History

Our Beginnings

Forty-eight people living in our community took-on the challenge of planting our church in the new city of Saraland in the fall of 1954. Just a few months later, student pastor Delance Durough preached our first service on April 10, 1955 at the Saraland Women's Club House on Hwy. 43. Our church immediately began to grow, and we purchased our first property on Station Street. Because we did not yet have a building, Mrs. Edna McKeough, loaned a tent to use for our services!  The leaky tent pushed our first members even more to construct a building as quickly as possible.

 

Gulf State Fair

Beginning the mid 1950’s, our church opened a booth at the Greater Gulf State Fair in the same year that Elvis Presley performed there. We used funds from our booth to help our fledgling church. Still to this day, our church operates one of the best-performing food stands at the Fair, and all proceeds go directly into missions in our community.

 

Early Pastors

Rev. Jack E. Ray (1955-1956) served our church as a student pastor, followed by Rev. John T. Parker (1956-1958), Rev. Chester Bolton, Jr. (1958-1959), Rev. Hubert E. McCrary (1959 -1960), and Rev. Charles N. Boland (1960-1962), who helped construct a parsonage across the street from our current church building.

 

 Moving to McKeough Avenue

In 1963, Rev. Charles C. Hays (1962-1967) helped to move our place of worship from Station Street to a residential home on our new six-acre property at 415 McKeough Avenue. Our church members renovated the home to be used for Sunday School space, a nursery, and a small existing kitchen. An extension was added on the back of the dwelling to serve as the sanctuary. This home was our place of worship for two years.

 

In 1965, we constructed our current, beautiful sanctuary on our property, and we held our first worship service here on Easter Sunday, 1965. Even though the walls were not completed, the pastor and people braved a cold Easter morning to worship their Lord at the Sunrise Service.

 

Rev. Malcolm Rolen served our church his flock 1967-1970, followed by Rev. George H. Mathison (1970-1982). Our church prospered under the guidance of Rev. Matthison, both in numbers and in the size of our facility. At the time, our new fellowship hall and kitchen were among the best in our conference, and we served as the location for many district meetings.

 

Later Pastors

Other pastors serving our church have included Rev. J. Douglas Williams (1982-1984), Rev. R. Neil McDavid (1984-1988), Rev. Joe W. Lisenby (1988-1990), Rev. Rual W. Morris (1990-1991), Rev. Jimmie Spikes (1991-1993), Rev. T. Grant Parker (1993-1996), Rev. Edward M. Cotton (1996-2001), Rev. Rian P. Kegerreis (2001-2003), Rev. Douglas R. Seymour (2003-2005), Rev. W. Jean Spikes (2006), Rev. Robert G. Couch (2006-2011), Rev. Don Woolley (2011-2013), and Rev. Mike Hoppe (2013-Pres).

 

Through the years, our church has been a faithful and stable servant in the heart of Saraland. Currently we are the home to many ministries and community events, including hosting Celebrate Recovery, Saraland Lion’s Club, Boy Scouts, Weight Watchers, Financial Peace University, and our weekday Early Learning Center.

 

In recent years, our membership and staff have grown, and we are excited about new possibilities for expansion and mission in the years to come!