Center City Baptist Church was founded in 1875 by Reverend Noah Turner Byars, a former blacksmith who served with Sam Houston during the Texas Revolution, and he served as interim minister. Reverend Byars ordained David Isaac Haralson as the first permanent pastor. Then known as Bennett Creek Baptist Church, it also became part of Byars's newly formed Hamilton County Association of Baptist Churches. When Mills County was created in 1887, the church was one of the county's oldest churches. It was identified as Center City Baptist Church in the 1901 deed, and soon afterward a permanent structure was built in the newly established community of that name, although summer revivals were still held under a brush arbor as late as 1940. In 1946, high wind destroyed the original wood-frame church building, and a new building with an auditorium and classrooms was erected. From the beginning, the church cooperated with the community by sharing its building and resources with other denominations. Revivals were part of its mission from the early years and continued in special revival nights during the cooler months and longer summer revivals. Over the years, the church ordained many deacons and ministers who went on to serve much larger churches in the area, and it was active in both the community and worldwide through the service and support of missionaries, including missionaries to Alaska in the 1960s and 1970s. For well over a century, it has been a beacon for the surrounding area.