DALLAS — When the historic First Baptist Church burned in downtown Dallas Friday, over 130 years of history burned along with it.
In a sermon Sunday, the church's senior pastor told congregants that First Baptist Dallas plans to "rebuild that sanctuary." However, it might not be a replica of the original structure, he said.
Historic photos from the DeGolyer Library at SMU depict the church just decades after the building was erected in 1890. The history of First Baptist Dallas extends backward in history even further, to 1868, when First Baptist was organized with eleven charter members. The church was founded on the first floor of the Masonic Hall on Lamar Street, according to the Texas State Historical Association. It was the first Baptist church to be successfully established in Dallas.
In 1872, the congregation purchased its first building on Akard Street for $6,000. The building was a one-room structure that members paid to build by "weaving rugs, making hominy, preserves, and cheese to sell at fairs near Dallas, then a frontier town of 2,500," according to the Texas Historical Commission.
In 1891, the congregation laid the cornerstone for the historic Victorian-style, red brick building, according to a history of the church from First Baptist Dallas. At the time, the building cost $90,000. Before Friday's fire, it was the only downtown Dallas Church still on its original site, according to the Texas Historical Commission.
A few years after the church was erected, Dr. George Washington “G.W.” Truett became First Baptist’s ninth pastor in 1897. Truett would later become president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1927 to 1929 as well as the president of Baptist World Alliance from 1934 to 1939, according to the George Washington Truett Papers.
Truett led the church for 40 years until his death and grew the church's membership from 797 to 7,804, making it the largest church in the Southern Baptist Convention at the time, according to First Baptist Dallas.
Truett established several precedent-setting ministries, including "the first known training class for Sunday school teachers," according to the Texas State Historical Association. The church also broadcasted its services on the radio in 1921. By 1926, services were broadcast on three radio stations. Today, the church's sermons reach a worldwide audience online.
Truett's most famous sermon, on religious freedom, was delivered in 1920 on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to a crowd of 15,000. He also helped to found Texas Baptist Memorial Hospital, now known as Baylor University Medical Center, according to First Baptist Dallas.
Other notable pastors include W. A. Criswell, who took over the church after Truett died in 1944, served for 47 years and continued to grow church membership to 28,000 in 1991, when it earned the title of the largest church in the United States, according to the Texas State Historical Association.
Today, the church is led by Robert Jeffress who in 2013, unveiled a new $130 million downtown church campus including a new 178,000-square-foot worship center, the Dallas Morning News reported. The only historic structure left after the multi-campus renovation was the historic chapel.
The prominent church has found itself in the public discourse over the years, as statements from its leaders have drawn criticism and backlash.
Criswell and Jeffress were both criticized for making controversial statements about minority groups. In 1956, Criswell publicly opposed integration in a speech at the South Carolina Baptist Evangelism Conference. Years later he walked back his comments and said First Baptist Dallas was open to people of all races, according to an article from the Journal of Southern Religion.
Jeffress, the church's current senior pastor has also made several disparaging comments about Mormons, Catholics, members of the LGBTQ community, Barack Obama and even Tim Tebow, according to a story published by the Dallas Morning News summarizing the pastor's many controversies.
Notable congregants have included evangelist Billy Graham, who was a member of the church up until 2008, despite never living in Dallas.
