Independence Baptist Church in Brenham, TX is a church with a great history! The church was begun in 1839 and is the oldest continuously serving Baptist church in Texas. The original church building burned in the spring of 1872 and then was rebuilt in the fall of 1872.
The original building still stands and is located at the corner of FM 50 and FM 390 in Independence, TX. The old chapel now houses the only museum maintained by the Baptist General Convention of Texas and is across the street from the current used church facility. Sam Houston is the most famous member of the Independence Baptist Church. Throngs of onlookers witnessed his baptism on November 19, 1854 on Rocky Creek, two miles south of town. In addition to the historic church, you can also see the burial ground of Margaret Lea Houston, Sam Houston’s widow, and the Texas Baptist Museum where such artifacts as the original 1856 church bell are exhibited. You can find out more history of Independence Baptist Church and Texas Baptist Museum here.
In 2006 Crew Chief Don Jacobs with Volunteer Christian Builders, put out a call for around 20 men to join him in June to build a combination worship center and educational space for the church. He had a great response and 20 couples headed to Brenham that June. They framed out a 7,000 square foot metal building and did electrical and sheetrock work.
As always, the volunteers had a great time meeting fellow Christians and working for the Lord. Below are actual pictures of the job taken from Doris Ward's files. Looks like they also found time for a little sight seeing. No one can go to Brenham without stopping at the Blue Bell Creamery!
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