Covington Baptist Association has established new headquarters that offers spacious and centrally located facilities for the 56 churches it serves. The design creates a wide range of uses.
“The new office is somewhat unique in that it’s arranged so that with the locking of two doors we can lock off the administrative offices and allow churches to use the chapel, conference room, rest rooms and kitchen, after office hours,” Bryam Lambert, Covington Association administrative assistant, said.
Covington Baptists and guests gathered June 22 for an open house and dedication ceremony at the new site, which is about five miles east of Andalusia along Highway 84.
“We had a larger than expected response from our member churches and people in the community,” said Larry Cummings, Covington Association director of missions (DOM).
Among several program guests were former Covington Association DOM Neal Wyatt, who now is the director of Christian social ministries of the association.
He led in responsive reading and the act of dedication. John Foster, retired pastor of First Baptist Church of Andalusia and former moderator of the association, led the dedication prayer.
James Blakeney, an associate in the Sunday School department of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, was on hand.
According to Lambert the people attending met and toured the new 8,000-square-foot building. The already-planned widening part of Highway 84 into four lanes will provide easier access to the office.
Existing on the seven-acre site and included in the $103,000 purchase price is a three-bedroom house and a 40-by-60 pavilion.
The contract price on the new office/meeting complex is $291,000, according to Lambert.
“We are just very grateful and feel like the Lord has provided this for us to use as our missions and ministry center,” Cummings said.
“We’re excited about being able to be here to resource and support our member churches in their great commission work,” he added.
The old associational office had become cramped as ministries grew at its old location in downtown Andalusia. The more spacious complex also solved a parking and entrance problem, according to Lambert.
“It’s more centrally located as far the churches in our association are concerned, and we have parking for about 100 cars,” he said.
He said a covered entrance that vehicles can drive under to let passengers out at building level solves a problem they had at the old locations with few parking spaces and high rear steps up to the building.
The office/meeting complex houses a chapel that has the versatility to have congregation-style seating or banquet seating around tables. It also has a sound system and is functional for a variety of meetings. The building has a kitchen that can be utilized for events as well as day-to-day operations.
his room will see many uses, such as holding an every Monday pastors conference, Woman’s Missionary Union training and leadership meetings, Samford Extension courses for local pastors and more. The room will seat 90 people with the chairs set up in rows.
Some Covington Baptist groups will be able to meet at associational facilities for the first time, since the space simply did not exist at the old office.
Lambert said the meeting facilities will enable churches with limited space to have free access to facilities large enough to meet their needs.
Other rooms provide ample space for printed literature and other materials that churches can use in their ministries.
On the new property, the existing house is being made ready for use by missionaries that may come home on furlough or visiting evangelists that preach revivals in the area.
A concrete floor will be added to the pavilion that came with the property, and it will be available for meetings for youth other groups whose meetings lend themselves to an outdoor setting.
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