Notice of demolition First Christian Church

As you may have noticed, First Baptist Church of Center has chosen to move forward with the demolition of the former Center First Christian Church facility located at 124 Cora Street. This decision was not taken lightly as we understand and appreciate the spiritual and historical nature of the facility and what it has meant to generations of persons in Shelby County. So, how did we get to this point?

In or around the Spring of 2016, the remaining members of the First Christian Church approached First Baptist Church with an offer to obtain their property on Cora Street as their membership was declining and they had hoped we could use the facilities for Church purposes. 

After acquiring the property, a series of inspections revealed a previously unknown infestation of bats in the attic and bell-tower of the main building. At great expense, FBC had over 6000 bats removed according to state requirements and then began to evaluate the possibility of renovating the original building. 

An architectural firm out of Lufkin was hired to make an assessment of the facility. This revealed a level of structural problems throughout the building rendering it unsafe and unusable without major renovations and repairs. Some of this was due to years of bat exposure and damage, some due to the simple age of the building, and some due to code requirements that have changed over the years. 

Estimated repairs to bring the building up to code were in excess of a million dollars in 2018 when the report was completed. At that point First Baptist chose to table the plans and wait. Following the Covid years, the topic was brought up again as further damage was discovered when the interior ceiling began to collapse into the sanctuary and some of the exterior walls began to separate from the structure.

FBC moved forward with a vote to remove the asbestos portions of the structure according to all abatement requirements of the state and begin the process of demolition. Ironically, it was discovered that the members of First Baptist Church had donated funds to help build the First Christian Church and now were faced with the decision to raise the building.

We fully comprehend the difficulty in reaching the decision to remove this beautiful and meaningful part of Center’s history. It took almost seven years of searching for alternatives to get to this point. However, there were no good options left once the building became unstable and unsafe. The building was issued a “subject marker” from the Texas Historical Commission many years ago for display and educational purposes. 

This type of marker does not restrict or protect the building; it is only a recognition of its historical value to the community. The marker will be remounted on the property once demolition is completed to remember and honor the faithful who gathered for so many years as members of the Center First Christian Church. Many items were removed from the church, including the stained glass windows, before demolition began.

More information is available about these items by calling David Hicks at 936-635-5188. 

- First Baptist Church of Center.