Rockdale grew up around a railroad camp in 1873, and in 1874 the Rev. B.B. Baxter established a Baptist church with 18 charter members. He held services in a room above a dry goods store that was shared with other denominations. In 1876 he was succeeded by the Rev. Vandevere, one of the 18 charter members. At the urging of revival leader W.E. Penn and the Rev. Dr. J.H. Stripling, a simple worship building was erected in 1881. A new building was erected on this site in 1919, and the church continued to grow. A Latin American mission founded in the 1950s became a full Southern Baptist church in 1966. A new church complex was built in 1972, and the congregation remains active in community service and missionary work.