Church: Bethlehem Baptist Church (Morgan Assoc.)
Favorite Bible verse: 1 Peter 4:8
Favorite hymn: “The Old Rugged Cross”
Hobby: Reading
Family status: Married to Virgil for 49 years; two sons, nine grandchildren, three great-grandchildren.
Barbara Van Sandt is someone you should know because while researching her church’s history for its 160th year anniversary, she discovered many unknown facts, including its membership in four different Baptist associations over the years.
Q: Why did you research your church’s history?
A: We were celebrating 160 years and holding homecoming celebrations, and I was on the committee. My husband and I have done extensive genealogy research on our families, and our pastor knew this so he asked me to do it for our church.
Q: What does it demand?
A: Time and energy. We have a really good archive in Morgan County, so I went over to Decatur and researched what papers they had, then went to the Morgan County library. The pastor contacted Samford University and they sent what documents they had. I had to go through a lot of documents and pull out what applied to our church.
Q: What do you get from it?
A: It was a lot of fun. I got so much out of it. It was so interesting. I learned a lot.
Q: How does your family support you in this activity?
A: My husband loves it as much as I do, and he was right there with me when I went to the libraries. My children support me in whatever I do.
Q: How do you see yourself involved in research in the future?
A: I want to be sure and keep current with activities or what-ever history the church has had so I can leave it for future generations. I have already placed histories in the Morgan County archives in Decatur. So years from now when I am not here, they don’t have to look 100 years back to find out the church’s history. If someone doesn’t keep a record of this, then 50 years down the road the people are not going to know the history.
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