Pleasant Home Baptist marks 125 years of serving as ‘backbone’ of community

Old hymns, familiar faces and warm memories filled Pleasant Home Baptist Church, Brantley, in Alabama-Crenshaw Baptist Association during its 125th anniversary celebration Oct. 1.
   
“It was kind of like homecoming,” Pam Wood, church clerk, said. Average attendance is 35–40 people, but this day saw more than 100 come.
   
After a time of worship, individuals shared their experiences at Pleasant Home Baptist.
   
Neacie Mae Brewer, the oldest member of the church at 90, shared how she joined the church at age 14 and has loved it ever since.
   
Even former members shared how much Pleasant Home has meant to them.
   
There was also a time of recognition of former pastors, and the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission presented the church with a certificate for 125 years of service. 
   
Current Pastor Burney Enzor abbreviated his message and simply closed the service before the congregation headed to the fellowship hall for dinner on the grounds. After lunch, a slide show on the history of the church was presented to complete the celebration.
   
That history includes more than 40 pastors filling the pulpit and two terms of service for Enzor, who previously served as pastor for four years beginning in 1961. Over the years, he came back to lead several revivals and then returned for his second term as pastor in February 2003.
   
Enzor said of his congregation, “They love the teaching and preaching of the Bible. They are attentive. They lean out with their ears and hearts for the Word of the Lord.”
   
Pleasant Home has seen many changes over the years. Members first met in a log cabin, then a two-story building that was destroyed by a tornado in 1931 and now a building complete with a choir loft and steeple. 
   
Wood said the church forms the backbone of its tiny community, 13 miles northwest of Brantley in a rural area without a store or school.
   
“Although the community is small, the families are close,” she said. “Anyone who goes to church there couldn’t imagine the church not being there and not being a part of it.
   
“We may not all be blood-related, but we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. That’s why the church has survived.” (TAB)