Breckenridge Texan

By Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan

One hundred years ago, a traveling missionary stopped in Breckenridge and founded a church that has lasted a century and is still serving the community.

On Sunday, Sept. 20, the current congregation of Bethel Baptist Church, led by the Rev. C.F. Holliman, and their guests will gather to celebrate what the Rev. J.L. Mann started in 1926. The church will hold its regular Sunday School at 10 a.m. and worship service at 11 a.m., followed by lunch in the Fellowship Hall.

“We are a little congregation, but it’s kind of like a family, you know,” said Rowena Cyprian, Bethel’s church clerk. “There’s not many of us, but we’re bound together in love and fellowship.”

She said the community is invited to attend the service, as well as the anniversary celebration, which will begin at 2:30 p.m.

Breckenridge’s Bethel Baptist Church will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a special service on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 20. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Vincent Session will serve as the Master of Ceremonies. Katheryn Willis will present the welcome, and Shayla Yoes will provide the church history. There will be songs, prayers and other presentations by the congregation, visiting choirs, deacons and others.

Bethel’s pastor, Rev. Holliman, will present the guest speaker, Rev. I.T. Hulin, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Mineral Wells. Then, the event will wrap up with a call to discipleship, closing remarks and benediction.

“There’s a part in the program where we’re going to have a memorial for those that have gone on,” Rowena Cyprian said. “We usually light a candle and have a prayer. And after the prayer, we do a song, ‘Precious Memories,’ for those that have gone on before us, that left a kind of a legacy for us to carry on. You know, they’ve started something, and we want to carry it on, pass it on from one generation to the next, so that it’ll be significant to our young kids.”

Participating in the program will be the church’s deacons, Tom Cyprian, Vincent Session, Daniel Willis and David Yoes, as well as Assistant Pastor Melinda Lane, church clerk Rowena Cyprian, announcing clerk Shayla Yoes, usher Etta Wilson, and Freddie King, decorations. The food committee includes Freddie King, Katheryn Willis, Juanita Cook, Shayla Yoes, Etta Wilson, Ann Duncan, Buddy Duncan, Brandi White, Doug White, Ruth Sharp, Sara McIntosh, Sam McIntosh, Rowena Cyprian and pastors Denny and Melinda Lane.

Guest church members attending will be Rev. I.T. Hulin of Bethel Baptist Church in Mineral Wells, Rev. T. Cooper of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Graham, and members of Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Breckenridge.

Bethel Baptist Church was organized in 1926 and has had several building and equipment upgrades throughout the years. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

When Rev. Mann organized what was first known as Little Bethel Baptist Church, it was originally on Front Avenue. The church was soon re-located to its current address at 804 James Ave. According to the local history book “Stephens County: Much to be Cherished,” the current building was constructed in 1927 by church members; however, it’s also possible that the Front Avenue building was moved to the location on James Avenue.

When the church first moved to its current site on James Avenue, it was across the street from the Booker T. Washington High School and was primarily a Baptist church for the Breckenridge community’s African American citizens. However, the church has always welcomed anyone who wants to join and currently has a diverse membership.

The church’s facilities originally included just the sanctuary, but through the years it has been added onto and has Sunday School rooms, a pastor’s study and a fellowship hall with a kitchen. The walls of the fellowship hall are covered with photos and documents detailing the church’s history, as well as with devotional items and portraits of leaders from throughout African American and Civil Rights history.

In researching the church’s history, Rowena Cyprian came across a large ledger containing hand-written records dating back to the early 1930s.

Rowena Cyprian, Bethel’s church clerk, looks through an old hand-written ledger she found when researching the church’s history. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

“I was looking through that ledger…they paid the pastor $20 a month,” she said. “That probably was a lot of money in 1939, though…$20 a month.”

Also among the documents is a copy of the 1938 Quit Claim Deed transferring the property to the church for $1.

Between the pastorships of Rev. Mann in 1926 and Rev. Holliman in 2026, Bethel Baptist has had many preachers. Several of the pastors traveled to Breckenridge from out of town to perform the weekly services.

“Down through the years, we’ve had many, many ministers,” Rowena Cyprian said. “One of the ones that was outstanding was Reverend S. D. White. He did a lot for the church in the upbuilding of the church, back when he was here, I think in the 1940s.”

Next year, Rev. Holliman will celebrate his 40th year as pastor of Bethel Baptist. He comes every Sunday from Mineral Wells, where he has been active in the community, serving in a variety of positions from school principal to mayor.

Rev. Holliman, along with Rowena and Tom Cyprian, attended the recent Breckenridge City Commission meeting for Mayor Kole Trammel’s proclamation naming Sept. 20 as Bethel Baptist Church Day in Breckenridge. (Click here to read more about that presentation in the Breckenridge Texan’s recent article about the city commission meeting.)

The hand-written ledger dates back to 1934 and includes entries such as a $20 monthly payment to the preacher in the 1930s. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Breckenridge Mayor Kord Trammel, right, presents a City of Breckenridge proclamation declaring Sept. 20 as Bethel Baptist Church Day to church members Tom Cyprian, Rev. C.F. Holliman and Rowena Cyprian, church clerk. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The Fellowship Hall walls are covered with photos and historical documents from the Bethel Baptist Church history. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

One of the historical documents posted in the Fellowship Hall is a 1930s bulletin and directory for the church. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

As a church that was founded in 1926 to primarily serve the African American citizens of Breckenridge, Bethel Baptist’s Fellowship Hall includes not only devotional items but also portraits of Civil Rights leaders and others important in Black history. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Newspaper articles and other historical documents are posted on the walls of the Fellowship Hall and will be on display during the anniversary celebration on Sunday, Sept. 20. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Bethel Baptist Church was organized in 1926 and moved to its current location in 1927. A cornerstone was installed in 1970. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cutline, top photo: Rowena Cyprian, Bethel Baptist’s church clerk, and others have been working to organize the church’s 100th anniversary celebration on Sunday, Sept. 20. The community is invited to attend the event, which will begin at 2:30 p.m. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)