San Saba Church of Christ

The division that shaped this congregation had long roots. The Restoration Movement, formed when Barton W. Stone's Christians and Alexander Campbell's Reformers joined in 1832, began to split nationally in 1862 over innovations in worship and the role of clergy. In Texas the break came at the state meeting in Austin in July 1886, when progressives founded the Texas Christian Missionary Society; conservatives saw no scriptural basis for such societies or for instrumental music. The undivided body then had about 30,000 members. The 1906 census officially separated the Churches of Christ from the Disciples of Christ.

What the plaque says

San Saba Church of Christ San Saba County was organized in 1856, and in 1860 the commissioners court issued a block of land to each religious body; the Christian church was one of these. The congregation traded their land for another block upon which they built a small frame structure. The first documented preacher of the Christian church in San Saba was J. A. Henderson. For many years, services were conducted by lay elders and by traveling ministers. Popular religious debates held in San Saba often involved members of the Christian church. The 20th century was ushered in by the 1904 division in the Christian church, which led the San Saba congregation to choose the Church of Christ. Despite the split and such lean years as those of the Depression era, the San Saba Church of Christ thrived. Popular activities such as summer revivals increased membership in the church, with new facilities erected as needed. A controversy over the support of mission work resulted in the founding of a separate congregation in 1957, but the original San Saba congregation carried on and quickly regained its strength, flourishing in the 1970s. The San Saba Church of Christ upholds the unique traditions of its founders through worship, missionary, and community outreach programs in Texas and beyond. (1998)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Colorado Bend State Park — 18 mi
  Old ranch country on the Colorado above Lake Buchanan, where a spring-fed creek drops 70 feet over fern-covered travertine at Gorman Falls.

More markers nearby

• First Baptist Church of San Saba — steps away
• American Legion Wiley B. Murray Post No. 27 — steps away
• The Texas Rangers and the San Saba Mob — 0.3 mi
• Edmond E. Risien, Pecan Pioneer — 0.3 mi