New Prospect celebrating its bicentennial Sunday

HALEYVILLE - Six years after Alabama  became a state in 1819, before Winston County even existed as its own entity, God planted a church along the newly formed Byler Road.  That church has grown through the centuries, bringing countless numbers of  people to Christ.  This Sunday, October 6, that  history and God’s grace will be celebrated and praised, and everyone is invited.
New Prospect Baptist Church, located at 202 County Road 3463 off of Highway 195 near Haleyville, will celebrate its bicentennial this Sunday, beginning at 10 a.m with a service filled with worship and reflection over the milestone the church has reached. Guest speakers will include Congressman Robert Aderholt and Jimmy Austin with the Alabama Baptist Historical Association and the message will be brought by Dr. Mark Wakefield, state missionary with the Alabama State Baptist Convention.
The celebration is falling on the date for the church’s annual old-fashioned day service, so attendees are welcome to wear clothing reminiscent from any era in the church’s 200-year history.  Old hymns as well as modern songs will be sung  and old-fashioned games will be available for children to play.
A fellowship meal will be served following the service, and everyone is welcome to stay.  In the afternoon the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Order of the Confederate Rose will present living history demonstrations.
New Prospect holds a very special spot in not only county, but state religious history.  Not only is it the oldest Baptist church in Winston County, it is the third oldest Baptist Church in Alabama.  For New Prospect Pastor Dr. Ron Horton,  the planning of and the  culmination of the 200th anniversary of the church has been a blessing, as well as a bit overwhelming, when one really thinks about the magnitude of the event.
“It's amazing.  Our church started 48 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed.  We were not only a young nation, but New Prospect was a young church.  To be a part of something like that is kind of overwhelming.  I am proud to be a part of it,”  Horton said.
New Prospect was formed just two years after the Byler Road was completed through what would become Winston County.    Land records show that Jacob Byler, the brother of John Byler -  who the road was named after - owned the land surrounding the church, leading the church to believe the Byler family may have been  charter members of the church.
“When the church began in 1824, they were meeting in a log cabin.  Most of the homes back then were probably log cabins, too ,”  Horton said.
According to the church’s recorded history, the first church building was constructed in 1836 at the same location where the church is still located.
“We do know the first building was a 16x20 log cabin,” Ministry Assistant Marci Batchelor, who has worked tirelessly on helping to plan the church’s bicentennial celebration, noted.
“You had a building with four walls, wooden, unpadded pews.  What light was used was probably coal oil.  Obviously, they didn't meet like we meet today.  They may have met only once a month,”  Horton said.
The adjoining cemetery at New Prospect is one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in the area.  It is the final resting place for Revolutionary War veteran Captain Jacob Pruet/Pruitt, who ran a stand (inn and tavern) along the Byler Road near the church. Brigadier General Zachariah White, who fought with Andrew Jackson in the wars with Native Americans in the early 1800s, is also buried in the cemetery. Among their graves in what is considered the oldest part of the cemetery are several stones that reportedly mark the burial sites for enslaved persons, as well.
The original church building was replaced in 1884.  Forty years laters, that building was burned in an apparent arson.  The current older building on the church’s campus was constructed to replace it.  The present church building was dedicated on August 29, 1999.    
Horton has been thinking back over what the church’s pastors through the years have experienced and what the church has gone through, yet survived and thrived.
“Every era from 1824 until now has gone through things.  People go through things.  Countries go through things. The church has seen some difficult times, as far as our country,”  Horton said.
“We know that there were divisions in the church through the years,”  Batchelor said.  Look at the Civil War.  The church survived that.”
“9/11 was a difficult time for our country.  COVID was something we had never experienced.  Nobody knew or had a template on how to do ministry through a pandemic.  We would record a service with our worship team that would come on at 10 a.m. on Facebook and YouTube Sunday mornings.  I would come back out here on Sunday afternoon and get on Facebook Live and on Wednesday night and do Bible study and inform about the sick people in the church.  That is how we worked through it,”  Horton said.
“That is what kept the church together, him doing that,”  Batchelor said.
“You just stick together, pray and do what you know to do.  That's all you can do.  The Lord has blessed us down through the years,”  Horton said.
New Prospect has had other divisions through the years, too, but more fruitful ones, with its members planting seeds and churches elsewhere in the community.  Known as the “Mother Church,” New Prospect’s members went out and formed Macedonia Baptist Church, Haleyville First Baptist Church, Corinth Heights Baptist Church and Sunny Home Baptist Church, just to name a few.
Horton was called to New Prospect in early 1994 to serve as the church’s pastor.  He is now the longest-serving pastor in New Prospect’s history, serving for 30 years.  He is also currently the  longest-serving pastor in Winston County.  He and his wife, Renee, will also be honored as part of the service Sunday.  
Horton has kept diligent records through the years of baptisms, deaths and who has joined the church.
“I have baptized over 400 people in this church since I have been here,”  Horton said.  “The Lord has blessed us through the years.”
New Prospect has 700 members on its rolls at present, with approximately 175 active members.  The oldest living member currently is Gurvis Sutherland, 84, who joined the church in 1955.   The oldest member of the church, by age, is Ed Cagle, who is 91.
Along with Horton, there are only two other living New Prospect pastors.  Etsel Riddle served the church from 1969-1972 and Larry Dover served the church from 1983-1986.  
Horton and Batchelor said the bicentennial committee at the church deserves a lot of credit for the planning of the celebration.  Along with Horton and Batchelor, the committee members are Mike Batchelor, Mike Alexander, Terry Fannin, Billie Ruth Fannin, David Nolen, Memorie Nolen, Gurvis Sutherland, Frances Harbin and Carla Waldrep.
Batchelor is also very thankful to the Alabama Baptist Historical   Association for the ideas and help they have provided to the church, including ways to get the church youth involved.  In September, the church youth buried a time capsule to celebrate the bicentennial, with plans to dig it up in 25 years.
 “For the 30 years I have been here, I have tried to instill in the young members  to appreciate the history of the church,”  Batchelor said.
Horton and Batchelor both believe that many of the families in Winston and surrounding counties most likely have roots running through New Prospect, and they hope everyone will make plans to come out Sunday.
“We are hoping current members, former members and families of former members will come,”  Batchelor said.
“It has been a blessing to be here. I wouldn't change a thing about it,”  Horton said.
For those who do not have a current church home, Horton and Batchelor welcome them to come to New Prospect.  Sunday School begins at 9 a.m. each week, followed by worship service at 10 a.m.  Sunday evening worship is at 5 p.m. and Wednesday service is at 6:30 p.m.