Round Island Baptist Church, Athens, recently celebrated its 190th anniversary, making the Limestone Baptist Association congregation two years older than the state of Alabama.
Present and former members of Round Island Baptist observed the church’s history with a special worship service that included guest speaker Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, and a churchwide luncheon.
During the service, the congregation received plaques from the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission and Limestone Association and read letters sent by President George W. Bush, Gov. Bob Riley and Congressman Bud Cramer. Church members also placed a copper time capsule in the outside wall of the new sanctuary to be opened 50 years from now. In 2004, they opened the same box that was placed in the church wall in 1957.
Pastor Mike Green believes Round Island has survived so many years because of its commitment to the Great Commission and “great commandment.”
“The church has a history of starting and helping a lot of churches over the 190 years,” he said. “It has helped others and we are continuing to try to do that.”
Green added that the church wants to look, act, love and give like Jesus. “We want to be a sacrificial church,” he noted. “We want to give ourselves away. We want our community to be different because Round Island is in that community. We want to make a difference.”
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