HomeMy WebLinkAbout1972 Thirty Years History: First Baptist Church Book (Pg. 13)work and leave the campus. All the other members objected and made the
following suggestions: "That Bro. Brown have a conference with the
president of the college and when the way opened up and Bro. Brown felt
that he should resign his work and leave the church and College Station,
that he would do so." With this statement, the meeting in Houston closed
and Rev. Brown returned to College Station and the following morning
had a very successful meeting with the president of the college.
After this conference, the pastor faced many problems and many
decisions had to be made. The church backed the pastor in every move
that was made and the members of other churches on the campus offered
every encouragement possible.
The first serious problem that had to be faced was to have the
denomination cut off the salary of 5150 per month as BSU secretary. Of
course, that did not affect Rev. Brown as pastor of the church only to
have his salary reduced $50 per month which he received until the
temporary church building was completed.
His standing with the students had been strengthened and he contin-
ued his work with them as pastor and not as BSU secretary. On the whole,
this experience had been a boost to the entire church program.
The place of meeting was the church's chief concern. The pastor had a
meeting with one of his fellow pastors in Bryan, Rev. Roy S. Hodomon.
Rev. Bedomon asked how much money the church had in the building
fund. When told some $3,000 he said, "What are you waiting for? Build a
temporary building and get off the campus and your major problems will
be solved.- The two ministers drew a sketch of a budding that would meet
the present needs of the congregation.
Mrs. Brown drew a scaled plan and presented it to the church which
adopted it. A building committee was appointed and authorized to
proceed with the construction. One experienced carpenter was secured to
direct the building and the members largely did the work. The men of the
church spent all day Thanksgiving helping in the building and the women
prepared the meals and served them to ad present. Truly the entire church
"had a mind to work." It was necessary to incorporate.
A Baptist church was on the move. When some college officials saw,
what was being done, a letter was sent to the secretary of the Baptist
General Convention asking that he stop the construction of a bum which
would be a disgrace to the denomination and the college.
A reply to the letter stated that a Baptist church was involved and that
no outside force could dictate its program or stop its building. This same
college official told a friend of the church in Bryan that the Baptist church
at College Station was putting up a building that would be a disgrace to
the college and the denomination and that the college could do nothing to
stop it. The reply was that it was perhaps a good thing that there was
something at College Station that the college could not control. So the
Baptists continued in their forward and ever enlarging program.
The members of the church and especially the students spent every
available hour working on the budding. W. D. Neff, a senior electrical
engineering major and nephew of the Hon. Pat Neff, did all the electrical
work. Others served equally well. At the conclusion of the budding, the
following report wargiven by the building committee:
Materials—(lumber, gravel, cement
paint, roofing and electrical fixtures) $2987.75
Labor (carpentry, including 900 hours
of free labor) 1,205.75
Plumbing (fixtures, Baptistry) 326.61
Furnishings (seats, gas heaters,
curtains and muffler carpet) 1,413.99
$5933.99
H. T. Holland, Chairman
D. B. Cofer, Treasurer
The formal opening of the church building took place on Feb. 17,
1929 with Dr. T. L. Holcomb, General Secretary of the Baptist General
Convention of Texas as the main speaker. He congratulated the church
on their united effort in an almost impossible undertaking. The out-
standing enlistment program for the students was recognized and the
unprecedented response of the Baptist students. Dr. Holcomb stated in
his address that the denomination's support had been cut off some
months past would be restored and that a check would be sent to the
pastor and BSU secretary at the end of the month.
This was truly a great day for the Baptists and also for the entire
denominational program at College Station, Texas. The Baptists are
now ready to work on an enlarged program and complete their first
decade of a Baptist program for the students and college community.
First Building of First Baptist Church
College Station, Texas
Erected 1928
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