By Lonette Berg
Executive director, Alabama Baptist Historical Commission
This year has certainly been one for the history books. The story of God’s faithfulness through the pandemic and the perseverance of Alabama Baptists in sharing the gospel and serving those in need in the face of great risk and uncertainty are important parts of our history.
Changed lives
Since the Alabama Baptist State Convention began, our story is replete with instances of Alabama Baptists serving God and others in the midst of hardship. In our rapidly changing world, it is imperative that we preserve the record of God’s faithfulness and the stories of how God has used His servants to change lives here and around the world.
One of those stories is that of Dr. August Lovegren and his family, who have lived their lives in Kingdom service through missions. (See story here.)
2020 also has been one for the history books for the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission. The ABHC was honored to receive the Davis C. Woolley Award for outstanding achievement in accessing and preserving Baptist history, presented by the Baptist History and Heritage Society and the Association of Librarians and Archivists at Baptist Institutions.
The historical commission collects our Alabama Baptist history through preservation of written records, visual images and recorded stories. We offer free microfilming of Alabama Baptist church records. Last year, over 52,000 pages of Alabama Baptist materials were protected from loss through this ministry. Your records can be protected by contacting us at 205-726-2363.
The ABHC also provides training on how to record testimonies through oral history interviews and works to preserve the visual record of our Alabama Baptist places of ministry and worship.
The Historical Commission encourages all Alabama Baptist churches to celebrate their history and faithfulness. To this end, ABHC provides anniversary planning workshops and presents framed certificates for milestone celebrations.
It is important not only to preserve our Alabama Baptist history but also to tell our story. We are delighted to conduct presentations for churches and associations about Alabama Baptist history, missions and humorous stories from church history.
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