July 17th, 2025
by Dr. Spencer Plumlee
by Dr. Spencer Plumlee
On July 20th we will celebrate the 139th anniversary of First Baptist Church of Mansfield, TX. As I’ve prepared for this service, I’ve reviewed a number of the histories that have been written over the years. Most of them are found in the opening pages of membership directories, especially celebrations like the centennial in 1986.
I’ve summarized these histories into what I’m calling “A Brief History.” At some point, I would like to commission a church historian to write a definitive, longer, more thorough recounting of our history. For now, I hope this shorter version gives you a greater sense of just how faithful God has been to our church family through the years. Please pray that this Sunday is a sweet time of praise to God and gratitude to the saints who’ve gone before us.
Early Years (1886-1932) D.I. Smith to A. Wiles
Our church family covenanted together the same year the Statue of Liberty was Constructed, 1886. It seems appropriate that these two events coincided as both have stood for freedom, albeit two different types. The former stood for American freedom, and the latter for the freedom from sin and darkness only found in Jesus Christ.
Mansfield was a farming town that centered around a steam powered mill built by Ralph Man and Julian Feild. Yes, our town is a combination of the last names of these two men: Man and Feild! Our first pastor was a D.I. Smith who was later followed by J.N. Hunt in 1907. Pastor Hunt's salary was $12.00 a month (about $400.00 in today’s money) and often he gave the money back for repairs on the building.
In 1890, the church built its first building on 603 E. Broad Street (this would not be the last time we would meet on Broad!). There was no baptistry until 1917, so for the first twenty plus years we baptized in Walnut Creek. When we did install that baptistry, candidates for baptism had to climb up a ladder and come in through a window from outside the buildings to enter the waters of baptism.
In these “early years,” our church family was a rural church in a farming community. As best I can understand, these pastors were all bi-vocational- they had other means of employment outside of pastoring. This was a time very different from our own, given some of the historical realities. For example, the Civil War ended in 1865, roughly twenty before the beginning of the church. Cars only became a normal part of life later in this era of our history, so for the first thirty years people either walked or rode horses to church. Despite these differences, these faithful saints laid a foundation we continue to build on. We stand on their shoulders.
Developing Years (1933-1973) J.M. Price to Frank Hamby
I mark 1933 as a turning point in our history because of the incredible leadership of Dr. J.M. Price. The head of the School of Religious Education at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Price alternated between FBC Mansfield and Webb Baptist Church every other week from 1933-1940. While he may have been limited in his time, he was not limited in impact. He led them through major remodeling of the facilities and the Great Depression. Dr. Price was also the pastor who led them to celebrate their 50th Anniversary in 1936.
In 1950, Mansfield grew to 964 people and our church, according to records from the Tarrant Baptist Association, averaged 200 people in Sunday School. These years represented some significant milestones. On April 4th, 1954 the church voted to move to a piece of property on Graves St and had a dedication service for the newly constructed building the following year on September 11th, 1955. In 1961, the church celebrated its 75th Anniversary with speaker Dr. Ramsey Pollard, pastor of Bellevue Baptist in Memphis, TN.
During the 1960’s and early 1970’s, our church experienced continued growth as the community continued to expand. We added air conditioning, central heat, a new organ and because of growth added a second worship service. During these years of growth, the leadership of two men are notable: Gerald Davidson (1968-1969) and Tom Ellif (1970-71). Davidson led the charge on remodeling and ministry expansion while Ellif led the church to build a new worship facility that could seat up to 800 people.
These developing years saw the church move from a part-time, bi-vocational pastor to not only a full time senior pastor, but other paid ministry staff as well. These were sweet years when the church was still ministering in what was still considered a farming community. Towards the end of this era, the church began to lean into significant years of growth and outreach that corresponded to the change Mansfield was undergoing.
Visionary Years (1974- Present) James Moore to Present
The current era in which we are living is largely defined by one pastor: Brother James Moore. “Bro-Mo” as he was affectionately called, became pastor in 1974 and served until 2002. He led the church to build an education building to the north side of the Graves Street campus in 1980 and to start an hispanic ministry in 1981. In his twelfth year, the church celebrated its 100 Anniversary in 1986.
But during this time, God began to stir a new vision in Brother Moores heart. Just two years after building the education addition at the Graves Street location, the church purchased fifty acres of land on Broad Street. On November 7, 1983, the church paid $462,825 dollars for this piece of property as a potential new location for the church campus. I later asked Brother Moore if people thought he was crazy for doing this. He quickly replied, “I thought I was crazy!”
This was thought to be unwise for two reasons. First, they had just built the education addition. It didn’t make a lot of sense to pull up and move after just having spent money on buildings at the present location. Second, the piece of property they purchased was “out in the middle of nowhere.” It was surrounded by farmland and looked to be an unwise place to build a church campus.
Despite all this, Brother Moore led the church to build a Gym and Education building on the Broad Street property in 1993 (we still use this today in 2025). They became, “one church in two locations,” as Brother Moore would preach one service at the Graves Street location and then drive to the Broad Street location for a later service. He did this for almost two years. Worshipping in the Gym, they continued to do ministry in this building until they built our Worship Center in 2000. In 2008, our Children’s Building was built bringing our current campus to completion.
Similar to challenges faced by previous generations, this current season of visionary leadership has not been without opposition. This opposition was felt in the past in moments of division and disunity. Despite this, the church has persevered and never wavered in our commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I believe we are living in the ripples out of this vision today. Today, we worship weekly in the worship center built during this season. Today, we house our student ministry and many adult life groups in the first building built on this property. Today, we still have significant acreage that has multiplied in value by a factor of more than twenty.
The next chapter of our church family is being written right now. Time will tell if the current changes we are making represent the next era in our church’s storied history. But what I do know for certain is that the same urgency to get the gospel to our community and the world that motivated us for so many years is continuing today. As we celebrate all that God has done in our history, let’s continue to pray for the favor and grace of God.
I’ve summarized these histories into what I’m calling “A Brief History.” At some point, I would like to commission a church historian to write a definitive, longer, more thorough recounting of our history. For now, I hope this shorter version gives you a greater sense of just how faithful God has been to our church family through the years. Please pray that this Sunday is a sweet time of praise to God and gratitude to the saints who’ve gone before us.
Early Years (1886-1932) D.I. Smith to A. Wiles
Our church family covenanted together the same year the Statue of Liberty was Constructed, 1886. It seems appropriate that these two events coincided as both have stood for freedom, albeit two different types. The former stood for American freedom, and the latter for the freedom from sin and darkness only found in Jesus Christ.
Mansfield was a farming town that centered around a steam powered mill built by Ralph Man and Julian Feild. Yes, our town is a combination of the last names of these two men: Man and Feild! Our first pastor was a D.I. Smith who was later followed by J.N. Hunt in 1907. Pastor Hunt's salary was $12.00 a month (about $400.00 in today’s money) and often he gave the money back for repairs on the building.
In 1890, the church built its first building on 603 E. Broad Street (this would not be the last time we would meet on Broad!). There was no baptistry until 1917, so for the first twenty plus years we baptized in Walnut Creek. When we did install that baptistry, candidates for baptism had to climb up a ladder and come in through a window from outside the buildings to enter the waters of baptism.
In these “early years,” our church family was a rural church in a farming community. As best I can understand, these pastors were all bi-vocational- they had other means of employment outside of pastoring. This was a time very different from our own, given some of the historical realities. For example, the Civil War ended in 1865, roughly twenty before the beginning of the church. Cars only became a normal part of life later in this era of our history, so for the first thirty years people either walked or rode horses to church. Despite these differences, these faithful saints laid a foundation we continue to build on. We stand on their shoulders.
Developing Years (1933-1973) J.M. Price to Frank Hamby
I mark 1933 as a turning point in our history because of the incredible leadership of Dr. J.M. Price. The head of the School of Religious Education at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Price alternated between FBC Mansfield and Webb Baptist Church every other week from 1933-1940. While he may have been limited in his time, he was not limited in impact. He led them through major remodeling of the facilities and the Great Depression. Dr. Price was also the pastor who led them to celebrate their 50th Anniversary in 1936.
In 1950, Mansfield grew to 964 people and our church, according to records from the Tarrant Baptist Association, averaged 200 people in Sunday School. These years represented some significant milestones. On April 4th, 1954 the church voted to move to a piece of property on Graves St and had a dedication service for the newly constructed building the following year on September 11th, 1955. In 1961, the church celebrated its 75th Anniversary with speaker Dr. Ramsey Pollard, pastor of Bellevue Baptist in Memphis, TN.
During the 1960’s and early 1970’s, our church experienced continued growth as the community continued to expand. We added air conditioning, central heat, a new organ and because of growth added a second worship service. During these years of growth, the leadership of two men are notable: Gerald Davidson (1968-1969) and Tom Ellif (1970-71). Davidson led the charge on remodeling and ministry expansion while Ellif led the church to build a new worship facility that could seat up to 800 people.
These developing years saw the church move from a part-time, bi-vocational pastor to not only a full time senior pastor, but other paid ministry staff as well. These were sweet years when the church was still ministering in what was still considered a farming community. Towards the end of this era, the church began to lean into significant years of growth and outreach that corresponded to the change Mansfield was undergoing.
Visionary Years (1974- Present) James Moore to Present
The current era in which we are living is largely defined by one pastor: Brother James Moore. “Bro-Mo” as he was affectionately called, became pastor in 1974 and served until 2002. He led the church to build an education building to the north side of the Graves Street campus in 1980 and to start an hispanic ministry in 1981. In his twelfth year, the church celebrated its 100 Anniversary in 1986.
But during this time, God began to stir a new vision in Brother Moores heart. Just two years after building the education addition at the Graves Street location, the church purchased fifty acres of land on Broad Street. On November 7, 1983, the church paid $462,825 dollars for this piece of property as a potential new location for the church campus. I later asked Brother Moore if people thought he was crazy for doing this. He quickly replied, “I thought I was crazy!”
This was thought to be unwise for two reasons. First, they had just built the education addition. It didn’t make a lot of sense to pull up and move after just having spent money on buildings at the present location. Second, the piece of property they purchased was “out in the middle of nowhere.” It was surrounded by farmland and looked to be an unwise place to build a church campus.
Despite all this, Brother Moore led the church to build a Gym and Education building on the Broad Street property in 1993 (we still use this today in 2025). They became, “one church in two locations,” as Brother Moore would preach one service at the Graves Street location and then drive to the Broad Street location for a later service. He did this for almost two years. Worshipping in the Gym, they continued to do ministry in this building until they built our Worship Center in 2000. In 2008, our Children’s Building was built bringing our current campus to completion.
Similar to challenges faced by previous generations, this current season of visionary leadership has not been without opposition. This opposition was felt in the past in moments of division and disunity. Despite this, the church has persevered and never wavered in our commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I believe we are living in the ripples out of this vision today. Today, we worship weekly in the worship center built during this season. Today, we house our student ministry and many adult life groups in the first building built on this property. Today, we still have significant acreage that has multiplied in value by a factor of more than twenty.
The next chapter of our church family is being written right now. Time will tell if the current changes we are making represent the next era in our church’s storied history. But what I do know for certain is that the same urgency to get the gospel to our community and the world that motivated us for so many years is continuing today. As we celebrate all that God has done in our history, let’s continue to pray for the favor and grace of God.
Pastor | Year | Pastor | Year | ||
1 | D.I. Smith | 1886-1889 | 20 | A. Wiles | 1932 |
2 | J.M Newbrough | 1890-1891 | 21 | Dr. J.M. Price | 1933-1940 |
3 | C.M. Woodson | 1892 | 22 | A.C. Little | 1942-1943 |
4 | M.M. Moore | 1893 | 23 | C.A. Kennedy | 1944 |
5 | W.A. Pool | 1894-1897 | 24 | Cecil Hyatt | 1945-1947 |
6 | S.C. Bailey | 1898 | 25 | D.L. Lumpkin | 1948 |
7 | J.R.M. Touchstone | 1902-1904 | 26 | Boyce Evans | 1950 |
8 | J.P. Hardesty | 1905-1906 | 27 | Leslie Welch | 1951-1953 |
9 | J.N. Hunt | 1908-1909 | 28 | Charles Sullivan | 1954-1956 |
10 | J.R.M. Touchstone | 1910 | 29 | Howard Thrift | 1957 |
11 | J. J. Wester | 1911 | 30 | Jim E. Tillman | 1958-1962 |
12 | G.W. Owens | 1912 | 31 | John Rasberry | 1964-1967 |
13 | L. M. Sipes | 1913-1914 | 32 | Gerald Davidson | 1968-1969 |
14 | E.D. Reece | 1916-1919 | 33 | Thomas Elliff | 1970-1971 |
15 | W.E. Kimbrough | 1920-1922 | 34 | Frank Hamby | 1973 |
16 | W.E. Locklear | 1920-1922 | 35 | Dr. James Moore | 1974-2002 |
17 | O.C. Harvey | 1923-1927 | 36 | Scott Camp | 2002-2003 |
18 | Mike Elliot | 1928 | 37 | Johnny Dickerson | 2004-2015 |
19 | Clarence Crowe | 1929-1931 | 38 | Dr. Spencer Plumlee | 2018-Present |
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