Members of Alberta Baptist Church, Tuscaloosa, and Open Door Baptist Church, Tuscaloosa, came together Nov. 2 for the first service as one combined congregation. The newly merged church of 400–500 people is a result of the April 27, 2011, tornadoes, which destroyed Alberta Baptist’s original facility.
Since that time Open Door Baptist has been sharing its facilities with Alberta while a new church building was being constructed. Colby Mouchette and Keith Pugh will serve as co-pastors of the collective church family, which decided to use the Alberta church name since services are being held in the newly constructed facility. Before the merge, Larry Corder served as pastor of Alberta and Mouchette served as pastor of students, a role he had been in since 2006. Corder retired Oct. 26 (see story, page 8), making a smooth transition for Pugh and Mouchette to step into leadership.
Both men will preach throughout the year but each has a different ministry focus. Mouchette serves as pastor of missions and mobilization and Pugh serves as pastor of discipleship and pastoral care.
Mouchette said the merge was “a dream come true.” The two congregations have bonded a lot over the past three years and the Nov. 2 service was met with “great expectancy and joy.”
Pugh echoed Mouchette and added he was “looking forward to serving alongside (Mouchette) and the rest of our staff.”
Sam Day, director of missions for Tuscaloosa Baptist Association, served as a guest consultant during the weekly merger meetings that began in March and consisted of representatives from each church.
Day said he is excited to see how much potential the merged churches will have now that they have embodied the idea that they are better together than apart.
“Together the churches ‘complete’ each other. … Together they will be making a greater impact for God’s kingdom,” he said.
Each church brought a different strength to the table, Mouchette said. Open Door had strong international ministries while Alberta was intentional in reaching out to the neighborhood.
Pugh added, “This is unique because we have so many … ‘new’ people … coming at one time. It will take a little while for both congregations to really feel like they are one, but I anticipate that happening fairly quickly.”
The tornadoes that tore through Tuscaloosa in 2011 were devastating, but God shaped good from the bad, Pugh said.
Mouchette agreed, “(The tornadoes) were awful. They certainly gave a great example of the brokenness of the world … but through them we have seen God’s restoration and renewal as well. This merger is a beautiful example of God’s providence.”
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