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Our
History
Bethlehem Baptist
Church was founded in Albany, Louisiana, on July 19,
1875. The church is located on Highway 43
south of Albany just inside the city limits.
The major organizer of the church was the Rev.
Sylvester Sims. There were eleven charter
members of the church and that number has slowly
increased to a total of about 600 resident members.
Those eleven charter members were: Rev. &
Mrs. S.D. Sims, Mr. & Mrs. J.A. Kinchen, Mr.
& Mrs. B.L. Stewart, H.A. Kinchen, Mrs. Margaret
Kinchen Phillips, Fannie Kinchen Jordan, Zeke
Stewart, and Noah Hano. Rev. Sims was the
first pastor. H.A. Kinchen was the deacon, J.H.
Kinchen was the clerk, and Noah Hano was the Sunday
School Director. The church celebrated 120
years of existence on September 17, 1995 with
homecoming activities.
Two acres of land,
where the present cemetery is located, were donated
to the church by the heirs of B.J. Walls. The
first building was erected on this site in 1881.
It was destroyed by a storm in 1909 and another
building was started that same year to replace it.
That building was later moved to the spot where our
fellowship hall is located today. Expansion
and brick veneering allowed that building to serve
as the church sanctuary for over fifty years.
Hobart Pardue donated
four lots in town where a pastor’s home was built
in 1960. It was destroyed by fire on March 17,
1965. On March 25, 1965, the church voted to
build the present parsonage on an acre of land
purchased from James Middleton. Louis Suta had
donated another acre between the parsonage and the
cemetery in 1959.
The church voted to
build the existing auditorium in September 1961, and
the building was dedicated on July 8, 1962.
Hurricane “Betsy” damaged the auditorium and the
new pastor’s home on September 26, 1965.
Repairs were made in the fall. The abandoned
building near the cemetery was erected for
educational space in 1953. It was soon
outgrown and additional space was needed. On
June 22, 1966, the church voted to build the present
educational facility behind the sanctuary. The
building was dedicated on September 24, 1967.
The last parcel of land was added to the site in
1968 with the purchase of an acre from J.L. Juhasz.
This property is used for the parking lot today.
Under the leadership
of Pastor Alton Foster the church entered into a
stewardship program on September 4, 1984, to raise
funds for the metal Educational/ Fellowship building
which is in use today. Construction started in
July of 1986 and the building was used for Christmas
programs that year. The old educational
building east of the fellowship hall was abandoned
to storage, but has now been turned into a three
bedroom apartment for staff use.
A new sanctuary was
completed on August 15, 2004. The new
sanctuary seats approximately 500 people and 50
choir members.
The sanctuary was built to accommodate a growing
church body.
Ours is a church with
a rich tradition and a wonderful past that lives by
the motto of being a “church that cares”.
As we continue to look to the Lord for guidance we
can look to an even greater future in His service!
Pastors who served the church in chronological
order: Sylvester Sims, James Traylor, William
Addison, Jake Hoover, J.R. Wax, J.P. Ott, Obediah
Tate, Hiriam Reed, W.W. Simmons, R.G. Hutchinson,
G.R. Welch, S.C. Wascom, H.T. Comish, D.F. Coyle,
C.T. Bowden, J.H. Hill, Joel McKay, J.W. Starkey,
Carroll Hamilton, John Galey, T.T. Edwards, M.B.
Adkins, Fred Bolian, Ralph Walker, Charles Ball, Ray
Foster, Lester Hill, Alton Foster, and current
pastor Joe E. Dunn.
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