First Baptist Church of Mineral Wells was organized in 1882 out of an early revival after William Evander Penn, known as the “Texas Evangelist,” conducted worship services in Palo Pinto County and established the church with 54 charter members. The Rev. George Webb Slaughter, an early pastor, was also instrumental in its organization; ordained in 1848, he had earlier served as a courier for Gen. Sam Houston during the Texas Revolution. The congregation first met in a local schoolhouse, then moved into a former Presbyterian church building in 1883. Members constructed a new church building in 1900, built another sanctuary on the same site in 1920, and erected a third house of worship there in 1967. The church later hosted noted evangelists including Billy Sunday, Mordecai Ham, Hyman Appleman, Rodney “Gypsy” Smith, and Texans J. Frank Norris and George W. Truett. Over the years it became especially active in missions and community outreach, establishing several mission churches, including East Side Baptist Church in 1909, Lawn Terrace Baptist Church in 1947, and Bautista Mexicana in 1959, while also co-sponsoring a Cambodian mission at nearby Fort Wolters. It remains a vital part of Mineral Wells as a community- and mission-minded institution.