our church after almost ten years, once again a Baptist pastor had been called to a higher field of service.

In 1941, the Rev. J. D. Thorn came to our pastorate, from Graham. Not many months later America was again plunged into war. Again we sent our sons into the service of their country, some of them never to return. The establishment nearby of Camp Hood gave our church an opportunity to minister to the needs of those sent there for training. Some of them found temporary lodgings in our homes; a large number attended our services; and many were received into our membership. While conditions made it inadvisable to raise funds for a new building, the idea was not abandoned. Meanwhile the work of the church prospered. Brother Thorn was a preacher whose messages carried a wide appeal. He was elected moderator of the association, and Mrs. Charlie Miller, our then part-time church secretary, was made corresponding secretary. Ted McGehee was superintendent of the Sunday School. The normal increase in membership continued, and by 1944 the total donations amounted to $36,098.45.

With the end of World War II, and the coming of the Rev. James Basden as pastor in 1946, the movement to secure a new building gained renewed emphasis. During the interim between pastors, the lot on which the present building stands was purchased. Plans for the building were under consideration. When they might have materialized, we cannot know; at least no final decision had been reached. But the Lord apparently had plans of his own, for on Sunday afternoon, March 14, 1947, the entire church plant was destroyed by fire.

The shock of the fire and the loss of the old building provided the stimulus necessary for the erection of the new one. Services were held that same evening in the Presbyterian church, generously offered for the occasion. Thereafter the congregation met in the college auditorium, using the classrooms for Sunday School purposes; and for a little while, when the college itself was temporarily closed because of fire, in the Tyler School. Meanwhile new plans were made; there was generous response to the appeal for funds; and the new building was assured. The program for the ground breaking was held in Tyler School auditorium on Sunday afternoon, November 23, with Dr. J. P. Boone as the principal speaker. Then, moving across the street, the congregation watched the first spadeful of dirt handled jointly by J. R. Fellrath, chairman of the board of deacons, and John Bassel, former deacon and the first to give a thousand dollars for the building fund.

It was a little over a year later that the new structure, erected at a total cost of $211,496.59, was formally occupied, the first service being held on December 12, 1948. The month of January 1949 was devoted to a series of special programs. Sunday, January 2, was observed as Homecoming Day; two former pastors, J. D. Thorn and A. C. Miller, filled the pulpit for the morning and evening services; while in the afternoon the cornerstone was laid, with each member of the board of deacons participating, followed by a general reception. Other special services of the month included a Belton all-church night, with other denominations taking part; a Christian Emphasis Week, Chester Swor being the visiting speaker; Bell County Baptist Association Day; and the dedication of the new organ. The culminating service, scheduled for January 30, was postponed because of bad weather but was held on March 6. Following the sermon by Dr. W. R. White, the congregation recited in unison the solemn vows of dedication.

With the new building and the continuing leadership of Pastor James Basden, First Baptist thrived. In 1947, the local membership had risen to 859, the total membership to 1256. Total funds raised were $44,463.64. By 1953, the church employed three full-time workers besides the pastor. During these years three men successively held the position of seminary-trained minister of music and education: W. W. Cason, Harold Cartee, and Dennis Lyle. Likewise, three women were full-time church secretary, Eva May White, succeeded by Della Tanner and then Margaret Wilson. The custodian, N. O. Hagler, was the other full-time employee in 1953.

As First Baptist celebrated its centennial, its active organizations included Sunday School, Training Union, Women’s Missionary Society, Brotherhood, Girls’ Auxiliary, and Royal Ambassadors. The membership was 1109. The total amount given for all causes the previous year (1952) was $49,074.93.

The church’s mission work also grew under the leadership of Bro. Basden. Dr. and Mrs. R. L. Cochran began the East View Mission in 1947. The next year the church bought a lot and moved a frame building onto it for regular Sunday School and preaching services. Following a tent revival conducted by Bro. Basden in southwest Belton, the church began another mission there. By 1953 it had a building and a full-time pastor, the Rev. Gordon Sather. Meanwhile women students of the college conducted a ministry at both the County Home and the jail. And from January 1952 the church had members, the Rev. and Mrs. Joe Carl Johnson, ministering in Brazil.

In 1956 James Basden resigned to go to Brownwood. In 1957 the Rev. Charles Tope became pastor and served until he and his family were assigned to missionary service in Korea. Dr. Arthur Tyson became interim pastor until the Rev. Edwin Johnson came as pastor. During Johnson’s pastorate a new educational building was added, dedicated in 1963. When Bro. Johnson was called to another church, Leonard Holloway, president of Mary Hardin-Baylor College, filled the interim until June 1967, when the church called Dr. Leroy Kemp, religion-faculty member and Dean of Admissions at the college.

Dr. Kemp pastored First Baptist for twenty years. During his tenure church property increased on Main Street and on Pearl Street, allowing for additional parking space and building expansion. The Family Life Center was added, and the worship center was renovated.

In 1967 the church membership was 1243, Sunday School enrollment 755, average attendance 340. In 1987 total membership was 2581, Sunday School enrollment 1657, average attendance 649. From 1968 to 1987 the annual budget grew from $81,000 to $637,565. Radio broadcasts of morning services began in 1970; television ministry began in 1984 with a delayed broadcast of the morning service on public television. In 1976 a children’s day care center was established. Growth in attendance led to two morning services, with Sunday School in between, beginning in 1977, and in 1984 a second Sunday School period was added, putting the worship services back-to-back between 9:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. In 1967 the church still had only three full-time staff in addition to the pastor, as in 1953: a minister of music and education, a secretary, and a custodian. Indeed, the custodians by 1967 were often part time. In 1987 the staff numbered eleven, and the custodian had a part-time helper.

In 1982 an Intercessory Prayer Ministry was begun, with “prayer warriors” praying at specified hours from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Wednesdays. This ministry was expanded in 1985 to five days a week, and in 1987 the singles department extended it to include Saturdays until 1:00 p.m. God greatly blessed the church during Dr. Leroy Kemp’s long pastorate.

On November 13, 1988, First Baptist welcomed the Rev. Andy Davis as its new pastor, just moved from Fort Worth with his wife and two children. In his seventeen years to date, the church has continued and expanded many ministries and other opportunities for spiritual growth begun during Dr. Kemp’s pastorate, including several not mentioned above. Revival meetings, Lay Renewals, classes in Master Life, Evangelism Explosion, Precepts Bible study, and other such activities continue to afford a large and varied congregation ways to grow and serve. Hand in hand with these have been missions activities, as individuals, families, youth groups, senior citizens, Baptist Men, and others have gone to many mission fields to preach, teach, build buildings, do surveys, give concerts, and conduct Bible schools and backyard Bible studies. Special yearly mission offerings, such as Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong, receive emphasis and routinely exceed their goals.

When Bro. Davis came in November 1988, resident church membership was 1,482. As of August 2006, it is 2,359. In the same period, Sunday School enrollment has grown from 1,627 to 2,978, the average attendance from 682 to 1,100. The budget for 1988 was $680,602; for 2006 it is $2,839,043. On May 4, 1997, First Baptist broke ground for a new sanctuary, and on July 5, 1998, the congregation worshiped in it together in one glorious morning service.

Since 1953, its centennial year, and especially since 1967, the First Baptist Church of Belton, Texas, has come of age, blessed by God and serving its community in the name of Jesus Christ. By God’s grace, may it long continue to provide a place for people to worship, learn, and serve.