Any applicant for pastor of First Baptist Church, Mobeetie Texas must meet the qualifications as set forth in 1st Timothy, Chapter 3:1-7. The pastor must also hold the belief that the Holy Bible is the perfect and true word of the Lord, stands or falls as a whole, and is a reflection of its Author who wrote the Bible Himself working through human authors and through divine inspiration. Our church body is looking for the pastor that the Lord Himself has in mind for us. We believe He knows exactly where we are spiritually in our development and knows who is best suited to shepard our members. It is our prayer that Satan will not be allowed to intervene in this search process.
Soon after Wheeler County was organized in 1879, a union church was formed in Old Mobeetie on April 2, 1894. The First Baptist Church was organized with 13 members and the pastor J.W. Brice. Services were ehld in the building until 1919 when a sanctuary was built. After the railroad missed Old Mobeetie, the town declined and the church building was moved two miles north to its new location in New Mobeetie in 1942 where it served New and Old Mobeetie and surrounding towns. In 1983 the old building was no longer safe for use, so the present church was built in the same location. Our church now has 35-40 faithful members each Sunday. We have 2 childrens, a youth, a young adult and adult Sunday School Class every Sunday. On Wednesday night, we have a children's class, youth and adult classes. We are a strong Christian family and here to do the Lord's work. We currently have five deacons, two trustees, a church secretary and a custodian. We recently purchased a parsonage that is located within walking distance southwest of the church. The home is a four bedroom, three bath with a living room and a den. We are currently remodeling the master bath due to water damage. There is a two car carport with storage in the front and a patio on the backside.
History of Mobeetie, Texas
Mobeetie started out as a buffalo hunter’s campground growing in to a trading post known as Hidetown. As it grew, the first formal name became Sweetwater. In later years, the name changed to Mobeetie, which was thought to be a Native American word meaning “Sweetwater”. In 1874 the town had grown to 150 residents which was near Fort Elliott, station of the Buffalo Soldiers.
Mobeetie was the county seat of Wheeler County in 1879. The main street was jammed with various businesses including Liverty Stables, wagon yards, a barber shop, drug store, blacksmith shop, a Chinese laundry, 2 hotels and boarding houses, 13 saloons, Mobeetie had its share of rustlers, gamblers and ladies of the evening. A rock school house, which also served as a union church and community center, was built 1889 and still stands today.
Mobeetie began a quick decline after Fort Elliott was abandoned in 1890 and its attempt to secure a railroad failed. The town’s trouble increased on May 1, 1898 when a tornado took 7 lives and leveled many of the buildings. The county seat was moved to the town of Wheeler in 1907.
In 1929 the town of Mobeetie suffered a major setback when the panhandle and Santa Fe railroads built its lines 2 miles north of Mobeetie. The post office and most businesses moved to the railroad and the settlement of New Mobeetie was born. The population fluctuated between 250 to 300 between the years of 1886-1910.
in 1948, New Mobeetie had a bank, post office, K-12 school and 3 churches. Now the little ranching and farming town has a population of 96 with a post office and 2 churches.
The school consolidated with Briscoe ISD in 1991 and became Fort Elliott CISD. In 2003, Allison ISD came to join Fort Elliott located in Briscoe, the center of the 3 rural communities. In 2024, the bank was devastatingly closed, ending its 118 years in business.
Mobeetie, New and Old, contains lots of history with a museum located in Old Mobeetie in the stone building that served as the jail, school and community center. The museum is operated by volunteers and open 3 days a week.
Mobeetie has a very active Volunteer Fire Department. it currently has 28 members. The department purchased the K-12 school building and gym in New Mobeetie where we hold training, community functions and public parties by donation.
Also the city is managed by a mayor and 5 council members. This helps to keep the cityfunctioning according to guidelines.
There is always something happening in our small, historical farming/ranching city.