 First Baptist has minutes that date all the way back to 1901. On the Lord’s Day, June 7, 1903, the group officially met together and constituted a church in the home of W.M. Flannery. The church elected Elder Collins as a moderator and Clark L. Voyles as the clerk. The members gathered together were W.M. Flannery and his wife Ida Flannery, E.G. Whitaker his sister and A.B. Whitaker his wife, Elder Collins, Alph Grogan, William Tabor, Addie Ethridge, Rev Powell, and J.B. Swanner who would officially serve as the church's first pastor in 1904. The group read from 1 Corinthians 13 and prayed diligently for the new opportunity and blessing of the Lord. The church outlined their articles of faith and the church covenant on this day and closed by voting and approval of these documents being officially organized as a Baptist church. They then began approval and work on a church building finished in 1905 and burning down shortly after. This didn’t stop the church and within the year a new building was erected which served as the churches meeting place until it’s burning in April 1934. The church got to work rebuilding after the second fire as well. Growing larger in person and facility as the building was added to in 1947, and 1953. The church continued to grow numerically. In 1960, the church began to look beyond their own walls feeling the call to reach those not reached in Osage. The church would end up sending 31 members to Osage, Arkansas to begin and grow the work of the Lord there. By the early 2000s the church had grown even larger. Including the church building with multiple stories, fellowship hall, multiple parking lots and a parsonage. The church was struggling with space which finally came to a head when they began to implement Awanas in 2000. After several attempts to remedy space issues, land issues, county issues, and state issues the church finally had an answer to its prayers. On June 10, 2006 Wesley and Debbie Cantwell donated seven acres of land just east of town for the purpose of constructing a new church building. The church voted and approved the moving. The land was then surveyed and cleared and the building completed in 2009. This is the location and building we meet in to this day. The Lord has continued to bless Alpena and the church for His honor and His glory. The church continues to serve the community and school. With outreach to kids, youth, and adults. The church focus remains the same as those early faithful days in the 1900’s, "So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."- 1 Cor. 13 The church seeks to live out this great commandment with three guiding ideals. For the Gospel. For the Church. For Alpena. |
Alpena First Baptist Church
For the Gospel. For the Church. For Alpena.
For the Gospel. For the Church. For Alpena.
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