![[Rodgers Baptist Church History Picture]](graphics/cover.gif) |
Still Making History At Our New Location
![[Present Location]](graphics/RBC Photo.jpg)
Bring Your Family & Friends, and Visit With Us At
RODGERS BAPTIST CHURCH
Ron Thomas, Senior Pastor
801 W. Buckingham Rd. - Garland, Texas 75040
[At Corner of North Glenbrook Dr.]
Scroll Down For Brief History From 1931 to 1985
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Garland, Texas
1931 - 1985
(1986 - Present)[Continuing at New Property - 801 W. Buckingham Rd., Garland, TX 75040]
PREFACE
THE BEGINNINGS
PASTORS
Bro. Charles D. Dorman 1931 - 1935
Bro. M.F. Downing 1935 - 1937
Bro. O.E. Alsup 1937 - 1939
Bro. J.H. Perritt 1939 - 1947
Bro. Frank Shirley 1947 - 1950
Bro. Arch Denton 1950 - 1953
Bro. Charles L. Thomas 1953 -
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In Proverbs 29:18, the Bible says "Where there is no
vision, the people perish." Surely no verse of scripture
could better describe the contents of this book than that
verse of scripture.
We who are privileged to celebrate the 50th birthday
of Rodgers Baptist Church would not be so blessed were it
not for a small group of people who, 50 years ago, had a
vision. As you can read on the following pages, there was
never a shortage of problems and many times they might
have been able to justify giving it all up. I, for one, am
glad they didn't. In reading the minutes of the church and
the numerous times they overcame big obstacles, I am
reminded of how David asked the children of Israel, "Is
there not a cause?" Because of the constant fighting for
the case over the past 50 years, we can rejoice to look
over the Lord's blessings of this past half century.
As much as the early members of Rodgers Baptist
Church are to be commended for their vision, I wonder if
even they forsaw the blessings the Lord had in store.
Did they have a vision of a church building consisting
of several thousand square feet? Did they have a vision
that the physical plant and equipment would be worth
over two million dollars? Did they have a vision of not
only having a full time pastor, but also several other full
time staff members? Did they have a vision that the
outreach through their missionaries would be so extensive
that it can accurately be said that the sun never sets on the
work of Rodgers Baptist Church? Did they have a vision
that the globe would be sprinkled with independent
Baptist churches started as missions out of Rodgers Baptist
Church? Did they have a vision that over the years
people from every state of the union plus many foreign
countries would converge at the church for a yearly
missions conference?
Even though we cannot say for sure, it would be hard
to imagine that they could have envisioned all that would
come to pass. This is not because of their lack of faith or
zeal, but because of the limitations of the human mind.
This should be a lesson and inspiration to all of us. If the
Lord should give us another fifty years to work for Him,
we should go forward with a vision, lest we perish.
Billy Earl Watson
The late August day dawned bright and clear. Traditional
hot summer weather had begun to subside and
Dallas County residents were told they could expect a high
temperature of 90 degrees, much like the day before.
Besides the relatively mild weather, there was not
much to be cheerful about on that Sunday morning. Those
who got the "Dallas Morning News" were greeted with
the headline "Death Toll in Great Chinese Floods May
Reach Hundreds of Thousands". As great a disaster as
this may have been, this was not what was on most
people's minds. The country was mired deep in a recession
and signs of it abounded everywhere.
The papers told every day of President Hoover's efforts
to find more jobs. Despite his efforts, thousands
were jobless and more people lost their jobs every day.
The depression was being felt in are oil fields. The Governor
of Oklahoma had shut down all of his states' oil wells
until oil prices got back ove a dollar a barrel. The Governor
of Texas was considering similar action. It appeared that
something might have to be done. Later on that same
Sunday afternoon of August twenty-third, wide-spread
rioting occurred in the East Texas oil town of Kilgore. In
the lawlessness that occurred, both of the town's churches
were burned. The Governor instituted martial law to
attempt to restore order. The only bright spot for the
beleaguered oil industry was the announcement that a
local oil company was raising its prices at the pump to
fourteen cents for regular gas, up from eleven cents.
Premium gas went from fourteen cents to seventeen cents.
Times it seemed were very hard everywhere. "The
Living Church", a magazine published by the Episcopal
Church in America had run up a $9,000 deficit. An
editorial in the publication called for a massive fund raising
effort to raise $250,000 for an endowment fund so that
financial problems would never occur again. "Time"
magazine reported the first week of the massive fund raising
operation netted a total of $80.00.
Against this bleak backdrop, this hardly seemed the
time to be starting new enterprises. However this is
exactly what a small band of people in the Rodgers
Community, outside of Dallas, proposed to do.
The August 28, 1931 issue of "The Richardson
Echo" carried the following story.
The people in the Rodgers
Community grew tired of not going to
church; so, a few received the consent of
many and started the Sunday School. The
first Sunday, the following officers were
elected: Superintendent, Mrs. Carl
Fletcher; Secretary and Treasurer, Miss
Gertrude Schmitt; Reporter, Miss Lucille
Davis; Teachers-Adult, Mrs. Edward
Rhinefelt; Intermediate, Miss Lucille
Davis; Junior, Mrs. Carl Fletcher; and
Primary, Miss Schmitt.
We have been having a good attendance
and more are expected. Rev. Dorman of Garland held a revival that was
well attended. August 23, a Baptist Church
was organized. Rev. Dorman was called to
the pastorate. We hope to see a large
church on that hill some day.
On that day when all looked bleak on the world
situation, this small step of faith was to bear great fruit
over the ensuing years. This small group of people probably
had no conception of what their step would eventually
mean. Garland was a nearby, sleepy community of
1,500 people. Since that time, the church has relocated in
Garland and has experienced great growth. Rodgers
Baptist Church has affected not only the Garland area but
has mission outreach reaching from the dark corners of
Africa to the frozen tundra of Alaska.
![[Bro. Charles D. Dorman Picture]](graphics/dorman.jpg)
Bro. Charles D. Dorman 1931 - 1935
After the organization on August 23, 1931, the
church faced the need for a pastor. This need was met by
calling Charles D. Dorman. Bro. Dorman, at the time he
was called to Rodgers, was a young preacher who was a
member of the Forney Avenue Baptist Church. Bro. Dorman
had not previously pastored. Shortly after the
organization of Rodgers Baptist, the church called for the
ordination of this young preacher. The Forney Avenue
Baptist Church met with the new church and ordained him
to the full work of the ministry.
The church which Bro. Dorman came to pastor was
far from a large, thriving church. There were only seven
charter members and this included Bro. and Mrs.
Dorman. Other charter members were Mr. and Mrs. J. D.
Abney, Mrs. Francis Dorman, Mrs. W. E. Schmitt, and
Miss Gertrude Schmitt.
During his ministry the church saw several people
saved and baptized. The first of these was Bro. Dorman's
son, Charley F. Dorman, Jr. This was the first person to
be baptized by Rodgers.
Bro. Dorman was pastor of the church until late in
1935. After leaving Rodgers, Bro. Dorman pastored churches
in several different areas. His long and fruitful
ministry came to an end when the Lord called him home.
The church owes this man a great debt for the leadership
he provided during those early formative years of the
church.
![[Bro. M.F. Downing Picture]](graphics/downing.jpg)
Bro. M.F. Downing 1935 - 1937
On December 3, 1935, Bro. M. F. Downing accepted
the call as pastor of Rodgers Baptist Church. The church
was far from a thriving church and was not able to support
Bro. Downing on a full time basis. Bro. Downing
preached on an every-other-Sunday basis at the time he
came. By the time he left, the church was having preaching
three times a month and Sunday School every Sunday.
The period of Bro. Downing's pastorate was not long
on a chronological basis. The growth of the church,
however, was continuous during his ministry here. After
he had left, definite signs of progress could be seen. Even
though the church was still small and young, Bro. Downing's
ministry at Rodgers had helped to point the church to
greater and bigger achievements at a later time.
Bro. Downing came to Rodgers as a young single
man. While pastor he married Gertrude Schmitt who was
a charter member of Rodgers Baptist.
![[Bro. O.E. Alsup Picture]](graphics/alsup.jpg)
Bro. O.E. Alsup 1937 - 1939
The next pastor to come to Rodgers was Bro. O. E.
Alsup. He pastored from September, 1937, to July, 1939.
Bro. Alsup was the first full time pastor of the church,
receiving the sum of $8.00 a week. This certainly sounds
small and insignificant in our inflated times. We should
pause to remember that our country was in the throes of a
deep depression and times were hard. In addition to this,
dark clouds were gathering on the horizon as nations
across the world moved ever closer to war.
This act of faith on the part of the church was rewarded
by the fruitful ministry of Bro. Alsup during his tenure
as pastor. There were many accomplishments during this
time. Probably the most noteworthy occurrence took
place on June 22, 1939. At this time the church moved to
the Handley School, located north of our present site. This
was on Jupiter between Miller Road and Forest Lane.
Even though many years have passed since his
pastorate here, Bro. Alsup continues to be loved and
appreciated by all those who know him. At various times
since leaving, Bro. and Mrs. Alsup have returned to our
church as members. During these times he has been a real
blessing. After pastoring many churches over the years,
Bro. Alsup is now retired and lives with his wife in Dallas.
![[Bro. J.H. Perritt Picture]](graphics/perritt.jpg)
Bro. J.H. Perritt 1939 - 1947
As the long, hard depression drug on, the people of
Rodgers once again found themselves in need of a pastor.
The same Lord who had so marvelously provided before,
brought another man of God to pastor this congregation.
It was on July 5, 1939, that Bro. J. H. Perritt accepted the
pastorate of Rodgers Baptist Church.
Bro. Perritt was called to pastor on a full time basis
and was paid $50.00 a month. For a brief time in 1940 and
1941 the church had to go back to preaching on a part time
basis. After a little more than a year, they were able to go
back on a full time basis.
It was only when World War II started that our nation
was able to pull out of the long economic depression
that had been a source of problems for the church since its
inception. Many lesser people might have succumbed to
discouragement and given up. The people of Rodgers were
led through this discouraging time ably by Pastor Perritt.
The war years saw the advent of many problems, not
the least of which was a shortage of building materials. In
spite of this, Bro. Perritt led the church in its first building
program.
Not only was this a time of growth for the physical
facilities, but more importantly a time of spiritual growth.
The church ordained Bro. Perritt's son, R. T. Perritt, to
the ministry. Also, four deacons were ordained during this
time. They were O. C. Morphis, P. C. Ragsdale, W. A.
Puckett and C. A. Turner.
It was during Bro. Perritt's ministry here that the
church voted to observe Homecoming Day. The first
observance was March 8, 1942. This started a tradition
that is still carried on today on the 4th Sunday in March.
In looking back on Bro. Perritt's pastorate, I was
intrigued by one small entry in the minutes. On September 1,
1946, a motion was made and carried that the Senior Class
"...drop its study of books and begin studying the
Bible." Even though this might seem like a small incident,
this points up to spiritual growth in the church.
Bro. Perritt passed away April 22, 1961.
![[Bro. Frank Shirley Picture]](graphics/shirley.jpg)
Bro. Frank Shirley 1947 - 1950
On January 5, 1947, Bro. Frank Shirley was called by
Rodgers Baptist. His salary was set aat $120.00 a month.
This was a time of continued growth for the church. Many
souls were saved during this time.
As the church and country pulled out of the war
years, many problems which had confronted the church
began to ease up. In many cases the old problems that had
plagued the church as well as the country was a shortage of
building materials. As this problem abated somewhat
many much needed repairs and improvements were made
around the church.
The church considered building a parsonage during
this period of time. They were not able to do this;
however, they did begin to pay $25.00 a month of the
pastor's rent.
Bro. Shirley pastored until August 13, 1950.
![[Bro. Arch Denton Picture]](graphics/denton.jpg)
Bro. Arch Denton 1950 - 1953
The next pastor to serve at Rodgers Baptist was Bro.
Arch Denton. Bro. Denton was called to the church
September 13, 1950. During his term as pastor he ably
built on the foundations previously laid by past preachers
who had served.
As the country began to recover from the depression
and war years, the church found it easier to begin to
accomplish some things that they had only been able to
dream of in the past. The church began a radio program
on Station KTER in Terrell. The theme song of the weekly
broadcast was "Jesus Saves".
In addition to this, the leadership of Bro. Denton
began to produce the first stirrings of mission outreach
that was later to be magnified many times. The church
voted to sponsor a foreign missionary. A year and a half
later the minutes of the church recorded that 248 souls had
been saved in this ministry to which they had been
contributing $25.00 a month.
It was also during Bro. Denton's tenure that the
church renounced its affiliation with all earthly associations
or boards. Since the inception of the church, it had
been a member of the Baptist Missionary Association. On
August 6, 1952, the church voted 17-5 to withdraw from
this organization.
On June 3, 1953, the church voted to authorize Bro.
Duane Phy to start a mission point at Belt Line and
Gatewood Streets in south Garland. The church was
pastored ably for a number of years by Bro. Phy. This
church is still located on Belt Line Road in Garland,
Texas.
In addition to the mission outreach, the church began
to add to their physical property. The original plot of land
had been donated to the church in 1939. Under Bro.
Denton's leadership, the church voted on July 19, 1953 to
purchase one-half acre of land across the back and
one-half acre of land on the south side of the present lot for
$2,000.00. The church voted to take an offering to pay for
a large part of it. Even though the church was still small
and a few dollars was a large amount to most of those people,
over twelve hundred dollars was received in the offering.
The church voted to build a new building during this
period of time. On July 2, 1952, it was decided to spend up
to $2,750.00 for teh new building.
The last few months of Bro. Denton's ministry was
marked by perpetual revival in the church with many souls
saved and Christian hearts made right. On August 2, 1953,
Bro. Denton was called home to be with our Lord and
Savior after a rich ministry. Even though Bro. Denton did
not live to see the new building and many other blessings
the church received, his ministry provided the foundation
from which the church has gone on to grow and prosper.
![[Bro. Charles L. Thomas Picture]](graphics/thomasc.jpg)
Bro. Charles L. Thomas 1953 -
It was on a warm Wednesday evening in September,
1952, that Bro. and Mrs. Thomas first attended services at
Rodgers Baptist. Bro. Thomas was a young man of 24 at
the time. He and Mrs. Thomas had one child, Dennis Lee,
age 9 months. He had met the pastor, Bro. Arch Denton,
while leading singing for a revival meeting at the Market
Road Baptist Church in Mesquite, Texas.
Bro. Denton asked Bro. Thomas at this time to supply
for him on Wednesday night. He had known of
Rodgers through his former pastor, Bro. Clyde Darr, who
had several nephews and two sisters in the church.
Rodgers had broken its associational ties the month before
which had caused quite a ripple among Baptist churches in
and around Dallas.
On October 1, 1952 the Bible Baptist Church in Vernon,
Texas (now East Side Baptist) called Bro. Thomas as
pastor. On October 4, 1952, Calvary Baptist Church in
Wichita Falls, Texas ordained him to the ministry. Bro.
Thomas was pastor at Vernon for 9 months. Bro. Thomas
resigned the East Side Baptist Church July 22, 1953. During
this time, Bro. Denton preached a revival meeting
there during the summer of 1953. Bro. Denton was a very
sick man and little did anyone know this would be his last
revival meeting during a long and fruitful ministry. He
was called out of this walk of life to be with the Lord
August 2, 1953.
Letter from East Side Baptist Church, Vernon, Texas:
Charles L. Thomas was called to the East Side Baptist
Church on October 1, 1952. He began his duties as Pastor
October 12, 1952.
"July 22, 1953 church met in regular session with
Bro. Thomas as moderator... Bro. Thomas resigned as
Pastor of East Side Baptist Church, felt his work was done
here... Motion made and 2nd the church accept his
resignation."
"Bro. Thomas preached his first sermon as Pastor of
East Side Baptist Church on October 12, 1952. He preached
his last on July 26, 1953."
Comment... "Sunday, August 2, Bro. Charles
Thomas preached for both services. Bro. Thomas was a
wonderful, spirit-filled preacher. We all loved him."
Signed:
Mrs. G. W. Hanner, C.C.
Taken from minutes of East Side Baptist Church,
1219 Pease, Vernon, Tx 76384
Bro. Homer Adams, pastor of Bruton Road Baptist
Church, was the church evangelist for the week of August
23rd and during this same time agreed to help the church
obtain supply preachers until Rodgers Baptist could call a
pastor.
Bro. Thomas was invited to preach in view of a call
August 30, 1953. He made the trip to Garland alone as
their second son, Ronald Charles, was only 3 months old
and Mrs. Thomas was unable to travel. Bro. Thomas had
great liberty to preach and several made professions of
faith. The church met in its regular yearly conference on
Wednesday night, September 9, and extended a
unanimous indefinite call to Bro. Thomas. Moderator
Rufus Rupard said of this action, "I have never seen a
church in greater harmony and unanimity than was our
church when we called Bro. Thomas as our pastor."
The progress of the church in every facet has been
great since that time. The church had purchased one acre
of land just prior to Bro. Thomas being called as pastor.
Soon after moving to Garland, the church began to plan a
new building. After considering several alternatives, the
church voted to accept plans drawn up by Bro. Thomas.
He also was designated to be the overseer of the contruction.
This seemed to have set a precedent, for since that
time the church has not hired an architect or general
contractor. The church has borrowed plans and hired
bricklayers, roofers, etc., but for the most part, the
buildings have been built by the church members.
The printing ministry of the church has been a far
reaching missionary tool. In June, 1957, the church purchased
its first printing press. Bro. Lonnie Tucker was
very instrumental in the beginning and continual promotion
of the printing ministry. He helped in the purchase,
set-up and operation of most of the printing and binding
equipment. He was able to secure paper and supplies at
very little cost to the church. The first report from the
Mission Press was given to the church September 4, 1957. In that
report the church was informed that over 1,300 pieces had
been printed and distributed. Since that time the church
has purchased many pieces of printing equipment and in
1980 printed over 200,000 pieces of material which includes
everything from tracts to revival posters. The
church published a monthly paper "The World of Truth"
from 1958 until December, 1963.
The church started a radio outreach ministry over
KTER in Terrell, Texas, starting Sunday, September 23,
1951 that continued for almost ten years. Because of the
rapid growth of the printing ministry and the church's
involvement in other mission work, the church felt its
mission dollars could be more effective in other areas and
discontinued the radio ministry.
The first church organized by Rodgers Baptist
Church was the Belt Line Baptist Church of Mesquite,
Texas. Bro. Thomas helped Bro. Duane Phy in an old
fashioned brush-arbor meeting and that resulted in the
church organization June 28, 1953.
The next church was started by Bro. Thomas
preaching on the street corners of Rockwall, Texas. After
much interest was shown and several souls saved, Bro.
Clyde Darr and Bro. Homer Adams were asked to help in
a meeting. After this meeting, Bro. Howard Neal accepted
the responsibility of mission pastor and organized the
church April 27, 1958.
In 1961, the church had a dedicated couple, Mr. &
Mrs. O. Z. Johnson, move to Irving, Texas. The first
meeting was in their home and from that beginning, the
church bought property, secured a loan and built a
building on Story Road in Irving. On November 11, 1962,
the Story Road Baptist Church was established.
There are many churches scattered across America
and around the world in several foreign countries started
by missionaries out of Rodgers Baptist Church. If Rodgers
Baptist Church were to be scattered like the church at
Jerusalem, her ministry would not be destroyed because
she has followed the scriptural pattern of reproducing
herself.
In April of 1960, Bro. Thomas made his first visit to
the mission field of Mexico. God stirred his heart in a
special way and enlarged his vision for missions. He began
to pray that the Lord of the harvest might raise up
missionaries from among us to send to the mission fields. Bro.
Thomas had this to say regarding scriptural missions.
"It is my firm conviction that the only
authority for doing mission work is His
church. It seemed unreasonable to think
our Lord would give His church authority
to teach, preach, baptize and observe His
supper and then take the commission to
'go into all the world and make disciples'
to a group outside the church. It would be
like telling a young bride she was to wash
dishes, clean house, cook meals, wash and
iron, but leave the bearing of children to
someone else."
God has added many missionaries to our church and
has called out great men from among us to carry the
Gospel to other people and nations. For this we praise
Him. Missions are truly the heartbeat of the Rodgers
Baptist Church. Our prayer should be that it will always be
until He returns.
Under our pastor we have been blessed by the Lord in
accumulating a large building and physical plant. This sets
on a large parcel of land. In August, 1985, the church will
be debt free. All the land, building, etc. will be paid for
and the church will be able to give all her resources to the
furthering of the great commission.
The members of Rodgers Baptist Church
are grateful for the many hours spent by
Bro. Billy Earl Watson in compiling
material for the brief history. He has
made every effort to arrive at the exact
account of dates and outstanding events in
our church history. Also, many thanks to
Mrs. Sandy Stieler who has helped in
typing and to the church staff for their
labor of love in printing and assembling
this book.
Our church has been blessed with
members who have special talents and use
them for the glory of the Lord. Bro.
Steve Leach has spent many hours preparing
line drawings for this history book. His
mother, Nancy also helped design the
cover. As pastor, I would like to express
the heart felt thanks of the membership of
our church.
Bro. Thomas and
Members of Rodgers Baptist Church
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