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

Fort Worth's faith history runs deep

In 1875 twelve formerly enslaved people and Pastor C. A. Augustus organized Mount Gilead Baptist Church in a Black settlement called Baptist Hill. In 1912 the congregation moved into a neoclassical building on Grove Street, with six columns and a stained-glass dome. Wallace Rayfield, the second formally trained Black architect in the country, worked on the design. On 31 May 2026 the church held its last service in that building, which has been sold. The congregation now worships at the William M. McDonald YMCA in southeast Fort Worth.

St. Patrick's parish began in 1876 with a small frame church. Its limestone Gothic Revival building downtown was dedicated on 10 July 1892, and it is the city's oldest church building still in continuous use.

Mount Gilead and St. Patrick have their own pastors and teaching, and this guide is independent of both. Anyone who visits should still test what they hear by the Bible (Acts 17:11).

Updated 28 September 2026. We link each claim to its source. Send a fix if Fort Worth has moved on since then.

Some Fort Worth neighborhoods still carry the names of how people used to get around. Stop Six, in the southeast, was the sixth stop on the old interurban streetcar line to Dallas. Now the freeways do the dividing. Keep a group close enough that people can come straight from work.

Shelter and meals east of downtown

Presbyterian Night Shelter at 2400 Cypress Street, just east of downtown, keeps its emergency shelter open around the clock. Its day shelter, True Worth Place, is open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day. The main number is 817-632-7400.

Also east of downtown, Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County at 1321 E. Lancaster Avenue has been working since 1888. Volunteers serve breakfast from 5:15 a.m., lunch from 10:30 and dinner from 4. You apply online, and the volunteer team says it will reply within seven days.

For drinking, the Fort Worth Central Office of Alcoholics Anonymous answers 817-332-3533 or 800-396-1602 at any hour, and a recovering alcoholic picks up. It also points to Spanish-language groups.

For groceries, the Tarrant Area Food Bank supplies a network of more than 500 food pantries, so there is likely one closer than you think.

What rooms cost

Fort Worth library rooms are not free. The rental page lists $35 an hour, or $15 for nonprofits with proof of 501(c)(3) status, and any one person or group is limited to two reservations a month across the whole system. The Fort Worth Bible study page covers library, park and home options in more detail.

People in Fort Worth bring questions shaped by Stop Six, Northside, new arrivals, old wounds, work, family, and the cost of staying. We answer from the words of Jesus and the apostles. Where Scripture does not settle a detail, we will say so.

In Fort Worth, 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.