History of Red Oak Baptist Church By Miss Fannie Mae Pitts, August, 1974 Mrs. Mary Chapman the Addendum, October, 1977 Quoting the first minutes written for the church. "Liberty Baptist Church, Ellis Co., Texas, July 18, 1869, a Presbytery was proposed consisting of Elders D. D. Swindall and E. W. West to constitute a Baptist Church of Christ at the time and place above mentioned consisting of six members who approved and adopted the articles of faith and church covenant as set forth in the encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge finding them orderly and orthodox. They were recognized and accepted a Church of Christ according to our denomination all usage derived from the Gospel therefore, entitled to enjoy all the rights, privileges and benefits allowable by the Laws of Christ, the duties and performance in the discharge of which are authorized or enjoined by His Word in the testimony where of we set our names here unto the day and date above written." Constituting Elders: D. D. Swindall, E. W. West and J. G. Wadley as Secretary. The Constituting Members: E. W. West, J. W. Couch, I. C. Culberson, J. G. Wadley, Mary E. Wadley and Elizabeth Clay. Br. E. E. West served the church as supply pastor for sometime until Bro. J. I. Powers was chosen pastor. September 2, 1869, the Liberty Baptist Church called S. S. Swindall but he declined the call as pastor. The next minutes were written December 4, 1872, at which time Bro. E. C. Leake was unanimously elected to serve as pastor. The church was at this time known as the Liberty Baptist Church at Grove Creek. September 1877 Bro. Tilford was elected as pastor and he was pastor until 1881. In September 1880, a committee was appointed to meet with a committee from the Harmony Baptist at Red Oak School House near the village of Red Oak in regards to consolidating. Finally the first Sunday in October 1881, it was agreed that the two churches would be combined and that the Liberty Church retain her organization name and that the Harmony Church dissolve her organization and unite with the Liberty Church. The name was Liberty Baptist Church at Red Oak. In May 1881, a committee was appointed to see about building a church house. Bro. G. W. Wells was pastor at this time. December 1889, H. L. Cherry made a verbal report in regard to a location for the church house and recommended the purchase of the Orange Store Building and lot for church purposes. This building had two stories. The second story was for church services and the first floor was a general store. In February 1890, it was discussed as to the electing of trustees so this property could be deeded. H. L. Cherry, S. W. Fry, and G. W. Pitts were appointed to see what could be done about securing a suitable lot for a new church In September, 1891, the Kemble grave yard lot, located on the south side of the Red Oak Cemetery, was to be the site of the new church; and J. W. Couch was appointed to look into the title of this property. In June, 1892, the deed to this lot was presented and accepted. August 28, 1892, the contract was let to a Dallas contractor for the sum of nine hundred dollars to build the church. Mr. Kimble gave this property to the church provided that they, the church, would fence, care for the graves, and let any of his relatives be buried there that wanted to be. A Committee was appointed to fence the grave yard and church lot. The complete amount of building, painting, and seating this church was one thousand thirty dollars. While at this location, the following were pastors: J. H. Piper, J. F. Simmons (died while pastor), R. F. Butler, S. C. Bailey, G. W. Good, J. W. Dawson, and W. W Scales. August 16, 1900, a motion and second were made to move the church to the present Red Oak and a committee was appointed to secure a lot and raise money for the moving of the church building. They met in the depot for conferences until the church could be moved. The property, or location, of our present church was donated by Robert Goodloe, provided it would always be used for church purposes. April 6, 1901, the name Liberty Baptist Church, was changed to First Baptist Church of Red Oak. From March 8, 1901, to August, 1903, no minutes were recorded. From 1903 to 1905, the usual business of the church was carried on and services were held when weather would permit since the pastor had to travel a long way and transportation was slow. From September, 1905, until February,, 1922, there are no records of the minutes, but during the early years of this span, probably 1912 or 1913, a beautiful white frame building was built on the corner of Red Oak Road and Main Street. From time to time various changes were made such as, redecorating of the inside, replacing coal stoves with gas, installing fans, buying of seats from Farley Street church, adding a number of Sunday School Rooms, buying of a new lectern, pulpit chairs and table, and installing of a public address system, and keeping the church looking nice from the outside by painting and adding new roofs. In 1955, a Baptistery was added and a beautiful picture was painted to hang on the back wall with a draw curtain in front. Red Oak Baptist Church was known throughout the County for its pastors. During this period we had such pastors as: Bros. Joe Hearn, Joe Morton, W. C. Newburn, F. M. Hensley, Bob Burleson, George Beavers and others. During this time great revivals were held out in the grove of the school grounds and prayer meetings were held in the different homes in the afternoons. Everyone went and many souls were saved at these gatherings. Other pastors of the Red Oak First Baptist Church from 1924 to 1964 were: Bros C. B. Stanley, T. C. Jenkins, C. E. Gipson, Jack Manning, W. L. Grammer, R. A. Richey, J. A. Denton, J. H. McDaniel, J. W. Yoes, E. J. McClung, W. A. Reeves, R. C. Dickey, D. H. Coley and Jim Ransom pastor at this time. In 1949, the Earl Hamm Property on Methodist Street was purchased for a parsonage. Much remodeling was necessary and Bro. McClung moved in. In 1954, the old parsonage was sold and the one built where the Educational Building now stands. In 1958, a committee of the deacons started investigating the building of a new auditorium and February 14, 1959, another step was taken toward the new building in that the church would set aside fifty dollars each month for the building fund. March 1962, a motion was made and seconded that the church sign the deed relinquishing her part of the cemetery to a non-profit organization when such was organized. The building of a new church was still in the minds of everyone. August 14, 1963, a planning committee was appointed to investigate the possibilities. This committee consisted of Julian Rogers, Melvin Chapman, Jack Jenkins and Bro. Ransom. In the early part of 1964, Dan Sutherland drew plans for the new building. After it was decided that we had enough money in the building fund to start the work, the planning committee named above was elected as a building committee. Other committees were elected to sell bonds and solicit donations for pews and other furnishings. The Senior Sunday School Class undertook a project of soliciting donations for bricks with all the classes joining in to make the project successful. Construction began in May, 1964, with Bro. Marvin Wolff given the job of General Contractor and he along with our good pastor, Bro. Jim Ransom, put in many hours. The final result being the beautiful Sanctuary which we dedicated to our Almighty God on October 4, 1964. At that time the church had a membership of 243. [This is a continuation of the excellent Church history compiled in August, 1964, by Miss Fannie Mae Pitts and hope that it does her credit as she is unable to help]. From 1964, our Church has grown in spiritual values, members and contributions to all phases of our work as Missionary Baptists. Our building facilities have been extended in preparation for more growth in our Lord's work and education of all ages to be better followers of Christ. On April 6, 1966, a motion was made that we build the present parsonage on the property across the street from the church and our pastor, Bro. Milam Fields, moved into it in July. The final note was paid on November 1, 1972. April 12, 1968, a committee of Julian Rogers, Grady Chapman, Marvin Wolff and Jack Jenkins were elected to investigate two types of buildings to be constructed as an educational building. Bonds were borrowed and construction was started in May. Classes were held in part of the building in 1968 and on November 11, 1970, the Church voted to complete the north end of the educational building upstairs on a volunteer basis since we had outgrown the finished rooms. With many fond memories and much sadness, our old wooden church building that had stood for some 52 or 53 years was demolished in 1968 to make way for the progress of our church. Most of us as adults remember the great services, revivals and Sunday afternoon singings we had in it and the children remember the twirling ceiling fans on those hot summer days. Our music department was enhanced by the purchase of a church organ on May 5, 1969, and the chimes were added November 1, 1972. Church properties have been bought through the years to fulfill our needs. The parking lot by the parsonage was purchased in November, 1973, from Marvin Brown. On April 28, 1974, land (located across the street from the church) was bought from the Grady Patterson's. Then on August 3, 1977, we voted to buy the property next door to the church. One of the most recent additions is the Dodge Van approved by the Church on September 7, 1977, and is now in use. Our pastors who have served from 1964 to now have been: Bro. Jim Ransom, Bro. Milam Fields, Bro. James Schoenrock, Bro. L. H. Raney as Interim Pastor and Bro. Grady Higgs, our present pastor. They have contributed much to our needs as a church family and we greatly appreciate them. Bro. James Schoenrock made a missionary journey with Bro. Lynn Stephens to Australia, Japan, and Formosa in 1974 and made us realize how great mission works are. Our church should be a light house to everyone and we should [be] honored to be chosen to carry out the Great Commission.   Copyright © 2005-2016, Ellis County TXGenWeb. All Rights Reserved. This page was last modified: Thursday, 01-Jul-2021 13:16:10 MDT