Church built into a big rock makes big impact near DeSoto State Park

Chris Murdock says if you just go to his church and stay there, you don’t have to wait very long before someone pulls up that you can talk to.

That’s because Sallie Howard Memorial Chapel is a conversation piece — it’s built into a boulder as tall as the church just outside DeSoto State Park in Fort Payne.

“One of the best things about it is to be there when somebody comes in for the first time and just see the expression on their face,” said Murdock, who serves as the chapel’s pastor.

Inside the building, the pulpit sits just in front of the massive boulder. Outside, the boulder has a cross standing on top.

‘Unique’ congregation

It’s unique, but Murdock said to him, the most unique thing about Howard’s Chapel is the congregation.

“We get people who are at DeSoto State Park who come by the chapel for worship on Sundays but also all the time — it’s never closed,” he said. “People visit us who are staying in the park but more than that, in the last decade or more with the advent of Airbnb and VRBO, there are a lot of rental cabins in our area, and we’re constantly getting people who are on vacation and are up here.”

But they also have “regulars,” Murdock said — people who live in the area or who have vacation homes there that they frequently visit.

Together they all make a full house every Sunday morning.

“People get there early and stay late,” he said. “They don’t want to leave; they just stay around talking to each other.”

Murdock said it’s been a blessing to see the congregation there grow — it’s a great new chapter of the story of Howard’s Chapel. The chapel was built by Milford Howard as a memorial to his first wife and dedicated in June 1937, but over time, attendance dwindled. In 1974, it became a mission of DeKalb Baptist Association.

At that time, “the congregation started with a handful of people, but now the chapel is full almost every Sunday,” Murdock said.

‘Spirit-filled’ mission work

He said it’s had a good run of faithful pastors since becoming a mission of DeKalb and they have led the congregation there to be faithful and generous in their walk with God.

“The chapel is entirely self-supporting financially and gives generously to missions through the Cooperative Program and associational missions,” Murdock said. “There is also a very active benevolence ministry.”

God continues to “bless this unique and spirit-filled mission work,” he said.

He said it’s a bold statement, but if every church gave like his, things would be different.

“We would’ve fulfilled the Great Commission already,” he said.

Keith Wrenn, director of missions for DeKalb Association, said the chapel is a “wonderful outreach to all who visit at DeSoto State Park on Sunday.”

He said thousands of people who make their way to the area have visited “the church built around a large rock.”

“It’s a small chapel with a large impact for the gospel, in a beautiful area of Alabama,” Wrenn said.