FBC Trussville marks 185th anniversary with baptisms

On July 14, 1821, nine people established a new church in the wilderness of central Alabama.
   
On July 9, 2006, nearly 2,000 people witnessed as 16 more believers were baptized into the same fellowship — First Baptist Church, Trussville, in Birmingham Baptist Association. 
   
“How wonderful it is to observe our 185th anniversary in this way,” said Charles Carter, interim pastor. He led the special service commemorating the milestone for First, Trussville.
   
Guest speaker for the occasion was Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. “Sometimes we fail to understand the value of remembering,” Lance said, challenging listeners to assess their own values by examining how much their salvation, their church, their country and Christ count in their daily life.
   
The congregation marked its birthday with old-fashioned touches like a cappella singing and a responsive reading. The Accents, a women’s singing group formed more than 30 years ago at FBC Trussville, was part of the program, and Frances Hamilton, retiring executive director of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission, read a letter of appreciation.
   
According to a historical update the church published for the anniversary, First, Trussville, began as the Baptist Church of Christ at Cahawba Meeting House. The church has occupied several more sites since its founding. 
   
By the beginning of the 20th century, its membership was about 125, serving a rural area far removed from the new city of Birmingham.
   
Renamed First Baptist Church, Trussville, after World War II, the church has continued to meet the needs of a growing area. It now has about 4,500 members and occupies a new sanctuary, a remodeled classroom-administrative building, an education wing and Christian life center on a 15-acre campus. 
   
Recently the church voted to purchase three adjacent pieces of property occupied for many years by Holy Infant of Prague Catholic Church, which is building new facilities in a different location in Trussville.
   
The church is also actively dedicated to missions, sending volunteers on missions trips to other counties and states, as well as to work with churches affected by Hurricane Katrina.