College Hill Missionary Baptist Church stands at 1314 West Houston Street in Tyler, Texas, a neighborhood landmark for nearly a century. Members and neighbors simply call it the Church on the Hill, a name that nods to its place in the community and to its motto, "A Church For People On The Grow." Organized in 1931 by fifty worshippers meeting in a private home, the congregation has grown into a Tyler institution with multiple choirs, a youth department, an outreach arm that serves local families, and a weekly livestream that reaches well beyond East Texas.
From a Brush Arbor to the Church on the Hill
The story begins in 1931, when Sister Alice Hawkins opened her home to the fifty people who became the founding members of College Hill Baptist Church. The first pastor, Jeff Brown, was elected at that meeting, and the members built a brush arbor at 1313 West Houston Street, paying ten dollars to rent the ground beneath it. After Pastor Brown's death, B. Fuller took the pulpit in 1932 and resigned the following year, and Reverend H.M. Corey became the third pastor.
In 1935 the church purchased a corner lot at West Houston and South Ross and erected its first frame building. Membership grew from fifty to one hundred thirty-five within five years. Pastor Corey resigned in 1937 and was followed by Reverend J.M. McChristian, under whose leadership the Women's Missionary Society, B.Y.P.U., Senior Choir, and Usher Board were established. Musicians from nearby Butler College filled the pews with song, and in 1940 Mrs. Eloise Montgomery became the church pianist. College Hill was also the first Black church in the area to broadcast on local radio, with the Senior Choir filling a 6:30 a.m. slot on station KGKB and a Sunday worship service later airing on KZEY.
Pastor McChristian ordained the first six deacons, organized Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops, and served until 1951. A brief and difficult season followed under Rev. C.B. Brown, during which the church split, and a short tenure by Rev. L.W. Pryor. Then in August 1952, the congregation called Reverend C.L. Brooks, Sr. of Nacogdoches. Pastor Brooks served for thirty-nine and a half years, retiring in June 1991. Under his leadership the membership grew, the choirs multiplied, a scholarship fund for young people was established, a building fund was set aside, land was purchased for parking and for a new sanctuary, and Maurice Harvey joined the music staff as musician and later choirmaster, designing the church's logo.
Reverend Willie M. Houze arrived in December 1991 and led the congregation into construction and completion of the present edifice at 1314 West Houston. The sanctuary was expanded, the music department flourished, and in 2000 the church launched a television ministry. Praise dancing was organized, the athletic department was reorganized, and the C.L. Brooks Library was dedicated in honor of the pastor emeritus. After Rev. Houze's departure in January 2008, Reverend Gerald Mitchell served as interim pastor until Reverend Kennedy Young, Jr., of Forney was called in June 2008. During his tenure the church burned the mortgage on the building during its eighty-second anniversary in 2013. Pastor Young left in March 2015 to pastor Eastgate Baptist Church in Dallas.
Pastor Rodney C. Curry
In December 2015, the church called Reverend Rodney C. Curry. He was installed in March 2016 and, in the church's words, "hit the ground running." A native of East Texas who grew up in Winona, Pastor Curry is a graduate of Winona ISD (Class of 1994), an Honor Graduate of Jarvis Christian College with a Bachelor of Science degree, and a Master of Education graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University. He is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry with an emphasis in Leadership.
Before coming to College Hill, Pastor Curry served as Minister of Music at New Zion Baptist Church in Winona for twenty-seven years alongside Dr. S.L. Curry, Jr., and answered the call to preach the gospel in 2013. He has spent more than twenty-four years in public education, most recently as Manager of Instructional Leadership at Region VII and as principal of Boulter Middle School, where he oversaw more than eight hundred fifty students. He describes himself as "a minister, educator, musician, visionary, prayer warrior, husband, and father," and credits his late father and a praying life as the source of his leadership.
Pastor Curry is married to his high school sweetheart Beatrice Johnson Curry, and they have three children: Taylor, Trinity, and Rodney Lawrence. Lady Beatrice Curry serves as president of the Father's Daughters Ministry.
Sunday Mornings on West Houston
The weekly rhythm of the church is built around two Sunday gatherings. Sunday School meets at 9:00 a.m., and the Sunday Morning Worship Experience begins at 10:00 a.m. Worship is led by a stable of choirs and musicians under the direction of Minister TJ Miner, with Gerald Johnson on keyboards and Rodney L. Curry on drums.
Worship is livestreamed each week, allowing members who are traveling, homebound, or otherwise unable to attend in person to follow along from anywhere. Sermon recordings and devotionals are also available online, and a podcast extends the church's reach further still. A separate midweek gathering for the Treasured Elders Ministry meets on the first Wednesday of every month at 12:30 p.m. for adults sixty-five and older.
Visitors arriving for the first time will find the building at the corner of West Houston and South Confederate. The phone line at the church office (903-592-5642) and the general email address, collegehill@collegehilltyler.org, are the quickest ways to reach the staff.
Worship in Song
Music has shaped College Hill since its earliest days, when the Senior Choir filled a predawn radio slot and musicians from Butler College came down the hill to play. Today the Music Ministry coordinates five choirs that serve the worship experience in turn:
- The Sanctuary Choir, with Sister LaWanda Butler as president
- The Inspirational Choir, led by Sister Temeka Moore
- The Male Chorus, under Deacon Chester Brent Miller
- The E.B. Lee Choir (the renamed Junior Choir, honoring Sister Eloise B. Lee's forty-eight years as matron), sponsored by Sister Nikki Miller with Sister LaShonna Adams as assistant
- The Women's Chorus, led by Sister Stephanie Roberts
Together with the music director, the musicians, and the longtime Praise Dance ministry, the choirs anchor a worship style rooted in the Black Baptist gospel tradition.
What the Church Believes
College Hill describes its teaching in a written statement of core beliefs. The Bible is held to be the inspired Word of God and the infallible rule of faith and conduct. God is one Godhead in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - co-equal and eternal, with Jesus Christ God manifested in the flesh, whose virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, atoning work on the cross, bodily resurrection, and exaltation to the right hand of God are foundational.
The statement teaches that humanity, created good, fell by voluntary transgression and incurred both physical and spiritual separation from God. The only hope of redemption is the shed blood of Jesus Christ, received by grace through faith. Salvation is by faith, not by human works, though works will determine eternal rewards. Two ordinances are observed - water baptism by burial with Christ for those who have repented and believed, and the Lord's Supper as a memorial of Christ's broken body and shed blood.
Sanctification is taught as a progressive separation from evil and dedication to God. The church is described as the Body of Christ and the habitation of God through the Spirit, with a divinely called ministry committed to evangelism and to equipping believers for ministry. The statement affirms the imminent return of Christ, the resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Him, and a final judgment in which the wicked are consigned to the lake of fire.
Ministry to Every Generation
The church's ministry slate is broad and intentional. The Youth Ministry, directed by Sister Francine Jones with Sister Nikki Miller as assistant, oversees Children's Church, weekly Sunday School and Bible Study, Youth Ushers, the E.B. Lee Choir, the Teen Choir, the Nursery Ministry, and three small groups for young women and men: J.E.W.E.L.S., G's 2 G.E.N.T.S., and GEMS. The Scholarship Ministry, with Sister LaWanda Butler as president, recognizes each graduating senior and helps students with career decisions after high school.
For adults, the Father's Daughters Ministry gathers women eighteen and older around the vision "Seeking God sooner for a more abundant life," with Bible-based discussion and outreach partnerships. The Deaconess Ministry serves the spiritual, physical, emotional, and social needs of the congregation under Chair Sister Janette McGill and Emeritus Chair Sister Marva J. Roach. The Usher Ministry, led by Sister Jimmie P. Freeman, welcomes members and guests and assists during and after service. The SISTERS ministry, under Sister Shirley Turner, gathers women for fellowship, inner wellness, spiritual enrichment, and Christian service.
Other ministries include the Trustees under Chair Sister Veretta Rider and Vice Chair Brother Tim Jones; the Deacon Ministry under Chairman Jesse Rider; the Health and Wellness Ministry led by Sister Constana Blanton; the Outreach Ministry under Minister Pamela Dansby; the Sound and Video Ministry led by Deacon Jonathan Beverly; the Food and Social Committee under Sister Stephanie Roberts and Sister Nina Clay; the Transportation Ministry led by Deacon Joe N. Williams and Deacon Kevin Wynn, which provides rides for members unable to drive; and the CL Brooks Library Ministry. New members complete a three-week Bible-based orientation on the second, third, and fourth Sundays at 9:00 a.m., led by Ministers Luerine Tunstle and Pam Dansby.
Reaching Beyond the Building
The Outreach Ministry runs a ministry called God's Storehouse, which provides items and resources to those in need, and partners with the Father's Daughters Ministry to support organizations including Hangers of Hope, PATH, the East Texas Crisis Center, and the Better Me Foundation. The Health and Wellness Ministry staffs health professionals during each worship experience to respond to any health-related need that arises.
Long before any of these ministries existed in their present shape, Rev. McChristian organized Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops at the church. That history of community engagement runs through every decade of College Hill's story and remains part of its identity today.
Staying Connected
Worship is livestreamed, sermons and short devotionals are posted online, and a podcast carries the church's teaching beyond East Texas. Giving is available online through PayPal and through the Givelify app, and a confidential prayer request form on the church's prayer page sends requests to a dedicated team of ministers who pray for each one. Visitors and members can subscribe to receive emails from the church.
The Block Between South Confederate and West Houston
In 2024 the church purchased two lots on South Confederate Street from the grandson of Major and Julia Sanders, two of its early members, completing the acquisition of the entire block between South Confederate and West Houston for future expansion. The same instinct that built a brush arbor in 1931 and burned the mortgage in 2013 is still at work. College Hill continues to be the Church on the Hill, committed to the community and seeking to be a beacon of service that brings people to Christ.