When John Roland began preaching occasionally at Beulah Baptist Church in Sterrett during the summer of 2023, he never imagined he would become its bivocational pastor. By January 2024 however, Roland — the development officer for Samford University’s Howard College of Arts and Sciences — was leading the 173-year-old congregation, energized by a renewed call to ministry and the convergence of his vocational and spiritual lives.
Around the same time, Tracy Hanrahan, program manager for Samford’s Center for Congregational Resources, was navigating her own sense of vocational transition. A former music staff member at Dawson Memorial Baptist Church and current student at Beeson Divinity School, Hanrahan was discerning how God might be leading her back into church-based ministry. After prayerful consideration and a providential meeting with Roland, Hanrahan joined Beulah as minister of worship and music.
Passion for revitalization
Together they represent a powerful portrait of Samford’s mission in action: the integration of faith and learning not just in the classroom but in rural Alabama, where ministry is often quiet, consistent and deeply relational.
Located just beyond Chelsea down U.S. 280, Beulah Baptist Church may be easy to miss, but it is central to the Sterrett community. The church serves as a polling place, hosts a mobile dental clinic and food pantry and recently reopened a hiking trail around its old baseball field. It’s the kind of church where generations gather to share stories and ministry is woven into everyday life.
“There are so many people I’ve yet to meet who still call Beulah home,” Hanrahan said. “It’s not uncommon for small churches to become relics, but Beulah is alive. Its members don’t want the church to die on their watch.”
Their passion for revitalization has yielded tangible results. When Roland first arrived, weekly attendance hovered around 10. Now, the church averages 30 to 40 congregants each Sunday, with a growing choir, increased programming and renewed energy.
‘Training ground’ for students
Beulah’s transformation has included key contributions from Samford students. Shannon Boutwell, a double major in violin and piano performance, offered violin, piano and liturgical dance during Easter services. Katherine Williams, a worship leadership major, led congregational music and played percussion during Christmas services. Other students have completed marketing class projects and volunteered, including Jack Oliver, who worked on a marketing project and now serves as an admissions counselor at Samford.
Hanrahan hopes the church can continue to be a “training ground” for students sensing a call to ministry. “It’s a place where they can serve, grow and learn in real-world ministry settings,” she said.
Roland, who views his advancement work at Samford as a form of pastoral ministry, sees deep alignment between his university role and church calling. “When working with donors, many of them want to honor loved ones, make a kingdom impact and steward their resources well,” he said. “That work is deeply personal and spiritual. It flows naturally from who I am.”
‘Beginning something new’
That clarity of calling, Roland said, was further refined through his experience in Leadership Samford and the university’s faith and learning initiative, one of the eight tenets of the Fidelitas strategic plan for faculty and staff. “That introspection helped me realize I was being called more deeply into ministry and affirmed the connection between what I do at Samford and what I do at Beulah.”
In her current role supporting small and rural churches through a $5 million grant administered by the Center for Congregational Resources, Hanrahan experiences a special connection. “To actually serve in a rural church while resourcing others gives me firsthand understanding,” she said. “Beulah shapes my work at Samford, and vice versa.”
For Roland and Hanrahan, serving at Beulah has brought wholeness.
“Before I stepped back into ministry, I felt like I wasn’t firing on all cylinders,” Roland said. “Now I’m living fully into my calling, and it has made me better at my job at Samford.”
Hanrahan echoes that sentiment. “I thought I was nearing the end of something,” she said, “but it turns out God was just beginning something new. As long as we have breath in our lungs, we have purpose.”
In the heart of a small town and through the work of two dedicated Samford staff members, Beulah Baptist Church stands as a testament to what can happen when faith and vocation intertwine — and when a community chooses to grow, serve and worship together.
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