Baptist church celebrates 90 years in community

Every year, descendants gather at a church in New Hope, proof of a legacy that lives on.

Their family name remains as Dunn Memorial Baptist Church. Behind that name, echoed along the pews, is the story of a man devoted to his faith - one that's endured for nearly a century.

"A great part of his life was spent going around the county, preaching, with very little or no pay," Rynell Novak said of her great-grandfather William "Billy" Houston Dunn, for whom the church is named. "He was one of those pioneer preachers who blazed the way to make it easier for ministers to follow in the years to come."

For 90 years, thus far. Novak joined dozens from the Dunn family line Sunday at the church on the outskirts of McKinney. They came to remember how it all started, with those who won't let it end.

Others have aged, died or moved away, but the reunions continue, built in a congregation that's withstood the test of time.

"We've got a lady in the church coming up on her 93rd birthday who's been a member for 60 plus years," said Brad Sloan, the church's pastor since December 2003. "We've got other members who are going on 40 and 50 years."

About 80 members from all over northern Collin County call the church their worship home. But, as many already knew and some found out this weekend, Billy Dunn's impact reaches farther. Sixty churches and communities where he served are scattered around Georgia, Arkansas and Texas.

On Sunday, the local link to that elaborate Christian chain saw the history in Dunn's Greek New Testament and hymn book. They heard it from Novak, whose grandmother Theodocia Ernest Dunn Vermillion was one of Billy's seven children.

"About six months before my grandmother died, she talked with one of her daughters and told many stories about her family and especially her childhood," Novak told those gathered.

Billy's story began Nov. 28, 1843, when he was born to Rev. Giles Dunn and Sydney Walker in Murray County, Ga. Converted at age 11, preaching by age 20, the pastor's son embarked on his own life of ministry.

He served in the Civil War, spending two years at the behest of Union forces. Novak retold how, as an ill POW at Fort Delaware, her great-granddad told a chaplain "he knew he would get well because the Lord had told him that he would someday preach in Texas."

And that he did. The Dunn family came by train to Texas in 1869, and after four in-between years in Arkansas, they settled in Rockwall County. They later moved to Altoga in Collin County, where they stayed the rest of their lives.

Once in the area, Novak said, the legacy commenced.

"There were stories about baptizing in creeks. One was full of brown snakes but when [Billy] stepped into the water, the snakes disappeared and they continued with the baptism," Novak told the reunion crowd. "At another time the creek didn't have any water in it and the Methodist preacher was teasing Billy that he could show him how to sprinkle the baptism candidates. But it started to rain on Saturday and by Sunday there was enough water in the creek to baptize."

Other Dunn family stories tell of God answering Billy's prayer through deliverance from violent persecutors, and of emotionally-charged revivals in the county's earliest days.

As his health declined in later years, Billy continued preaching at the Viney Grove school house No. 2, just down the road from Dunn Memorial Baptist. His funeral was held at the "shed" at Altoga Cemetery; there, a longtime friend described Billy as, "An obedient child, an industrious man, a patriotic citizen, a brave soldier, a loving companion, a kind father, a humble Christian, a faithful preacher, a loyal Baptist."

His legacy survived through the church, dedicated in 1922 just a couple of years after his death.

"W. H. Dunn, who for more than a half a century was a Baptist minister in Collin County, has left behind the heritage of a good name aside from the major fruits of his labors as a gospel minister," read an article on the dedication.

Heirs to Billy's estate set aside a $500 donation for the original building fund "as a contribution to a proper monument in memory of their lamented father," the article stated. Only one of the first members owned a home, yet they all built and paid for the church, then valued at $2,500.

"The ones who organized this church honored a true servant of the Lord when they named it in memory of William Houston Dunn," Novak said.

The church seemingly has followed in its namesake's faith-steps. Billy Boone, longtime deacon at the church, said its ability to reach out to the immediate community, to truly realize its needs, has kept the church alive - through the Great Depression, the World Wars, Vietnam and the recent economic collapse.

"It's had its ups and downs like anything else," he said. "There've been times we've flourished and times we haven't, but overall, we've done well."

Fellowship Café and morning and evening worship services are held every Sunday. Kids Club is every Wednesday night. Intent on growth in the area, the church just completed a strategic planning session and developed a new vision and mission statement, Sloan said.

A direct Dunn descendant hasn't been a member for quite some time. But the name and devotion are ever present.

"It's been a lighthouse in the community," Sloan said. "Not many organizations last 90 years. It's a testimony to the people's faith and endurance."

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