Montgomery’s First Baptist Church commemorated its upcoming 180th anniversary with a day of historical recognitions, lectures and a special worship service.

Montgomery was a young frontier town in 1829 when English missionary Lee Compere and four local residents established the first permanent Baptist church in the city. Originally called Montgomery Baptist Church, the congregation adopted the name “First Baptist” when a second congregation formed in the city in 1860. The First Baptist congregation worshiped together with Methodist and Presbyterian congregations in a shared building known as the “union church,” at the corner of what is today South Court and Church Streets. In 1832, the Baptists built their own building on North Court Street, where the congregation remained until moving to its present location on Perry Street in 1908. Over the next century, First Baptist consistently expanded in membership, missions and property, today stretching over four city blocks in seven major building complexes.

A video commemoration at the morning service featured significant milestones in the First church’s long history. A special afternoon lecture focused on the period of the Civil War and the pastorates of Isaac Tichenor and Basil Manly. The evening worship service included hymns from Manly’s Baptist Psalmody, the first major compilation of denominational hymns, and historical reflections from several members. The service was held in the historic Stakely Sanctuary, which was the congregation’s main sanctuary for almost one hundred years until a larger facility was added in 2004.

Besides their service as First Baptist pastors back-to-back in the 1860s, a number of interesting coincidences surround Tichenor and Manly. Both played significant roles in developing and expanding the Southern Baptist Convention, and both served as presidents of major public universities in the state – Manly at Alabama and Tichenor at Auburn. Playfully promoted as the “Pastor Iron Bowl,” the lecture was presented by church member and Manly descendant Basil Manly IV and by former FBC pastor Dale Huff, director of LeaderCare & Church Administration for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. “Manly and Tichenor were the two most significant figures in the development of what the Southern Baptist Convention is today,” said Huff.

“For any church, especially an older downtown church, to survive and even thrive for 180 years tells me that God has a plan for First Baptist,” said pastor Jay Wolf during the special service. “Studying our history is important because we can see the Lord’s will at work with our congregation,” noted Wolf. “But we always should remember that this is really HIS-story, and His plan for us for the next 180 years is what is most important.”

First Baptist’s 180th anniversary commemoration will continue through the year with a new historical time line pictorial and artifacts on display in the Hall of Pastors in the Stakely Sanctuary building