Just two years ago, First Baptist Church, Anniston — a congregation with a declining attendance of 65–70 each week — took a leap of faith and moved into a newly built sanctuary four miles north that had a seating capacity of 300. Since then, the Calhoun Baptist Association church — now called Anniston’s First Baptist Church at McClellan — has more than doubled in attendance in both worship and Bible study, according to Pastor Buddy Nelson.
Attendance at Sunday services runs about 150, he said. “We’ve come along really well, and we’ve been adding new programs for our young people,” Nelson said of the formerly predominantly senior adult congregation. A regular Friday night event at the church draws about 40 youth, more than half of whom are not church members.
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