Birmingham Churches Established In The 1800s Have Mastered A Formula

By Nathan Turner Jr.
For the Birmingham Times

Churches with longevity have mastered a formula: they fill community needs and are fortified with strong leadership, say church historians. Robust families and communities also contribute to this equation.

“Many of the older churches, such as Sixth Avenue Baptist and Sixteenth Street Baptist, have had strong continuous leadership,” said the Rev. Dr. Wilson Fallin, president of Easonian Baptist Bible College in Powderly. “And they have programs that take care of the needs of the people.”

In Birmingham, there are at least 11 churches that were established in the 1800s—including St. Paul United Methodist Church (1869) and Sixteenth Street Baptist Church (1873). At least another 12 are 100 years old or older, and two more will celebrate centennials by 2019.

Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was organized as the First Colored Baptist Church of Birmingham, the first black church to organize in Birmingham. Sixth Avenue Baptist Church was founded in 1881 as the Second Colored Baptist Church. Both churches figured prominently in the Birmingham-inspired U.S. civil rights movement.

Fallin, who also is a professor of history at the University of Montevallo, explained that churches located in robust communities often are able to survive, while others may fall by the wayside. He cited the 135-year-old First Congregational Church on Birmingham’s Center Street on the west side as an example. The church was founded in 1882 and originally operated in a vacant store on 4th Avenue between 16th and 17th Streets North. It moved to its current location in the middle-class section of Smithfield in 1952, according to the church website.

“Churches have gone out of existence because their surrounding communities have deteriorated,” said Fallin. “But people who live in houses that they own and remain in for a number of years … contribute to the longevity of churches.”

Historian Wayne Flynt, a retired professor and history department chairman at Auburn University, said churches are formed not just because of theology but also because of sociology. As a neighborhood changes, sociological transformations occur before theological transformations, he said.

“Churches form themselves around doctrine, and churches form themselves around sociology,” said Flynt. “Almost everybody recognizes the theological origin of congregations, but not so much attention has been paid to the sociological nature of congregations.”

For example, he said, “Before very long, when the pastor leaves, you call someone, especially in congregationally driven churches like Baptists and Pentecostals, and wind up getting somebody who’s more like you … economically and socially in terms of education and background.”

Churches can sometimes be divided between family churches and community churches, he said, citing research by Troy Morrison, the former executive secretary of the Alabama Baptist State Convention. Upon a pastor’s arrival, there are about three or four people who will determine if he stays.

“[A family church may have] 300 members, but there are two or three or four patriarchs and matriarchs who will decide [the pastor’s] fate at any given time,” Flynt said. “Then there are churches that typically are community churches; they tend to be governed not by patriarchs and matriarchs but by committees.”

In a community church, the budget committee, the personnel committee, and the deacons represent several different families.

Fallin, who most recently pastored Oak Grove Baptist Church in Bessemer for 27 years, pointed out that many African-American churches fold following a break within the membership.

“These splits are often hard situations. But if there is a smooth transition and not a lot of dissension” a church can survive the rupture, he added.

Also, Fallin pointed out, many long-lived churches are static in growth and experience declines in membership. This phenomenon arises as older members die and younger people are attracted to nondenominational or charismatic houses of worship that feature “aggressive” programs, push discussion groups, and offer a variety of family activities.

The most robust and resilient churches still fill community needs, much like houses of worship did following the demise of slavery in the United States, observers say. During that period, African-American churches took on roles as self-help institutions that aided the sick, ran burial societies to raise money for funeral expenses, and even started schools and banks. Another need fulfilled by churches: they provide a sense of dignity to many congregants.

“They give hope and self-esteem. A person can be a janitor during the week, but they can serve as a deacon or choir member on Sunday,” Fallin said.

Some of Birmingham’s Oldest Churches

Source: Birmingham Historical Society. The Birmingham Times.