The Circuit Rider Rides Again!

From the moment Stevenson Oaks was conceived, the name of the community was a major consideration. We knew it would be important to identify a name that would connect this brand-new senior living community to the rich history of the city of Fort Worth.

After researching the city’s origins, it would come apparent there were shared faith roots between MRC and the city. Namely, Rev. William Stevenson, a pioneer Methodist preacher who would share the gospel from horseback in the early 1800’s. According to his autobiography, he became the first protestant of any denomination to preach within the bounds of what is now known as Texas territory but was, at the time, part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

Stevenson’s coming to faith story began when he was eight years old when a horse ran away with him, ramming him directly into the branch of a tree where a snag, roughly the size of a man’s finger lodged directly into his right eye. He remembers crying out to God asking for healing, eventually his eye would heal, and sight would be restored. Later, he fell from a ridgepole during the raising of a log cabin around the age of ten years old. He was sitting atop a log where the ridgepole was to lie but as the group of men tugged on the rope, it snapped, causing the log he was sitting on to turn over and toss him headfirst in-between two joists. He tells how, with some maneuvering, he was able to walk away from the experience unharmed yet forever changed. He shares how he rode home, approximately two miles with his mind reeling from his now second brush with death. He describes a feeling of hopelessness as he considered how he might have met his untimely end that day.

Shortly after this experience, he would ride ten miles to hear a new kind of preacher called a Methodist. He sat with the crowd under a group of trees to hear the man preach. Following the event, he and the young man who attended, riding alongside him, spoke of what they heard, both feeling compelled to surrender their lives to Christ. Following his own salvation experience, and into his adulthood, he felt a great burden to guide others to repentance, taking every chance presented to share his testimony, yet he still had not considered becoming a preacher.

Later, in adulthood he attended a night meeting where the designated preacher for the evening did not show up. Knowing him to be a well-studied student of the gospel, he was asked to speak as an alternate. Soon after, he was ordained by none other than Francis Asbury and William McKendree, both giants in the origin of the Methodist movement.

From that day forward, Rev. Stevenson’s ministry, riding horseback from one region to the next, would have a civilizing effect in the area. These church meetings would gather small groups of pioneers together on a regular basis, helping small communities to develop.

Stevenson Oaks now carries the Reverend’s name just like he carried the message of hope to the Fort Worth area centuries ago. To further commemorate his impact, a metal sculpture of the circuit rider was erected at the entry of the building as a permanent fixture and nod to how his story intertwines with Stevenson Oaks. Additionally, an art piece is now featured in the main hallway connecting all Stevenson Oaks neighborhoods.

Much like Rev. Stevenson carried a powerful message of hope that resulted in community, we pray that this community results in a sense of hope for all who call Stevenson Oaks home.

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