How to become a Christian in Austin: the Acts 2 way.

A "stone of help" on East Tenth Street

In February 1875 the Rev. C. Ward gathered eighteen people in the home of Elisa Hawkins at 1104 East Tenth Street. Most of the charter members were women. One of them, Henrietta Willis, named the church Ebenezer, "stone of help," after the stone Samuel set up to say the Lord had helped Israel (1 Samuel 7:12). The congregation built a brick sanctuary at East Tenth and San Marcos in 1885. Its present limestone building went up between 1950 and 1955, and the bell tower still holds the bell from 1885. Today it is Ebenezer Third Baptist Church, in the heart of East Austin.

Community First! Village has a newer faith story. Mobile Loaves & Fishes says it began by answering God's call to love your neighbor. The village groups 40 to 50 small homes around shared outdoor kitchens and laundry rooms, so neighbors cross paths every day.

Neither Ebenezer nor Mobile Loaves & Fishes is connected to this guide. Go and learn from them, and read the Scriptures for yourself the way the Bereans did (Acts 17:11).

Updated 28 September 2026. Confirm hours before you go. Found something wrong? Write to us.

Austin traffic decides who shows up. A group that meets at 6 p.m. in South Austin will quietly lose the person coming from North Lamar, and nobody will say why. Ask where people are coming from before you choose the room. Then set a firm ending time, because somebody always has an early shift.

Lunch, housing and recovery in Austin

Caritas of Austin runs its Community Kitchen from its downtown building at 611 Neches Street, along with restrooms, water and walk-in help for asylees and parolees. Volunteers serve lunch Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. First-timers come at 8:45 for orientation. You must be 13 or older, and anyone under 18 needs an adult along. A second site, Caritas North at 9027 Northgate Boulevard, opened in 2015 and works by appointment.

In 1998 Alan Graham and four friends started handing out meals from the back of a green minivan. They got a lot wrong at first, Graham says, and a formerly homeless man named Houston Flake helped them fix it. Their group, Mobile Loaves & Fishes, now runs Community First! Village at 9116 Hog Eye Road in northeast Austin. More than 440 people who came out of chronic homelessness live there, and the plan is for about 1,900. The village offers tours and volunteer sign-ups, and it has a chapel on the grounds.

For drinking, Hill Country Intergroup answers 512-444-0071 around the clock. Its office is at 1825 Fort View Road, and the site has a meeting map.

Free library rooms and their limits

Austin Public Library meeting rooms cost nothing. The small shared-learning rooms are open to anyone, while the large rooms are for noncommercial meetings that are free and open to the public. The Austin Bible study page spells out the details: the Ruiz branch's small rooms hold up to ten for two hours, food stays outside, and a group can book a large room at one branch only three times in 90 days. For a weekly meal and study, use a home.

Austin can make a spiritual question feel like a scheduling problem before the conversation even begins. A student near campus, a restaurant worker leaving a late shift, and a family in Dove Springs may all want to learn about Jesus while living in completely different versions of the city. Start by listening. Do not assume that one room, one time, or one style of gathering fits everybody.

If you want to examine Jesus for yourself, begin with Matthew and then read John. Meet near the people who are actually coming. Ruiz Branch has free shared-learning rooms for small groups, while larger Austin Public Library meeting rooms have different rules and must be used for free, open, noncommercial gatherings. A home table may work better when people want to share a meal or meet every week.

Jesus Saves Cities is a resource, not an Austin church, branch, or membership program. Austin is still a new growth area for these connections. Tell us your neighborhood, schedule, and what you hope to find. We can offer a small Google Meet conversation while we look for other followers of Jesus nearby who also want to read, obey, and serve together.

In Austin, the simplest baptism is often a permitted private pool or a suitable tub. Public facilities have their own schedules, fees, supervision, and group-use rules, so call first and receive clear approval. Do not improvise in fountains, restricted water, shipping channels, or unsafe current.