Sister Springs Baptist Church was organized in 1823, less than 4 years after Alabama became a state. Settlers from the Edgefield District of South Carolina had begun pouring into the state. These settlers were sturdy, self-reliant folk with little material possessions except for their guns, axes, and their precious Bibles, but they were rich in the Spirit of God. They built log cabins to live in a
nd, of course, they lovingly built a new log House of God. It was there that Sister Springs Church came into being, while the curious Indians slipped stealthily around on the outside. A short distance away, two clear springs bubbled from the ground, side by side-like sisters- this furnishing a name for the new church-Sister Springs. It was not as large or as prosperous as neighboring churches, but regular services were held. During this period, the number of missionary Baptist in the congregation began to grow. Friction arose between the missionary Baptist and the Primitive Baptist in the congregation. A meeting was held to see if the majority of the members wished the church to be a missionary or primitive church. When the vote was taken, the missionary Baptist won. One brother was so upset he grabbed his Bible, jumped to his feet and shouted: ‘All who believe this Book, instead of this bunch of unorthodox Baptist, follow me’ and he stalked out of the church. Some did follow but the majority remained and the light of God continued to shine in the little church. The church moved to its present location in the early 1860’s. The Church building had 3 doors- the main front door was used by only the men and the boys, the door on the right was used by the women and the girls, while the door on the left was used by the slaves. Sunday school was held irregularly as early as 1868 or 1869. Near the end of the century, the Sunday school was reorganized with W.D.S. Morgan as superintendent. When elected, Mr. Morgan promised the church that, if not providentially hindered, he would open the doors of the church every Sunday. This promise he kept faithfully for the forty years he served. Around 1949 or 1950, Sister Springs joined with Benton Baptist Church, Shiloh Baptist Church (Sardis), and Bethany Baptist Church (Collirene), to form a church field. A pastorium was purchased in Benton for the pastor of this field. J.W. Lester served as pastor for a few years. Following Rev. Lester’s resignation, Shiloh withdrew from the field to become a full time church. Several years later Sister Springs left the field and called Rev. Dave Reese as pastor. Perry Neal followed. He and Marcie would come from seminary on weekends and stay in a trailer by the church. Marcie would spend the week of Bible school here with us to help out. Little did we know at that time that Perry was in school with a young man named Gene Woodruff, who would spend 20 years of his ministry here at Sister Springs. In 1953, Rev. J. W. Lester describes Sister Springs in this way: The church is striving to provide complete educational facilities to minister to the entire life span of the family. This year the church was painted, air conditioned, screened, and a place built for the choir. The church has 4 acres which was heavily timbered. The timber was cut and sold for enough money to completely fence the church property. This fence is beautiful lawn fence on the front and heavy cattle wire on the sides and back. This fence, along with the cattle gap, offers protection from cattle and hogs. The church plans to reforest the 4 acres. Sister Springs gives generously to local and world missions. It has increased its mission gifts by 5% this year and has plans for an increase of 5% each year for the next 4 years. In the years since the Lord has richly blessed Sister Springs. In 1968, we broke ground for a pastorium. We burned the note on the pastorium in 1974, five years after the first payment was made. In late 1976, we began construction on a new sanctuary. It was dedicated in March of 1977. We were able to burn the note 12 years later in May of 1989. The very next month we started making payments on a $30,000 note borrowed to remodel the fellowship hall and Sunday school classrooms. The last payment on this was made in June of 1993. This time we burned a photo copy of the note. A new Sunday school class building was built in 1995. It has 4 adult Sunday school classrooms, 2 rest rooms and a storage closet. In recent years one classroom was converted into a music room. This year, 2023, we are 200 years old and we look forward to many more years in service of the Lord. With His love and His guidance we will continue to let his light shine through us now and for generations to come.
