Historic church for sale
First Christian pastor says future is cloudy, but church is not dissolving
Longtime First Christian Church members Marjorie Ferrill and Jean Thorp stand by one of two historic markers in front of the sanctuary, located at 5th and Calhoun in Temple. The women have been members of First Christian a combined 132 years. The historic church occupies 2.24 acres on a block-and-a-half just north of Downtown. The church is being advertised on LoopNet.com for $1.5 million. David Stone photo
DAVID STONE | OUR TOWN TEMPLE
The memories at First Christian Church are many — folks like Marjorie Ferrill, Jean Thorp and countless others were married there, and thousands of Central Texans have said goodbye to friends during funerals there.
It’s a place where children have been baptized into Christianity and where relationships have been cultivated and nurtured. But the congregation’s days at the red-brick building on 5th Street may be numbered.
The church, which has been in its present location since 1949, is for sale. The massive structure on 1.5 city blocks has an asking price of $1.5 million, and it has already drawn interest from schools, other churches seeking a bigger building, and various investors. One group that expressed interest in the building just wants to use the facility for storage.
While membership at the aging church has been dwindling for years, the church is not calling it quits.
“No, we are not dissolving at all,” said Senior Pastor Mike Snell, who is in his third term at FCC. “We began exploring our options in the fall, and we’ve had multiple inquiries about the building.”
“The price would include all the property and even a city street that was closed years ago,” Snell said. “We may not be going anywhere at all, but we know something has to be done. We are praying that God will open and close doors of opportunity. We want to make the right decision, not a decision based on money.”
Snell said the church has several structural issues that would require attention and money.
“The sanctuary has a floating floor, and it has deteriorated,” he said. “There are some sinking spots. Our educational building has some structural and flooring issues as well. The concrete is cracked and there are foundation problems that would take a lot of money to repair.”
In the late 1970s — during what could be considered First Christian’s heyday — the church had about 400 members. That number has slipped over the years to about 120 today.
First Christian housed a pre-school attended by about 70 local kids until about a year ago.
“We did all we could to keep the school open, but COVID got us,” Ferrill said. “We just couldn’t find enough people to teach and work. Now we are cleaning out the school area and trying to sell things from the school and around the church that we no longer need. A lot of the items are brand new.”
The church will host a three-day sale from March 2 to March 4. Sale hours will be 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Church members are unsure what the future of First Christian will look like, but they do know that change is imminent.
“We love our sanctuary,” Ferrill said. “We used to host many weddings here because we had a center aisle. Many, many couples from the area — not just members — tied the knot here. We don’t have many weddings here anymore.”
“We don’t know what our future holds,” she said. “We have an older congregation. We are getting some younger members, but not really new members with kids. We have few children in our church family.”
That wasn’t always the case. Back in the 1970s and 80s, kids were everywhere at First Christian. The high school youth group often had as many as 40 youth show up for meetings and functions.
Both Ferrill and Thorp have spent most of their lives as members of First Christian Church.
Ferrill, who began her relationship with the Disciples of Christ denomination at age 7 in Holland, has been a continuous member of the Temple church since 1952.
“I married my first husband at First Christian Church in 1945,” Ferrill said. “At that time, the church was located at the corner of Adams and 3rd where Jack in the Box is now. This church was built a few years later.”
Thorp also was married at the church, and she has been a member of FCC since 1962. Ferrill and Thorp have been members for a combined 132 years.
Snell said the church has several options for the future.
“We have choices,” he said, “including staying put right here. We want to do what is best for the congregation.”
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