How it all started
Emmanuel Baptist Church of Alice, Texas traces its origins to Springfield, Texas—an obscure, unincorporated rural area only 3 miles southeast of San Diego and 7 miles northwest of Alice, in west central Jim Wells County. Not much to see there today, but a dispersed rural community; yet, it stands as ground zero, where church founders first met at the ranches of Concepción Franco and Guadalupe Torres, holding regular worship services under the
canopy of an old Palo Blanco tree. After hearing the gospel and accepting Jesus Christ, Concepción Franco feverishly shared his personal testimony with family and friends. One convert soon became six. Reverend A.T. Talbert, then Pastor of First Baptist Church of Alice, baptized the six (1921). Reverend Daniél Delgado, pastor of Primera Iglésia Bautista Mexicana of Corpus Christi, on mission trips into the area, soon discovered this growing congregation (1924) and taught them good doctrine. Six converts then grew to seventeen converts after eleven more got baptized. Primera Iglésia Bautista Mexicana of Alice formally organized as an independent church on January 11, 1925.
By 1927, the church worshipped at two locations (South Reynolds at Lucero and South Almond at Lucero). Later that year, Mrs. Elizabeth A. Nayer gifted land at Almond and Plaza (now Veteran’s Plaza Park of Alice). The church inaugurated a building on February 28, 1932, as GOD added more to His church. The church hired its first full-time pastor, Francisco Morales, in 1939, who served until 1947. The church added a building, keeping the former structure as an adjoining educational center. Under new pastoral leadership with Reverend Camilo Rico (1950), dreams for a building project launched. Despite Pastor Rico’s resignation in 1953 and a short-lived second pastorate by Francisco Morales (1954-1957), the dream continued. Enter in the longest tenured pastorate: Francisco Juán Somma, hired 1958. By year’s end, building fund totaled $5,375 ($60,000 today).
In 1959, First Baptist Church of Alice, pastored by Dr. Byron Richardson, donated two structures on three lots at South Cameron and Hickey. The church purchased an adjoining house to serve as parsonage and a fifth adjoining lot. The first business meeting of 1966 gave a sense the time had come to fully realize a long-awaited dream. Later that same year, the church relocated its parsonage to a parcel of land on South Texas Boulevard, near Cactus Street, donated by First Baptist Church of Alice. From 1967 to 1968, serious construction plans had ensued, helped by Dr. H. Taylor Pendley (BGCT) and Reverend W.T. Johnson (BGCT), with professional design services by Turner & McAdams, A.I. Architects of Dallas, Texas.
On October 27, 1968, the church held a grand groundbreaking ceremony. By that time, the building fund was $25,000 ($210,000 today). During that ceremony, Rev. Joe Love, Pastor of FBC Alice, announced their mission to match the building fund with a donation of $25,000 ($210,000 today). Total construction costs amounted to $85,000 ($714,000 today). Total of all donations: BGCT with $5,000 ($42,000 today); First Baptist Church of Alice with $25,000 ($210,000 today); and the members, family and friends of Primera Iglésia Bautista Mexicana of Alice with $55,000 ($462,000 today). In December 1969, its assessed value amounted to $155,000 ($1.3 million today). A dedication service with special recognition by The City of Alice Authorities was held on December 13, 1969. Dr. T.A. Patterson delivered the message, and Rev. Júlio Aldape (cont.) delivered the prayer. Isaac Torres, Building Committee Chair, presented a history of the church. Special recognition was also given to Rev. Joe Love, Pastor of First Baptist Church of Alice; to Rev. W.T. Johnson (BGCT); to the Oldham Little Church Foundation; as well as to all the church members, in general, and to their loving families and friends.
During this grand Dedication Service, the Church Membership presented a Declaration:
“As we dedicate this building today, it does not seem possible that so much has been accomplished with so little. The blessings of the LORD have been upon us and the people of GOD have rejoiced at working, loving, and giving. TO GOD BE THE GLORY FOR THE GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE WITH US! WE ARE PRAISING HIS NAME! As we dedicate this building to GOD’s service, let us dedicate our lives anew to more active and faithful service to our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ, and for the happiness of The City of Alice and our loved America.”
Subsequent years saw phenomenal growth and joyful triumph, as well as a fair share of struggle (much like our own personal walk and sojourn through this life). During the 1970’s, the Church Sunday School Program was at its height. The WMU (Femeníl) and the Baptist Men (Varoníl) were equally strong and diligently at work. The Young People ministry was growing by leaps and bounds, going off to youth camp every summer. The Royal Ambassadors and Girls in Action, meeting on Tuesday evenings, were both very viable ministries. Discipleship Training, meeting on Wednesday evenings before Prayer Service, was brimming with involvement. More room was required to accommodate the expanding breadth of ministries. So, a second fellowship hall (Fellowship Hall #2) was constructed as an attached addition to the new church building. Four different Sunday School classes would meet there—one at each corner, quartered off by simple chalkboard-style dividers. It was without a doubt the heyday of the Church.
In the early 1980’s, the Church purchased the adjoining 1.5-acre property, located just north of the Church, including a 2 story, 5 bedroom house with a 2 car garage. It didn’t take the Church long to begin using this new house for more Sunday School classrooms. The new place was lovingly referred to as “El Aposento Alto” (“The Upper Room”), after its namesake meeting place in Scripture.
In 1992, with Church ministries growing, the Church hired its first ever Associate Pastor, Juvenal Cervantes. He served until the year 1994. And just a few short years later, in August of 1996, after an astounding 38 years of dedicated, sacrificial and unwavering service to the Lord, Rev. Francisco Juán Somma grudgingly retired from his loving service as our pastor. He was truly a man of God. In September 1996, Rev. Sérgio Barragán came to serve as our new pastor. He was a self-assured man with a low, booming voice. And in 1998. Brother David Torres, then the Deacon Chairman, served as the Interim Pastor, selflessly committing himself to the responsibility until a new permanent pastor could be found. Finally, in 2001, Rev. Noé Ortíz became the new Pastor.
As a growing number of South Texas Hispanics were raising a new generation of Young People who spoke little, to almost no Spanish, or who simply preferred to speak and hear English even though they knew enough Spanish to get by with the “Abuelos,” attendance at the Church began to drop measurably, leaving a remnant of seniors who traditionally preferred to speak and hear Spanish. The Church was experiencing the pain of a slow but observable shift in the demographic (cont.)
(or characteristic) of the typical Church attendee. Even among local Hispanics there arose apparent varieties of cultures that preferred varying degrees of English and Spanish, making it more difficult for one single congregation to serve all the needs of all Hispanics in attendance, not to mention the growing number of Anglos who were beginning to worship in predominantly Hispanic churches.
As a result, in April 2004, Rev. Jose Noé Treviño, who had formerly attended the Church from childhood to adulthood, returned to the Church once again. He had already served as Pastor at Coastal Bend Fellowship in Kingsville, Texas for nearly 6 years, during the 1990’s. He had recently served as the Coastal Bend Baptist Association’s Assistant Director of Missions, and he was then serving as a Congregational Strategist for the BGCT. Soon after officially joining the Church as a member, Brother Noé Treviño was called to be an Associate Pastor of the Church. Before long, it became very apparent that a good number of others who had also been raised in the Church as children and who had gone away as adults for whatever reasons (college, employment, or military service) were now returning to EBC, to serve God at their “home” Church once again.
After serving faithfully for over five years, Reverend Noé Ortíz resigned as Pastor of the Church in June 2006. One of his most notable accomplishments was to have begun an area-wide camaraderie of a half-dozen or more pastors and lay leaders, who met regularly for a time of fellowship and training, to encourage one another and to help each other by sharing what was working well in their own congregations, and also to discuss cultural issues, talking about how to best serve a diverse community of Anglos and Hispanics. After Noé Ortíz resigned as Pastor, Brother Noé Treviño became Interim Pastor, and the Church organized a Pastor Search Team. Despite the lack of a permanent pastor, the Church continued to grow and ministries strengthened, especially in the areas of Young People and Young Adults. It was an opportune time of self-discovery and re-visioning; in fact, at this time the Church officially changed its name from “Primera Iglésia Bautista Mexicana” to “Emmanuel Baptist Church of Alice, Texas.”
There is much more that can be shared of our history. Many changes: some for the good, and others that were hard. But throughout all of this, we declare loudly, with thankful hearts…
Our LORD JESUS CHRIST is truly amazing, and He has remained faithful through the ages!
1 Corinthians 15:58 – “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.
Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,
because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
Let us keep trusting Him, praising Him, and serving Him with great joy!
God bless you and your family abundantly!
canopy of an old Palo Blanco tree. After hearing the gospel and accepting Jesus Christ, Concepción Franco feverishly shared his personal testimony with family and friends. One convert soon became six. Reverend A.T. Talbert, then Pastor of First Baptist Church of Alice, baptized the six (1921). Reverend Daniél Delgado, pastor of Primera Iglésia Bautista Mexicana of Corpus Christi, on mission trips into the area, soon discovered this growing congregation (1924) and taught them good doctrine. Six converts then grew to seventeen converts after eleven more got baptized. Primera Iglésia Bautista Mexicana of Alice formally organized as an independent church on January 11, 1925.
By 1927, the church worshipped at two locations (South Reynolds at Lucero and South Almond at Lucero). Later that year, Mrs. Elizabeth A. Nayer gifted land at Almond and Plaza (now Veteran’s Plaza Park of Alice). The church inaugurated a building on February 28, 1932, as GOD added more to His church. The church hired its first full-time pastor, Francisco Morales, in 1939, who served until 1947. The church added a building, keeping the former structure as an adjoining educational center. Under new pastoral leadership with Reverend Camilo Rico (1950), dreams for a building project launched. Despite Pastor Rico’s resignation in 1953 and a short-lived second pastorate by Francisco Morales (1954-1957), the dream continued. Enter in the longest tenured pastorate: Francisco Juán Somma, hired 1958. By year’s end, building fund totaled $5,375 ($60,000 today).
In 1959, First Baptist Church of Alice, pastored by Dr. Byron Richardson, donated two structures on three lots at South Cameron and Hickey. The church purchased an adjoining house to serve as parsonage and a fifth adjoining lot. The first business meeting of 1966 gave a sense the time had come to fully realize a long-awaited dream. Later that same year, the church relocated its parsonage to a parcel of land on South Texas Boulevard, near Cactus Street, donated by First Baptist Church of Alice. From 1967 to 1968, serious construction plans had ensued, helped by Dr. H. Taylor Pendley (BGCT) and Reverend W.T. Johnson (BGCT), with professional design services by Turner & McAdams, A.I. Architects of Dallas, Texas.
On October 27, 1968, the church held a grand groundbreaking ceremony. By that time, the building fund was $25,000 ($210,000 today). During that ceremony, Rev. Joe Love, Pastor of FBC Alice, announced their mission to match the building fund with a donation of $25,000 ($210,000 today). Total construction costs amounted to $85,000 ($714,000 today). Total of all donations: BGCT with $5,000 ($42,000 today); First Baptist Church of Alice with $25,000 ($210,000 today); and the members, family and friends of Primera Iglésia Bautista Mexicana of Alice with $55,000 ($462,000 today). In December 1969, its assessed value amounted to $155,000 ($1.3 million today). A dedication service with special recognition by The City of Alice Authorities was held on December 13, 1969. Dr. T.A. Patterson delivered the message, and Rev. Júlio Aldape (cont.) delivered the prayer. Isaac Torres, Building Committee Chair, presented a history of the church. Special recognition was also given to Rev. Joe Love, Pastor of First Baptist Church of Alice; to Rev. W.T. Johnson (BGCT); to the Oldham Little Church Foundation; as well as to all the church members, in general, and to their loving families and friends.
During this grand Dedication Service, the Church Membership presented a Declaration:
“As we dedicate this building today, it does not seem possible that so much has been accomplished with so little. The blessings of the LORD have been upon us and the people of GOD have rejoiced at working, loving, and giving. TO GOD BE THE GLORY FOR THE GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE WITH US! WE ARE PRAISING HIS NAME! As we dedicate this building to GOD’s service, let us dedicate our lives anew to more active and faithful service to our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ, and for the happiness of The City of Alice and our loved America.”
Subsequent years saw phenomenal growth and joyful triumph, as well as a fair share of struggle (much like our own personal walk and sojourn through this life). During the 1970’s, the Church Sunday School Program was at its height. The WMU (Femeníl) and the Baptist Men (Varoníl) were equally strong and diligently at work. The Young People ministry was growing by leaps and bounds, going off to youth camp every summer. The Royal Ambassadors and Girls in Action, meeting on Tuesday evenings, were both very viable ministries. Discipleship Training, meeting on Wednesday evenings before Prayer Service, was brimming with involvement. More room was required to accommodate the expanding breadth of ministries. So, a second fellowship hall (Fellowship Hall #2) was constructed as an attached addition to the new church building. Four different Sunday School classes would meet there—one at each corner, quartered off by simple chalkboard-style dividers. It was without a doubt the heyday of the Church.
In the early 1980’s, the Church purchased the adjoining 1.5-acre property, located just north of the Church, including a 2 story, 5 bedroom house with a 2 car garage. It didn’t take the Church long to begin using this new house for more Sunday School classrooms. The new place was lovingly referred to as “El Aposento Alto” (“The Upper Room”), after its namesake meeting place in Scripture.
In 1992, with Church ministries growing, the Church hired its first ever Associate Pastor, Juvenal Cervantes. He served until the year 1994. And just a few short years later, in August of 1996, after an astounding 38 years of dedicated, sacrificial and unwavering service to the Lord, Rev. Francisco Juán Somma grudgingly retired from his loving service as our pastor. He was truly a man of God. In September 1996, Rev. Sérgio Barragán came to serve as our new pastor. He was a self-assured man with a low, booming voice. And in 1998. Brother David Torres, then the Deacon Chairman, served as the Interim Pastor, selflessly committing himself to the responsibility until a new permanent pastor could be found. Finally, in 2001, Rev. Noé Ortíz became the new Pastor.
As a growing number of South Texas Hispanics were raising a new generation of Young People who spoke little, to almost no Spanish, or who simply preferred to speak and hear English even though they knew enough Spanish to get by with the “Abuelos,” attendance at the Church began to drop measurably, leaving a remnant of seniors who traditionally preferred to speak and hear Spanish. The Church was experiencing the pain of a slow but observable shift in the demographic (cont.)
(or characteristic) of the typical Church attendee. Even among local Hispanics there arose apparent varieties of cultures that preferred varying degrees of English and Spanish, making it more difficult for one single congregation to serve all the needs of all Hispanics in attendance, not to mention the growing number of Anglos who were beginning to worship in predominantly Hispanic churches.
As a result, in April 2004, Rev. Jose Noé Treviño, who had formerly attended the Church from childhood to adulthood, returned to the Church once again. He had already served as Pastor at Coastal Bend Fellowship in Kingsville, Texas for nearly 6 years, during the 1990’s. He had recently served as the Coastal Bend Baptist Association’s Assistant Director of Missions, and he was then serving as a Congregational Strategist for the BGCT. Soon after officially joining the Church as a member, Brother Noé Treviño was called to be an Associate Pastor of the Church. Before long, it became very apparent that a good number of others who had also been raised in the Church as children and who had gone away as adults for whatever reasons (college, employment, or military service) were now returning to EBC, to serve God at their “home” Church once again.
After serving faithfully for over five years, Reverend Noé Ortíz resigned as Pastor of the Church in June 2006. One of his most notable accomplishments was to have begun an area-wide camaraderie of a half-dozen or more pastors and lay leaders, who met regularly for a time of fellowship and training, to encourage one another and to help each other by sharing what was working well in their own congregations, and also to discuss cultural issues, talking about how to best serve a diverse community of Anglos and Hispanics. After Noé Ortíz resigned as Pastor, Brother Noé Treviño became Interim Pastor, and the Church organized a Pastor Search Team. Despite the lack of a permanent pastor, the Church continued to grow and ministries strengthened, especially in the areas of Young People and Young Adults. It was an opportune time of self-discovery and re-visioning; in fact, at this time the Church officially changed its name from “Primera Iglésia Bautista Mexicana” to “Emmanuel Baptist Church of Alice, Texas.”
There is much more that can be shared of our history. Many changes: some for the good, and others that were hard. But throughout all of this, we declare loudly, with thankful hearts…
Our LORD JESUS CHRIST is truly amazing, and He has remained faithful through the ages!
1 Corinthians 15:58 – “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.
Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,
because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
Let us keep trusting Him, praising Him, and serving Him with great joy!
God bless you and your family abundantly!
