First Baptist Church of Stockdale

Stockdale Baptists organized their church in 1874 in a picket building. They met there or in a mill house or schoolhouse for years. The Rev. L. S. Cox was the first pastor. In 1885, under Pastor E. Norwood. The congregation erected its first church building, but this soon (1886) was damaged in a storm. Services were held in a cotton warehouse while the church was being rebuilt. In 1910, while The Rev. J. A. Morse was pastor, present site was bought and the third sanctuary built. Under leadership of The Rev. Charles Bowes, the present building was completed in 1953. The Rev. Charles Young was pastor (1966) when current parsonage was erected on site of the 1885 church.

Stewardship and enrolment have grown during the century. The congregation began in 1916 to sponsor a Mexican mission, erecting a mission hall in 1919. Present mission church was built in 1964, during the pastorate of The Rev. Kenneth Wellman.

The congregation has ordained several ministers: The Rev. Marshall Smith (1918), the Rev. Celestino Grasciotti (1924), the Rev. Bryan Teague (1928), the Rev. Jesse Jasso (in the mission, 1962), the Rev. Antonio Del Carmen (1970), and the Rev. Crus Casarez (1973). The Rev. John Hallum is the present pastor. (1974).