Sunday service at Greater El Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Dallas, Sunday, April 19, 2026. The church is a historic Black church located in the Tenth Street Historic District and celebrating its 140th anniversary on April 25.
Anja Schlein/The Dallas Morning News
In a Dallas neighborhood where historic homes have dwindled, one Oak Cliff church is celebrating 140 years of serving the Tenth Street community.
“We’re standing on the shoulders of individuals who helped plant the Black, African American community in the city of Dallas,” said the Rev. Slavoski Wright Sr., who grew up in the Greater El Bethel Missionary Baptist Church.
Now senior pastor, Wright is working to grow the congregation and modernize the historic landmark. The church was built in a freedman’s town, now the Tenth Street Historic District. It remains standing amid decaying homes and vacant lots, and isn’t far from the city’s new deck park atop Interstate 35E, which is poised to bring economic growth to its surrounding areas.
The pastor wants to keep tradition alive, but not without embracing changes that could benefit the neighborhood.
Related: Tenth Street neighborhood, a treasure trove of Black history in Dallas, fights to remain intact
“Sometimes, change is inevitable,” Wright said. “We’re trying to find avenues to better serve the church, as it does change, and still serve our community.”
While each anniversary comes with traditions, this year the church will host a block party and community fair that focuses on health, civic engagement and neighborhood restoration. The party starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday, outside the church on East Ninth Street.
The Rev. Slavoski Wright Sr., the senior pastor at the historic Greater El Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, sits in front of a bulletin board advertising the historic church’s 140th anniversary celebration in Dallas, Friday, April 17, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
A celebration of service
Charles Strain, deacon at Greater El Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, stands in the church’s original worship center in Dallas, Friday, April 17, 2026. The Tenth Street Historic District church is celebrating its 140th anniversary.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Charles Strain, deacon at Greater El Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, grabs a book featuring the historic bell, which is no longer used, in the church in Dallas, Friday, April 17, 2026. The historic Tenth Street Historic District church is celebrating its 140th anniversary.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Slavoski Wright Sr., the senior pastor at Greater El Bethel Baptist Church, points to the balcony in the worship center in Dallas, Friday, April 17, 2026. The Tenth Street Historic District church is celebrating its 140th anniversary.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Greater El Bethel is partnering with Baylor Scott & White Health, nonprofit Urban Specialists, and other organizations to commemorate the moment. Urban Specialists plans to knock on doors, telling community members about the celebration and resources available, said Varonika Wilson, a senior director for the nonprofit.
Wilson said Urban Specialists, which was started by a bishop, is honoring the foundation the church formed in the community by bringing in its network.
“This is bigger than just celebrating the legacy of a church, but it’s also monumental because it’s helping to actually bring all of the resources that we have access to, to a neighborhood that has low-income families,” Wilson said.
Article continues below this ad
The church sits in an area with some of the county’s highest health vulnerabilities. Shaun Montgomery, a member of the Tenth Street Residential Association, said the efforts are needed.
“Some people don’t get out. They don’t go out to the doctors like they should,” Montgomery said. “This way, it’ll give them an opportunity to get to talk to some health professionals and get some information.”
Greater El Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, a historic Black church located in the Tenth Street Historic District in Dallas, is celebrating its 140th anniversary on April 25.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Keeping history alive
With the new deck park set to open in May, Montgomery said she’s hoping it calls attention to the historic nature of the neighborhood and brings awaited fixes the community needs, like improvements to sidewalks, lighting and infrastructure.
The area’s history can’t be left behind, she said.
“We had several businesses in the community. We had doctors and lawyers. They were self-sustaining business at one time,” Montgomery said. “A lot of the houses are older, but they’re still over 100 years old, and they’re still standing by the grace of God.”
Related: Two longtime Dallas City Council member departures mark change for much of southern Dallas
Article continues below this ad
Charles Strain, deacon at Greater El Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, organizes historical photos and information in the church’s original worship center in Dallas, Friday, April 17, 2026. The Tenth Street Historic District church is celebrating its 140th anniversary.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Families who helped build the Tenth Street community, former slaves after the Civil War, were a part of Greater El Bethel’s congregation. Noah Penn, an area pioneer, founded the church in 1886, according to its website. Every 4th Sunday in April, the church celebrates its anniversary.
In the years after its founding, the church went through many changes. It burned down and was rebuilt in the early 1900s, with a basement dug out by former slaves and mule teams, according to the church. William Sidney Pittman, an accomplished Black architect, built the top portion with a crew of men in 1926.
In the Tenth Street District, the construction of I-35E in the ’50s, along with integration in the ‘60s, meant about 175 structures were demolished and residents sought opportunity elsewhere. The area got historic recognition from the city in 1993, but its decline continued. A few years ago, neighbors resisted rules that allowed small homes to be demolished.
In a neighborhood that once had several churches, Greater El Bethel is one of the last remaining, Wright said.
Charles Strain, deacon at Greater El Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, flips through a book featuring photos of the historic church in Dallas, Friday, April 17, 2026. The Tenth Street Historic District church is celebrating its 140th anniversary.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Growing the church
By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy.
Generations have been served by the church. Montgomery’s grandmother and great-grandmother were members.
Wright still remembers running around the church as a child. His grandfather served as the church pastor for decades. His late uncle, William McNealy, was also the pastor.
“I have been in this church all my life,” Wright said. “A lot of people have seen me grow up.”
Three years ago, Wright took over after spending time at the church to help as the COVID-19 pandemic was taking hold. McNealy had diabetes and couldn’t be exposed. Wright said he set up livestreamed services and started working toward growing the church’s congregation. It has gone from about 30 people to nearly 100, not including online viewers. Some congregants, along with Wright, returned to the church from the suburbs.
Article continues below this ad
Slavoski Wright Sr., the senior pastor at the historic Greater El Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, stands on the dais in the church in Dallas, Friday, April 17, 2026. The Tenth Street Historic District church is celebrating its 140th anniversary.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Slavoski Wright Sr., the senior pastor at the historic Greater El Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, leans on a donation box near the dais of the church in Dallas, Friday, April 17, 2026. QR codes are pasted to the back of pews for parishioners.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Affixed to the pews are QR codes, a sign of modernization inside the historic red-brick building. Wright is still aiming for improvements to the structure’s aging interior.
“We’re looking to modernize it,” Wright said, adding that “the congregants and everybody, they are very supportive, and they are wanting to see us change.”
Digital or aesthetic shifts are only part of the efforts. The church has a nonprofit in its early stages, Wright said, to better partner with organizations for food or utility assistance. He’s hoping to show that smaller, traditional churches can have a powerful impact.
“There are still some churches, some pastors that genuinely care for the people, genuinely care for the community, and want to see people grow, not just spiritually, but in their personal lives,” he said.
Congregants embrace each other at Greater El Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Dallas, Sunday, April 19, 2026. The church is a historic Black church located in the Tenth Street Historic District and celebrating its 140th anniversary on April 25.
Anja Schlein/The Dallas Morning News
This reporting is part of the Future of North Texas, a community-funded journalism initiative supported by the Commit Partnership, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Lisa and Charles Siegel, the McCune-Losinger Family Fund, The Meadows Foundation, the Perot Foundation, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The News retains full editorial control of this coverage.