Thousands have prayed the prayer of Jabez and received tremendous blessings as a result. And such is the case with First Baptist Church, Union Springs, whose pastor, Bruce Hose, eagerly shares that a miracle has taken place on U.S. Highway 82.
In January 2001, Hose began teaching a study on the prayer of Jabez to his congregation.
He challenged them to pray a prayer bigger than any prayer they have ever prayed — and that’s exactly what they did.
Within a few weeks — on two different occasions — he was approached by church members about their prayers regarding the church purchasing a financially strapped, local school.
Less than five months later, the church purchased the entire Bullock Memorial School property including buildings, equipment, 32 acres of land, a football, softball and baseball field — all for $1.
“Many churches plan and work for years to build a gym,” said Hose, who has served as pastor of the 503-member Bullock Centennial Association church for two years. “We got a gym overnight. Only this one came with a whole lot of additional responsibility,” he said.
Open to all children
Bullock Memorial School originated in 1971 as a private, all-white school in Bullock County, the direct result of a court order to integrate schools by Judge Frank Johnson.
Hose said that before First Baptist even considered taking over the school, the school’s board members were given three options by the church.
“Number one, they would have to announce that they were closing completely. Number two, we would open the school as a Christian school, not just a private school. Number three, it had to be open to any child anywhere. Of course, they were good strong Christian people, and they had no problems with any of those conditions,” he explained.
A 16-member church committee met for a month to decide if the church should open a Christian school, and 93 percent of the members voted in favor of the decision.
The following night, Bullock Memorial Foundation members voted to close the school’s doors due to financial problems and sell the property to the church. Within a few months Conecuh Springs Christian School was established — but not without some challenges.
Declining enrollment and uncertainties within the former board had left the school in disrepair.
But help was on its way. According to Hose, “between early June and mid-August, church members, people in the community and several out of town missions teams worked like bees on a hive to get the buildings in shape.”
He said volunteers refurbished the building from the floor to the ceiling, painted classrooms, retiled floors, replaced light fixtures and performed numerous other duties.
A decision was made to relocate the church’s preschool ministry to the school, and on Aug. 20, 2001, the first and only Christian school in the Bullock, Macon and Barbour tri-county area opened its doors.
Hose said that each school day begins with a Bible class and once a week a chapel service is conducted.
And the church’s prayers of the Christian school being an outreach to the community are continuing to be answered. Within three weeks of school starting, several children had given their hearts to Christ.
Hose said families have been influenced by their children’s examples with area churches reporting an increase in attendance from previously inactive members.
Another blessing that the school has brought to the community is the improvement of race relations in the area.
Currently, there are seven black students enrolled at Conecuh Springs, which is more than Bullock Memorial enrolled throughout its 31 years of existence.
“When it was announced that we were going to open a Christian school, a precious elderly black lady in the community called and asked if she could drive out and sit in her car and pray over the school,” Hose said. “[Because of previously bad feelings] she had vowed 30 years earlier not to step foot on that school’s property.”
Despite its success in the community, Conecuh Springs has seen its share of trials during the past year. Because of late enrollment, only 34 students enrolled the first year causing the church to struggle financially to support the school during the 2000–2001 school year.
This year, the school has 41 students in kindergarten through ninth grade. And the church is as committed as ever to the school’s success. To make up for the money needed, members increased their tithes and offerings and gave more than $60,000 to the school.
The school board’s adopted motto ‘where God guides, God provides’ has once again proven accurate.
“On a recent Thursday afternoon, the school needed almost $4,000 just to make payroll,” Hose confessed. “By Friday morning — without even sharing the need — the school met its payroll, paid the last of some other due bills and had money in the bank.”
Through its struggles, the school continues to provide top-notch education to its students.
“All of our teachers have degrees,” Hose said. “We’ve got one of the finest kindergarten teachers anywhere. Last year our first- and second-grade children scored in the 98th percentile in the nation on their standardized tests. Our third- and fourth-grade children scored in the 95th percentile in the nation,” he said with pride. As part of its five-year plan, First Baptist, Union Springs, would like to offer English as a second language and adult education including high school equivalency and job training.”
“There has literally been a miracle on Highway 82,” Hose proclaimed. “God continues to bless … and the best is yet to come.”
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