Albany
Baptist was founded in Albany, Ohio in 1856. In
an article written for the church’s 100th anniversary,
we discover the circumstances surrounding the establishment
of the
church.
“ During the winter of 1854/1855, quite
a revival interest stirred up in the village caused
by meetings held
at the academy
(a reference to the Manual Labor Academy, so named 
because
students were required to work a certain number of
hours each week for the sake of health as well as
for economy), by Rev.
Bird. During these meetings the colored people became
more demonstrative than the ministers thought reasonable
and proper
and they were
reproved. Together with some of the white people
they decided to call a minister and have meetings
of their
own where they
could shout as much as they pleased.”
Out of this group was born the
First Free Will Baptist Church of Albany, Ohio. Established
on January 7, 1856, the church called Rev. I.Z. Hanning as its
first
pastor. There were 9 charter members. The original church building
was erected in 1858. According to the historical record, during
the week of its dedication a revival broke out. One hundred
people accepted Christ as Savior and 60 people were baptized
and added
to the church’s membership.
Over the years the church has changed dramatically. Eventually, the church
simply became known as The Albany Baptist Church, existing as an independent
Baptist congregation. The church has had 36 pastors over the years.
During
the 1970’s the church affiliated itself with the General
Association of Regular Baptist Churches (GARBC) and continues
in that relationship to this day. In 1973, a new facility was
built under the pastorate of Rev. Paul Williams. In the early
1980’s the original building was torn down.
In November 1993, Michael Rose
became our pastor. At the time he began his ministry, the church
was averaging about 90 in attendance on Sunday mornings. By 1995
the church had grown to an average of 159 and the church desperately
needed additional Sunday School, fellowship, and office space.
Therefore, the church added to its facilities an additional
8,000 sq.ft. of space. This addition, along with the church’s
outreach emphasis helped the growth to continue.
By 1998 the church was averaging
253 and had 3 staff members. Additional classrooms were needed
so the church added a 4,000 sq.ft. modular unit. We also began
to suffer in the area of auditorium space. To answer this problem
we went to two morning services and began planning a new multi-purpose
ministry center.
The
church contracted with The McKnight Group from Columbus, Ohio
which is a design-build company. After final plans were approved,
construction began in September 1999. The new facility added
19,000 sq.ft. of new ministry space and 5,000 sq.ft. of the existing
space was remodled for new use. The new ministry facility which
houses a new spacious foyer, commercial kitchen, nursery complex,
additional classrooms, high school size basketball floor, media
room, and worship center that can seat 650, was completed and
dedicated in November 2000. Our Sunday morning attendance now
averages 306.
God
has richly blessed Albany Baptist since its origination over
151 years ago. Our prayer is that God’s hand of blessing
and anointing for ministry will continue to be on our church
until Christ returns and we meet Him, and you, in the air.
