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COTTONWOOD SHORES—How far would you have to go to find a town without a single church?
Until recently, the surprising answer was that you wouldn’t even have to leave Texas. Nestled between the upscale communities of Horseshoe Bay and Marble Falls in the Hill Country, the small working-class town of Cottonwood Shores didn’t have a single Christian congregation until Birth of Hope Baptist Church was planted last month under the leadership of church planter Shawn Condon.
“This was the first time for the townspeople of Cottonwood Shores to have the opportunity to come to a Southern Baptist service,” Condon told the TEXAN. “And that evening in our first service we had 26 Cottonwood Shores townspeople to come. When we gave the invitation, we had 11 people walk the aisle [to join the church].”
There was one church in Cottonwood Shores previously. But it was didn’t grow and eventually disbanded, leaving town officials longing for another church to help solve the town’s numerous social challenges.
Providentially, God was working at Buchanan West Baptist Church 26 miles away in Buchanan Dam. Led by Pastor John Taylor, the church was looking for a place to plant a new congregation. When Cottonwood Shores arose as a potential location, a delegation from Buchanan West visited the town’s mayor and city developer late last year. Her response to the idea of a church made it clear that God was calling them there.
“We mentioned the word church,” Taylor told the TEXAN, “and they said, ‘That’s what we were just sitting here thinking about. Our community needs a church that will help the community grow.’ It was almost like a divine appointment from my perspective.”
After that meeting, Buchanan West began taking surveys door-to-door in Cottonwood Shores, determining people’s openness to the gospel. By February they were ready to start a 15-week Bible study on Christian doctrine, which met Monday evenings at the local library. At Easter, momentum built when they participated in a community egg hunt, allowing them to meet between 150 and 200 kids along with their parents.
As the Bible study drew to a close, Taylor and his team began talking with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention about securing a church planter to partner with them in Cottonwood Shores. They discovered Condon and he was an obvious fit.
Driving from his home in Granbury, he joined the team from Buchanan West at the community Bible study and, along with his wife, worked at a Cottonwood Shores Vacation Bible School in June with nearly 30 children in attendance.
“His heart just broke for these people,” Taylor said.
After going through a church planter screening process with Condon and Buchanan West, the SBTC began a partnership to help fund the plant. The convention will provide some financial support for three years, with funds decreasing each year in an effort to help the church become financially independent. Condon is required to submit monthly reports and participate in periodic training activities.
At Birth of Hope’s first service Aug. 5, Buchanan West members joined Cottonwood Shores residents, packing 60 people in a room at the library intended for about 40. The congregation’s name reflected its vision for breathing new spiritual life into the town.
In the first few weeks, one more new member joined the 11 who responded to the invitation that first night, and through their outreach efforts the church is averaging 30 at Sunday worship. It also holds multiple Wednesday night Bible studies, and Condon spends as much time as he can meeting with prospects in the town.
“The town’s acceptance of us really shows in our attendance and the ministries that we’ve started,” said Condon, who works part-time at a hardware store.
Though the SBTC contributes the largest share of Birth of Hope’s budget, the church also receives support from Buchanan West, the Burnet-Llano Baptist Association in Marble Falls and several other partners.
Barry Calhoun, SBTC church planting team leader, said Birth of Hope exemplifies the convention’s vision for church plants.
“Shawn Condon is a great fit for the church in Cottonwood Shores, and we’re already seeing his ministry bear fruit,” Calhoun said. “Birth of Hope Baptist Church represents what we hope to do in dozens of locations across the state—plant contextually appropriate churches as part of a comprehensive evangelistic strategy.”
Birth of Hope’s goal for the future is ambitious: to build a multipurpose building that would serve as a community center and spiritual lighthouse for Cottonwood Shores. For Taylor, such a building would help the congregation live up to its name.
A building “would serve as a symbol of hope,” he said. “That’s what it would represent.”
