| There was an air of expectancy and excitement the morning of April 18,
1948. Something profound and wonderful was about to happen to change the lives of a
handful of people. The day was warm and clear and God had blessed the event about to
occur. Rev. A. L. Moore had a vision and shared it with his wife, Mr. and Mrs. W. C.
Perry, and Mrs. Nettie A. Garrett. These five people met together in a one room
building at the corner of Tampico Street and Hirsch Road for the purpose of organizing a
church for the Lord. The organization went very well and each person knew there was
a lot of great work to be done. They began by having a full week of prayer service,
keeping themselves reminded that prayer is the key to the kingdom and faith the ingredient
to unlock the door. The name of this great new church was to be New Mount Carmel
Missionary Baptist Church. The Sunday following the organizational service and the
week of prayer service, Rev. Moore preached his first sermon from a makeshift pulpit that
had been blessed by God. The Scripture - Psalm 121.
On Sunday, April 29, the church organized and held its first Sunday School class with the
same five persons. Five was the total membership at that time.
New Mount Carmel worshipped at this location for a while. But deep in the hearts
of Rev. Moore and all the others, there was a desire to relocate. There became a
need for larger, more permanent building. The members prayed and waited, and prayed
and waited some more. They had faith that the Lord would hear and answer their
prayers. He did! On August 15, 1948, that great answer came. The lot at
4301 Weaver Road was found and purchased. New Mount Carmel had only a few members
then and everyone knew that all had to pull together to make things work. The
trustees then were Rev. A. L. Moore, Bro. Flannigan and Sis. Nettie Garrett. There
was one deacon - Bro. W. C. Perry.
Working as one unit, those few people built a small sanctuary and had their entrance
service in January, 1949, and added five new members soon afterward. The church
began to grow. Laboring in sweet fellowship the church family continued to increase
but not without some difficulty and heartache. On January 4, 1957, a tremendous
tragedy struck. The church building burned beyond repair. It was a gut
wrenching pain for this small but growing New Mount Carmel family; but this was a family
of faith and trust in God. A new structure was soon begun. The work was long
but very fruitful. By the advent of the ninth anniversary of this great church
family, over one hundred members had been added to the fold.
On Sunday, October 25, 1959, the church entered a new edifice. Rev. B. J. Lewis
was there to cut the ribbon and Rev. G. N. Buckner delivered God's message for this great
ceremony.
Pastor Moore had seen the fruition of a dream. He had watched this little church
of five original members grow to more than one hundred. He had seen tragedy strike
and a new life be reborn in a new sanctuary. Pastor Moore had labored long and hard
and he could seed that it was good. He could see that God had smiled on the efforts
of just a handful of people gathered in His name. The time had now come for Pastor
A. L. Moore to pass the baton. On May 3, 1963, at 1:20 a.m., Pastor Moore went from
labor to reward. On May 12, 1963, he was laid to rest in Brookshire, Texas.
The church carried on for a while after Pastor Moore died, but there was always the
realization of the need for new leadership. The membership extended a call on July
26, 1963, to one Rev. Claude A. Berry. He graciously accepted. We are grateful
that he did. The first sermon preached by Rev. C. A. Berry as pastor of New Mount
Carmel Missionary Baptist Church was titled "The Touch that Heals"
with the scriptures St. Mark 5:25-34, and St. Matthew 9:20-22. |
