This Week in Texas Methodist History  March 15

MECS Churches in Houston Hold Simultaneous Revivals March 21-April 4, 1920

One hundred years ago this week the MECS churches in Houston began two week revivals. 

A listing of the churches reveals the dominant pattern of Texas Methodist geography.  In all of the metropolitan areas of Texas churches existed fairly close to one another near the central business district.  As the cities grew, suburban churches were organized farther and farther from the central business district.  Eventually most of the “close-in” churches were closed or relocated. 

Here are the MECS churches in Houston in 1920 along with their addresses and revivalists:

First—Main at Clay   Sam Hay

St. Paul’s –McGowen at Milam   W. R. Hendricks

St. John’s Crawford and Gray  John E. Green

Bering Memorial  McKinney and Milam   C. A. Lehmberg

Woodland Heigfhs  Houston Ave.  S. W. Thomas

Washington Ave    1500 Block of Washington Ave.  A. B. Chapman

Grace Church,  Yale at Thirteenth, Heights    H. M. McCain

West End   Brunner Ave and Woods St.  R. E. Ledbetter

Trinity, Loraine and Gano   I. M. Manly

McKee Street   McKee and Conti  Frazier Smith

McAshan Memorial Sampson and Magnolia   Oscar W. Hooper

Central Park    Seventieth St. and Ave. M    Terry W. Wilson

Beneke Memorial  Waverly and Chestnut  A. L. Carnes

All the revivals would be conducted in the evening, but at 10:00 a.m. First Methodist would hold a union service.

African American churches in the MEC were also well-represented in Houston. 

They included the following:

Audubon and Independence Heights—F. W. Johnston

Boynton---S. W. Johnston

Mt. Vernon—E. H. Holden

Mallalieu  L. H. Barnett

St. James----W. D. Lewis

St. Mark’s  ---E. L. Warren

Sloan Memorial---J. W. Gilder

Trinity-C. K. Brown

Trinity East---L. E.Jordan

The MEC also had two German speaking churches,  Norhill and Pine Grove (later Oakwood).

The MEC also had English speaking churches for European-Americans—South Houston and Collins

 There was also one United Brethren (later EUB) in Houston, prominent enough that it was the host church for annual conference twice in the 1920s (1922 and 1928).  It was called Oaklawn (not to be confused with Oakwood).  

There are few better illustrations of the 1920s boom time in Houston than the organization of Methodist churches.  In addition to the churches  listed above, the 1926 MECS Journal lists the following Houston churches:   Cottage Grove, Denver Harbor, Fulbright Memorial, Milby Memorial, North Side, Park Place, and West End. ----an average of more than one new church per year.

In that same time span the MEC added two African American churches in Houston, Ebenezer and Grace. 

Many of the Houston Methodist Churches of the 1920 no longer exist.  Some have closed.  Others merged, others moved and changed their names.  St. Paul’s moved but kept its name. 

I like to compare the expansion of Methodist churches into the Texas suburbs of the 20^th century with the expansion of Methodism in Texas in the 19^th century.   The appointive system worked like this;---A bishop would appoint a preacher to an area increasing in population and say “Organize a church.  We will pay your salary until the church is self-sufficient.” 

The appointive system worked great to build churches in places with increasing population. 

It does not work nearly so well in areas of population decline.  All over the state, near the inner cities, are large church buildings which are expensive to maintain with church membership too small to generate the income to pay the maintenance expenses.