First Baptist Church of Boldo

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First Baptist Church of Boldo, formerly Union Baptist Church and Leroy Baptist Church, is a Baptist church located in the Boldo community of Jasper. The current pastor is Alfred M. Hartley.

The church was founded in 1877 as part of a joint effort with a group from the Church of Christ and another from Missionary Baptist Church. They alternated services in a "crude structure" with hand-split board siding on Sunrise Road, with the Baptists sitting in the back on Church of Christ days and vice-versa. They called themselves "Union Baptist Church" in recognition of the arrangement.

The Church of Christ group moved out in 1901. With the older building becoming unsuited for worship, they moved services to the Calloway residence for a while, building a brush arbor in a neighboring field for revivals. Later they made use of a two-room house on Sam Robertson's property and a nearby schoolhouse (now demolished). Williams died in 1908 shortly after the church voted to construct a new meeting house in 1910. They adopted the name "Leroy Baptist Church" in memory of their first pastor.

At some point they began sharing the building with a Methodist congregation until that group constructed their own meeting house.

In the late 1940s the church moved to Boldo Cemetery Road. The building was expanded for a Sunday School in 1962. It adopted its present name in the mid 1980s. In 2003 the church moved to a new "Christian Life Center" nearby on Alabama Highway 69 while it constructed its present 400-seat sanctuary. The first service in the new building was held on September 4, 2005.

A 1945 fire at Pastor Clayton Shaw's home destroyed many of the church's records. Another fire in 1977 destroyed most of what remained.

Pastors

References

  • Dowdey, Hazel (n. d.) "History of Leroy Baptist Church of Boldo", rpt. in Willie L. Barton (1991) Tracks of a Bold Doe: The history of Boldo community, Walker County, Alabama. Gregath Publishing Co.
  • Heyman, Greg (January 8, 2009) "FBC Boldo celebrates 100 years." Alabama Baptist
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