Port Caddo Baptist Church stands along Karnack Highway on the edge of Marshall, Texas, in the same Harrison County neighborhood where the congregation first organized in 1919. Today the church is known for its blended style of worship, its age-graded Sunday morning small groups that run from nursery through senior adults, and for The Port, a Wednesday night college ministry that feeds students home-cooked meals before Bible study and fellowship.
A Century on Karnack Highway
The church was organized on September 21, 1919, in the Old Knight School House on Upper Port Caddo Road (now Fern Lake Cut-Off Road), with 14 charter members. The Rev. J. H. Daves, who led the organization, served as the first pastor.
In 1920 the congregation acquired a 150-foot-square lot on Port Caddo Road, part of the property it still occupies, and erected a small frame building. A parsonage followed in 1935, allowing a full-time ministry to begin. The original frame structure was torn down in 1949 and replaced with a larger brick building. Over the next three decades the property grew steadily: a wing was added to the educational unit in 1951, a separate 4,000-square-foot educational building opened in 1954, the auditorium was enlarged and air conditioned and a new brick parsonage built in 1956, and a modern nursery building was completed in 1958 as the first piece of a ten-year expansion plan voted in 1957. A multi-purpose building went up behind the nursery in 1977 to 1978, and the church added 12.2 acres and a house in April 1984.
The congregation has ranged in size from the teens to the hundreds over its first century, going through seasons of plenty and seasons of drought like many rural and small-town churches. Today the church runs several dozen on a Sunday morning and has moved to a blended worship style that draws on newer worship songs, older favorites, and traditional hymns with guitars, keyboard, and vocals. The present members marked the centennial with a special service on September 22, 2019, when Dr. J. Blair Blackburn, president of East Texas Baptist University, preached and music leaders from several eras led the singing. The theme of that gathering, "Different generations, one passion: to make Christ known," captures the church's self-understanding.
What Port Caddo Believes
The statement of faith is built around nine doctrinal headings. The church teaches that the Bible is God's Word given by divine inspiration, trustworthy, sufficient, without error, and the supreme authority for doctrine and conduct. God is one being in three coequal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who act together in creation, providence, and redemption. The Son, Jesus Christ, is fully God and fully man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary; He lived a sinless life, provided salvation through His atoning death and bodily resurrection, ascended into heaven, and now intercedes for believers. The Holy Spirit inspired Scripture, convicts of sin, draws sinners to Christ, indwells and seals all believers, gives spiritual gifts, and produces the fruit of Christlikeness.
Humanity was created in God's image to have fellowship with Him and to steward creation, but through Adam and Eve's fall every person is now born with a sinful nature and needs reconciliation. Salvation is offered as a free gift and must be received personally through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ; the church describes it as including regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification, with no salvation apart from personal faith in Christ as Lord.
The church is the body of which Christ is the head; believers are commanded to be baptized upon profession of faith and to unite with a local church. The two ordinances observed are believer's baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper, celebrated as a continuing memorial of Christ's broken body and shed blood until He returns. The church also confesses the personal, visible, and glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead, final judgment, and the everlasting reward of the righteous and punishment of the unrighteous.
Sunday in Marshall
The Sunday morning rhythm has two anchors. Small groups meet at 9:30 AM across the church's educational spaces, and the gathered worship service begins at 10:45 AM.
The small groups are arranged by age and led by members who have served the church for years. Sarah Haynie and Ermene Ford care for infants through age three; Xzandra Bradley leads the Pre-School class for four-year-olds; Andrea McGuire teaches Children's I for kindergarten through second grade; and Corey McGuire leads Children's II for third through fifth grade and the Youth class for sixth through twelfth grade. Among adults, Kenny Bradley leads the college and young adults class, Joyce Dean leads Adult II for men and women ages 50 to 70 and older, Gus Ash leads Adult III for men 60 and older, and Fleta Nutt leads Adult IV for women 60 and older.
The 10:45 AM worship service is blended, with the worship team drawing on contemporary songs, familiar favorites, and traditional hymns using guitars, keyboard, and vocals. Children's Church meets in the Kids Room and begins after the offertory so that elementary-aged children can worship with their families for the first part of the service and then be dismissed to a teaching tailored for them.
Sunday afternoons continue the week. On the first and third Sundays an evening worship service runs from 4:00 to 5:00 PM, and on the second and fourth Sundays, Caddo Kids and Youth Bible Training meets in the Fellowship Hall from 4:00 to 5:30 PM, giving children and youth a dedicated time of Bible teaching separate from the evening gathering.
Caddo Kids and Youth
Children and youth have a parallel track through the week. On Sunday mornings they gather for Sunday school in the Fellowship Hall and Kids Room at 9:30 AM, then join the 10:45 AM worship service for the opening songs and prayer before being dismissed to Children's Church. The Caddo Kids + Youth Bible Training on the second and fourth Sunday afternoons, 4:00 to 5:30 PM, gives the same group extended teaching time together.
On Wednesday evenings at 6:30 PM, Children's Choir meets in the Main Auditorium for children ages 4 through 10, with singing, fun activities, short Bible stories, and devotionals. The choir rehearses songs for Sunday morning specials and other church events through the year. At the same hour, youth join the adults in the Fellowship Hall for a combined youth and adult Bible study.
Wednesday Nights: Prayer, Bible Study, and Choir
Wednesday evenings at Port Caddo center on the 6:30 PM Adults Prayer Meeting and Bible Study, held in the Fellowship Hall. Members gather for prayer, devotion, and fellowship, then work through Scripture together with attention to how to interpret the Bible rightly and apply its principles in daily life. Business meetings are folded into this hour on selected Wednesdays each month.
Children's Choir and the adult Bible study run concurrently, so families can come once and divide into their own groups. The Port college ministry meets in the Main Auditorium at the same 6:30 PM hour on Wednesdays, with its own character of fellowship, food, and reflection (described below).
The Port: College and Young Adults
The Port is Port Caddo's name for its ministry to college students, and it has two weekly touchpoints. On Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM, college students and young adults meet in the College Room for a small-group session that goes deeper into studying God's Word and learning to grow in relationship with Him.
The second gathering is on Wednesday nights at 7:30 PM in the Fellowship Hall, when the doors open for a time of fellowship, fun, rest, and reflection. A home-cooked meal prepared by the ladies of the church is served each week, so students can take a break from school work and simply be present. The ministry is open to all college students and is described by the church as an invitation to come and be a part.
Adults: Ladies, Men, and Chair Aerobics
Port Caddo's adult ministries are built around simple, recurring fellowships rather than large programs. The ladies' ministry centers on the Ladies Luncheon, held every second Thursday of the month at 1:00 PM, where women of the church eat and fellowship together. Additional ladies' fellowships are planned through the year for encouragement and shared fun.
The men's ministry meets every third Tuesday of the month at 6:00 PM for the Men's Dinner Fellowship, an evening of encouragement, fellowship, and a good meal. The men also run a fellowship Dropbox service where they go to homes of members and others in need to help with odd jobs and repairs.
Senior adults gather on Mondays and Thursdays at 10:00 AM in the Fellowship Hall for Chair Aerobics, a low-impact time of exercise, fun, and fellowship that is open to all.
Serving Marshall
The church keeps a Food Pantry ministry as its main community outreach. Canned food items and shelf-stable goods are collected at any of the regularly scheduled services and brought to the Fellowship Hall; all of it is then delivered to Mission Marshall Food Bank to be distributed through the wider Marshall community. Members can also volunteer to serve directly with Mission Marshall.
The church also partners with Samaritan's Purse and Operation Christmas Child, and it participates in a yearly OCC Packing Party as one of its fall service projects.
Becoming a Christian
Port Caddo frames the decision to follow Christ as "the most important decision you'll ever make." The church teaches that every person is separated from God because of sin, that God sent His Son to take the penalty for that sin, and that how a person responds to His invitation determines eternity. A short video walks through both the need for a relationship with God through Jesus and how a person can begin that relationship. Anyone who makes a decision can contact the church at pcbcmarshall@gmail.com.
Sermons and Resources
The church maintains an extensive sermon archive going back to September 2019 and organized by series and speaker. Pastor Drew Smith has preached through books of the Bible and topical series, including recent runs through James ("Doers of the Faith"), the parables of Jesus ("Kingdom Stories: Parables from the Master"), the book of Jonah, Galatians, 1 John, the Ten Plagues in Exodus, and a series on the attributes of God. Guest preaching has been contributed by Dr. Tim Pierce. Sermons are posted as audio downloads and on the Port Caddo Baptist Sermons podcast (available on Apple Podcasts), and they are also shared as a video livestream on YouTube.
Affiliations
As a Baptist church, Port Caddo is an independent body of believers that chooses to associate with certain organizations to extend its reach. The congregation partners with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, the Southern Baptist Convention, and Samaritan's Purse/Operation Christmas Child.
Staff and Leadership
The ministry staff is led by Drew Smith, who serves as both Pastor and Worship Minister, with Dawn Smith as Associate Worship Minister and Gene Kay as Church Pianist. Tina Bradley serves as Church Secretary and Jared Bradley as Custodian. Five men make up the deacon body: Drew Smith, with Corey McGuire as Chairman of Deacons, joined by Gus Ash, Jared Bradley, Mark Haynie, and Wayne Hunter.
Visiting Port Caddo
The church building sits at 3712 Karnack Highway in Marshall, and the office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to noon. Visitors who want to call ahead can reach the office at 903-938-8849, or write to pcbcmarshall@gmail.com. Sunday morning begins with small groups at 9:30 AM, followed by the blended worship service at 10:45 AM, with Children's Church available for younger children after the offertory. Wednesday nights at 6:30 PM offer the adults' prayer meeting and Bible study, Children's Choir, and The Port college ministry all running at the same hour, so a family can come once and split into age-appropriate groups.