Bigger and better in Gardendale

Gardendale is blooming.

And one of God's houses there is set to sprout some new leaves this weekend.

When the Rev. Terry Easley became the pastor at First Southern Baptist Church in Gardendale about four years ago, the congregation's core attendance consisted of about 15 people.

Since then, attendance has increased more than 500 percent to its current assembly of about 100 people every Sunday morning.

Of course, the church's ebb and flow is nothing new to Ida Kennedy, who helped begin the church exactly 30 years ago Wednesday when she had the first service in her and her husband's living room. Two bedrooms down the hall became classrooms every weekend for the next nine months.

During that time, a lone sign in her front yard succinctly said it all: "CHURCH."

"I had no idea if we would actually begin a church," Kennedy said.

What began meagerly in her living room then grew and grew, then shrank and shrank, then grew and grew, and so on with the trends in the petroleum-based economy of the Permian Basin during the 1980s and 1990s.

"Our membership has increased, and then, for one reason or another, it would drop back down. That's just like any church," Kennedy said. "Odessa has always been like that. People would come here when there was a lot of work, and then when the work fell in the petroleum industry, then they would move away to find jobs. Odessa has always been like that."

It seems the 21st century has been good to the church, and Gardendale, too, for that matter.

"It's thrilling, and Gardendale is growing so rapidly," Kennedy said. "There are houses being built continually out here now."

This growth has reached the First Southern Baptist Church, and, oh Lord, is the space getting a little limited in there.

"We're so limited in our space, it's hindered us in our ability to accommodate," Easley said.

So the church is finalizing plans to break ground Sunday on a $500,000 addition that will include a new 7,500-square-foot main sanctuary with a capacity of about 300 people and several more classrooms. When completed, Easley said the new building should have nine more classrooms than the four it does now.

"It's just God pouring out his blessings on us," the pastor said. "Gardendale is in a booming area."

He said construction costs will be met through donations rather than loans or bonds because the church does not want debt hanging over its head.

"It'll just be through donations to our building fund," Easley said. "Whatever God sends our way. We're not going out for bonds. It'll just be through personal gifts. It's coming along, but we're not there yet."

He said the new facility is important for those in the congregation who "can't feel comfortable if they feel cramped."

Regardless of the church's physical growth, Easley said its core mission will not change, even if the city of Gardendale continues to boom.

"A church should serve as the lighthouse for the community," he said. "You know, as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter if it's a big town or small city."

According to the 2000 Census, the Gardendale population was about 1,200. Greg Simmons, the county commissioner representing the area, said that number today likely is "quite a bit higher than that."

He said the growth of the church is indicative of the growth of the area, which he attributed to several factors,
including the availability of larger, suburban plots of land and the trend of the Odessa area's sprawl heading generally north and east, or northeast, where they can "achieve their dream" of owning a small piece of land.

"And there's a lot of appeal to a lot of people to live up there in Goldsmith or Gardendale outside the city limits," Simmons said. "They have a little more room up there."

He said the "foresight" of Gardendale's leaders led to the creation of a water district in 2007, and that added appeal to the area and spurred some of its recent growth.

And all this growth is the result of Gardendale residents, not some governmental master plan.

"It's proof that if you just let people go about their business, they'll take care of themselves," Simmons said. "They're growing not because of anything we're doing."

Today, the town's post office delivers mail to approximately 550 addresses along its route and another 330 within its facility, Gardendale postal worker Jaci Bernhardt said.
"Churches follow pockets of people too, so up there, as the populations grow, the churches will too," Simmons said.

Kennedy, 30 years later, said she is just proud to have played a part in the church's history, proud to have had the opportunity to serve God and bring one of his houses to the community that today is thriving.

"Of course, any change in Gardendale thrills me," she said, "and especially the church, because I feel that everybody needs to have some spiritual roots somewhere."

First southern baptist church of gardendale timeline

>> The First Southern Baptist Church convened for the first time at 10 a.m. April 22, 1979, in the living room of Gardendale residents Houston and Ida Kennedy. Nine adults and five children were present.
>> Brother Jack Duncan was appointed pastor of the church in 1979.
>> The group voted that day to organize into a church and continued meeting in the Kennedys' living room for morning and evening services for nine months.
>> Mid-week prayer meetings were on Wednesday evenings at the home of Ray and Loyce Chasteen.
>> The congregation became a mission of Odessa's Immanuel Baptist Church.
>> Sunday services were at the Gardendale Community center for two years.
>> Hence Barrow donated a plot of land at the corner of Chinaberry Avenue and Goldenrod Drive.
>> The current building was dedicated on April 10, 1983.

 If you go
>> What: Groundbreaking ceremony for church addition.
>> When: 12:30 p.m. Sunday; celebratory meal followed by the groundbreaking about 1 p.m.
>> Where: First Southern Baptist Church, 6849 E. Goldenrod Drive,  Gardendale.
>> Call: 561-9024.

ON THE NET
What do you think about living in the suburbs?
>> Boring. I can't sleep without the sound of gunfire scaring me to sleep.
>> Too quaint. I like the inner-city smell of feces and gasoline.
>> Too far. I can't afford the commute.
>> I love it. Living in the city is the ultimate Industrial Revolution cliché.
Vote online at www.oaoa.com.