1876 – 2007

First Baptist Church, Lindale, was organized in 1876, only five years after Governor R.B. Hubbard named the community Lindale, after its founder, Elijah Lindsey.

Rev. Jackie Bledsoe, an area evangelist, led a group of 12 families who were to become the charter members of the First Baptist Church. Some of these members were the Drew Smiths, George Pattersons, Billy Gowens, Thomas J. Barrons, Sarah Tucker Brown, Elizabeth Barrott Starnes, and Martin Starnes. This group met in the old school building which stood at the corner of North Main and Valley Streets until 1887.

In 1889, a church building was erected on a lot donated by Mr. & Mrs. Drew Smith. This building was located on the lot where the church parsonage was eventually built. This property, located at the corner of South Henry and West South streets, was sold in 1981.

In the early 1900’s, as Lindale began to grow and prosper, God blessed and the church also grew and prospered. A new building was built and dedicated in 1905. That building was remodeled in 1920. Worship continued in that building until November, 1942, when the church was destroyed by fire. For almost two years church services were held at the high school. During this period of time, the church affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

In 1944, the church rebuilt on South Main Street (US Highway 69). The building was formally dedicated on December 4, 1944. When additional educational space was needed in the summer of 1969, a potato shed to the rear of this structure was purchased, renovated and incorporated into the church plant. This building remains as part of our educational space today.

As God continued to bless the faithfulness of our members, the need arose for a larger sanctuary. The church embarked on a "Together We Build" building program in 1973 and the present sanctuary was dedicated in November of 1974. The two-story education building was built and dedicated in 1982.

The old sanctuary, which faced South Main, was converted into what was known as the Fellowship Hall. The old fellowship hall was then converted into office space. In 1971, the church purchased the Aubrey Starnes home on the corner of South Main and West South streets to be used as a residence for the Minister of Music. This property was sold in 1979.

In 1985 and 1986, the church bought three buildings on Hubbard Street directly across from the street from the sanctuary, renovated them and made a Youth Center, including classrooms and a Recreation Room. These buildings had previously housed Morris Drug Store, Mallory Grocery and a hardware store. Also in 1985, the church purchased the old Star Canning Company property and traded it in 1988 for the old Lindale Fire Department property on Hubbard St. A mission project known as Friendship Company was opened in this building along with a Hispanic Mission for the benefit of the growing population of Spanish-speaking people in our community. This building now houses Texas Baptist Men.

In 1996, Dr. Denny Autrey became pastor of First Baptist Church. Dr. Autrey led the church in spiritual and physical growth and the theme of the church became "God is good all the time and that all the time, God is good." Under his leadership a program of financial faith called "Revealing God’s Glory" was begun and a multi-ministry center known as the MMC Building was built at a cost of 2.2 million dollars. This building was dedicated in November of 1999. During the next five years, a second Sunday School was added to accommodate the fast growing numbers of new members. The church greatly increased its financial support of missions and members increased their personal involvement in both local and foreign mission activities. The church acquired the former Fleming Feed & Seed Store property and built a paved parking lot which accommodates more than 200 cars. Extensive renovations to the sanctuary were also undertaken. In 2004, Dr. Autrey was called to become the dean of Southwest Seminary’s Houston campus and in March of 2005, the church called Tom Buck to be our next pastor.

God has richly blessed First Baptist Church of Lindale for more than 125 years. We are what we are today greatly in part to the heritage of dedication and faithfulness of those who have preceded us in the work of sharing God’s love and His gospel in the community.