Our Church

Plainview's first Baptist Congregation


On a momentous Sunday afternoon, November 23rd 1890, a group of eleven persons met in the local schoolhouse to organize the first congregation of the Baptist faith in Plainview.   Plainview Baptist Church was organized by Reverend I.B. Kimbrough with the assistance of Reverend John C. Stamps.  The organization was formally based upon an original manuscript of the Articles of Faith of the Old Mill Creek Church in Virginia and its frontier mission as being  "bounded on the north by the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad, on the south by  T & P Railroad, on the east by Red Fork Association and on the west by the providence of God." The following were recognized as charter members at that first meeting: Mr. and Mrs. F.M. Parks, Mr. and Mrs. T.B. Leverett, Mr. and Mrs. R.B.C. Howell, Mr. and Mrs. T.L. Pearson, Mr. and Mrs. Seat Turner and Mr.T.E. Smith.

Reverend I.B. Kimbrough was called as Pastor, and F.M. Parks was recognized as an ordained deacon.   A short time later, a building committee, comprised of F.M. Parks, R.B.C. Howell and J.H. Wayland was appointed to direct construction of a church building.  During the first year, the church membership doubled.
The first building was completed in August of 1893 at the intersection of Austin and Fourth streets.  In a 1911 state charter the church was named First Missionary Baptist Church of Plainview.  Continued growth led to the construction of the current at building at 8th and Austin in 1927, and the name was changed once again in 1929 to First Baptist Church of Plainview.

Bethel Chapel

Plainview First Baptist Church continued to grow through the years.  On Sunday evening, October 5, 1947, Dr. A. Hope Owen, pastor of First Baptist Church, Plainview presented a plan to his church to establish a mission in the northwest part of Plainview.

First Baptist Church purchased lots and bought a bought a building, an Army surplus chapel from South Plains Army Airfield, to be placed on the corner of 16th and Independence streets.  

On January 4, 1948, Bethel Chapel held its first service with Aaron Eurich serving as its first Pastor.  The first service was attended by fifty-four with a first offering of $116.32.  In 1951 the men of Bethel Chapel, backed by First Baptist Church, decided that the church needed more space.  In their spare time, the church members constructed an all-purpose two story building to include an auditorium, classrooms, and a kitchen with the old Army surplus building used as a parsonage until 1959 when it was remodeled to be utilized as the nursery and primary Sunday School building.

Bethel Baptist Church

On January 6, 1952, First Baptist Church and Bethel Chapel in harmonious agreement reorganized Bethel Chapel as Bethel Baptist Church.  The first yearly budget for Bethel Baptist Church was $4,468.  By March 9, 1958, continued growth led the congregation to believe that they needed to enter into a  successful bond agreement to construct a new auditorium and remodel the old building.  October 29, 1975 again found the church considering another remodeling project that included the removal of the old Army surplus building and replacing it with a basement and building behind the auditorium.
On September 9, 1991, under the leadership of Douglas Gifford, the church conducted a secret ballot and voted to relocate the church and a new campaign was begun to raise money to buy land and build a new church building.  A plan to purchase land on the east access road of I-27 for the new church was presented on April 24, 1994 by Glen Clark. 
Groundbreaking on the new church took place October 5, 1998 and materials for the construction of the building were delivered to the property a year later on November 3, 1999
Construction continued over the next several years with men from the church doing most of the construction.  At one point, they faced a serious setback when an unexpectedly strong storm front came through town and left a few inches of snow and a fallen wall.  Despite the setback, and with renewed determination construction was finished and the first service was celebrated on October 5, 2003.   Upon the move into the building, the old church building was donated to Iglesia Bautista Central.





Bethel Baptist Today

Bethel Baptist remains a small but thriving part of Plainview's religious community.  Like most churches, Bethel suffered loss of members during the Covid pandemic of 2020.  However, our leadership initiated some imaginative efforts to continue providing worship opportunities for the congregation including having drive-in church services in our parking lot.   Bethel's post-covid attendance has settled to an average of about 80 enthusiastic folks at Sunday morning services.