Following the Civil War, African American communities established churches as centerpieces of their culture through spiritual guidance, education, social activities, and political empowerment and organization. In 1870, five years after Emancipation, a group of men and women met under a brush arbor near Jim Branch and started New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. The first church building stood near Jim Branch with Reverend Albert Green of South Carolina as pastor. As membership grew and revivals drew large crowds, the church needed a larger building. It moved several times before settling on land donated by Walter Bains and building a sanctuary. In 1910, the congregation built a larger sanctuary, and in the late 1920s or 1930s added a choir stand and room, the pastor's study, and lighting. The congregation continued improving the church campus, and in the 1960s, under Reverend C.M. Roach, added brick facing and installed a baptismal pool; before that, baptisms were held in a stock tank or the Brazos River. The congregation maintains a cemetery on the property, hosts an annual homecoming, and supports a youth group, choir, and education within the community. After more than a century, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church remains the center of the Teals Prairie community through leadership and faith.