First Christian Church of Johnson City

The society that sent Tom Smith grew out of meetings the Disciples had long avoided. Wary of church organization, Texas Disciples nonetheless held a statewide meeting of ministers at Thorp Spring as early as 1879 and then annual meetings at Waxahachie, Bonham, Ennis, Bryan, Sherman and Austin. At Austin in 1886 they organized the Texas Christian Missionary Society for home-mission work. A. J. Bush was the first of its executives. In 1963 it was renamed the Texas Association of Christian Churches, and by 1975 the Texas region had grown to include New Mexico and part of Oklahoma.

What the plaque says

First Christian Church of Johnson City This congregation was organized in 1903 by the Rev. Tom Smith, an evangelist with the Texas Christian Missionary Society, and twenty-six charter members. Land for a church building was given by Judge N. T. Stubbs and a sanctuary was completed in 1905-06. In its early years the congregation was served by traveling ministers. Among the members was Lyndon B. Johnson, who joined the congregation in 1923 at age fourteen following his baptism in the Pedernales River. The church continues to be an important part of the life of Johnson City. (1989)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park — 0.3 mi
  The Johnson City district of the national park: the Victorian house where Lyndon Johnson grew up, and the stone barns his grandfather built in the Johnson Settlement.
• Pedernales Falls State Park — 10 mi
  The Pedernales stepping down over layered limestone east of Johnson City, a river that can turn from a placid stream to a torrent in minutes.
• Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site — 13 mi
  A state park on the Pedernales opposite the LBJ Ranch, with a working Texas-German farm kept as it was around the First World War and the permit desk for the ranch tour.
• Luckenbach — 22 mi
  A store, saloon and dance hall on Grape Creek that a humorist bought in 1971, declared a free state of mind, and turned into a pilgrimage for Texas music.

More markers nearby

• First Baptist Church of Johnson City — steps away
• Dr. James F. Barnwell — steps away
• 1894 Blanco County Jail — steps away
• Blanco County — steps away