First Baptist Church of Katy (Bolin Chapel) - Katy, TX
Posted by: 
Raven
N 29° 47.008 W 095° 49.199
15R E 227374 N 3298126
Established in 1898, First Baptist Church of Katy is located on 600 Pin Oak Rd in Katy, Texas. All but the largest of its services are held at the Bolin Chapel rather than its non-descript large auditorium across from the parking lot.
Waymark Code: WMND32
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 02/17/2015
Views: 4
Per an on-site Texas historical marker at the Bolin Chapel (and as posted on their
website):
"On November 20, 1898, the Rev. T. L. Scruggs led the first official meeting of what would later become the First Baptist Church of Katy. Among the new congregation's first twelve charter members were W.H. Featherston, W. P. & Hattie A. Morrison and seven of their family and relatives. The Morrison and Featherston families did much to support the foundation and growth of the church, first named Zion Baptist Church. They met in the one-room Katy schoolhouse with several other denominations. The Rev. J. P. Durham, a circuit minister, was called as the first pastor. He visited once a month, alternating with the Methodists and others. In 1904 the congregation began to meet in a building erected by Katy Methodists. The Baptist congregation changed its name to Katy Baptist church in 1914 and erected its own building at a cost of $1,380.
The Katy Baptist Church grew quickly with the rapidly expanding economy of the Texas Gulf Coast. A masonry building replaced the first worship center and the name first Baptist Church of Katy was adopted in 1948. Continued growth resulted in the addition of a much larger worship center and educational building in 1967.
The church has contributed to worldwide missions as a member of the Southern Baptist Convention since 1905. Direct missions include an annual outreach in Mexico and the establishment of twelve mission churches in this area since 1946. The membership swelled to more than four thousand and the church relocated to a site just south of the original building as it celebrated its centennial in 1998. A white frame chapel was erected at the new site as a reminder of the first building and the original and continuing vision of the church."
Services are held mainly in the Bolin Chapel, with the exception of one -- its largest -- held in the non-descript auditorium across from the parking lot. As best described by the church's itself:
"Chapel Worship is ideal for those who like the old hymns and the simple style of yesterday. In today’s “big, Bigger, and BIGGEST” arena of churches, our Bolin Chapel constantly garners comments like, “That’s the kind of church I grew up in,” “I long to worship in a place like that,” and more. There is also, on the part of many, a longing for the traditional hymns of the faith—something that is more and more difficult to find in the Katy area"."