Israel S. Campbell: "the Father of Black Texas Baptists"

Baptist History and Heritage, Summer-Fall, 2004 by Joe Early, Jr.

Galveston was one of the most important cities in the development of early Baptist life in Texas. Because traveling across the Indian-inhabited regions that would eventually become the states of Arkansas and Oklahoma was dangerous, the safest means by which to get to Texas was to take a ship from New Orleans to Galveston.

The majority of the first Baptists headed for Texas opted to sail to Texas, and they landed at Galveston Island and often spent time in the city before making their way inland. James Huckins, William Tryon, George Washington Baines, and Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor were among these first Baptists to arrive.

Galveston has been significant in Texas Baptist life. The First Baptist Church of Galveston, organized in 1840, was one of the earliest Baptist churches in Texas. Baptized at Galveston in the Gulf of Mexico, Gail Borden, of condensed milk fame, was one of the initial people to receive this ordinance in Texas. Galveston was also the first Texas home of Samuel Augustus Hayden. Hayden became the father of the first convention squabble following the birth of the Baptist General Convention of Texas in 1886. Because these important events and countless others occurred on Galveston Island, one event, the formation of the Avenue L Baptist Church, and one person, the church's pastor, Israel S. Campbell, have often been overlooked.

Born a slave in Russellville, Kentucky, in 1815, Campbell and his family were sold to a Methodist couple from Ohio when he was four years old. (1) During the next eighteen years, he was sold to several different families throughout the Ohio Valley. Campbell claimed that one consistency in his life was the regular religious services held for slaves on every plantation. Whenever possible, he attended these services.

In 1836, after several weeks of prayer and contemplation, he was converted and baptized into the membership of a Baptist church. (2) Eighteen months later, while working in the field, he had a vision in which Jesus told him to preach to slaves. (3) The fear that such preaching would encourage insubordination led Campbell's master to forbid him to preach. Yet, Campbell refused to obey and spoke whenever he had the opportunity. Because of his disobedience, Campbell was beaten several times, once so severely that he almost died. He did not despair over the whippings he received for preaching. Instead, he claimed them as an honor, noting that Jesus was not only whipped but also crucified for delivering his message to the world. (4)

In order to fulfill his call to preach, Campbell left his children behind (his wife had already died) and fled to Canada. He became a Canadian citizen and attended Oberlin College for six months. (5) After receiving his Canadian citizenship, Campbell traveled between Canada and the United States, leading evangelistic services and pastoring churches. For the next several years, Campbell successively pastored the Friendship Baptist Church in Franklin, Tennessee, where he was licensed; the Sandwich, Little River, Buckstone, Chatham, and Windsor Baptist churches in Ontario, Canada; and the Sandusky Baptist Church in Sandusky, Ohio. (6)

Following ordination by a Canadian Baptist church in 1858, Campbell moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he served as a state missionary to black Baptists. In 1865, he was sent to Houston, Texas, by the Consolidated Baptist Convention of Ohio to serve as a missionary. (7) While in Houston, Campbell and a fellow black pastor named Rhinehart organized Antioch Baptist Church. (8) Even though the new church remained under the patronage of a local white Baptist church, Antioch Baptist Church became the first black Baptist church in Houston to meet in a separate location. Campbell briefly pastored this church before moving to Galveston in 1867. Before leaving, Campbell and Rhinehart participated in the ordination of John Henry Yates. Yates was then called as the pastor of Antioch Baptist Church. (9) The ordination of Yates may have been the first ordination service composed of an entirely black Baptist clergy.

In 1867, Campbell became pastor of the African Baptist Church of Galveston. This church was an outgrowth of the First Baptist Church of Galveston. In order for the slaves to have their own place to worship, First Baptist deacons Gail Borden, Jr., John S. Sydnor, and James Huckins in 1855 purchased land and a building for use by their black members. After the Civil War, the deacons deeded the property to Pastor Campbell, and the church reorganized and took the name First Regular Missionary Baptist Church of Galveston. (10) With the acceptance of the property, this church became the first independent black Baptist church in Texas. (11) In 1903, the church changed its name to the Avenue L Baptist Church.

In the first year of his pastorate, Campbell demonstrated outstanding leadership and pastoral skills when two tragedies devastated Galveston. In the summer of 1867, yellow fever struck the city, killing many residents and leaving others very ill. Campbell remained in the city, caring for the needs of his members. In the fall of 1867, a devastating hurricane struck the city, resulting in many deaths and leaving several members of his congregation homeless. Campbell helped the victims find temporary housing and performed many funerals. Despite this difficult beginning of his Galveston pastorate, Campbell's twenty-four-year tenure as pastor was successful. His congregation grew from a few dozen to more than five hundred members, and he became a recognized leader in the Galveston community. (12)