1844-Present
Adoniram Baptist Church
Abbeville, Henry County Alabama AL
The Adoniram Baptist Church was one of 9 congregations that met in 1850 to form the Judson Missionary Baptist Association in Henry County, Alabama. The pastor of the church, W. B. Lacey, also served as pastor of the Abbeville Baptist Church. The Adoniram Church congregation with 120 members was the second largest in the group behind only the Judson Baptist Church with 166 members.[1] An interesting blip in history occurred around the Adoniram Church in 1888-1889 as recorded by local historian R. J. Lee:
About this time the Saville trouble started. It seemed that Saville came from Georgia where he has been turned out of the church for disorderly conduct. Later he reformed and was taken in by the Adoniram Church. Some of the ministers of the Association would not have fellowship with Adoniram because Saville had never been reprimanded by the Association and re-ordained. Finally Bro. A. J. Armstrong, who was a leader with influence, moved that it all be discarded and dropped. After a heated discussion the motion carried, but some of the churches withdrew from the Association. At this same time, the Association disolved (sic) fellowship with Adoniram. The following year Adoniram sent a delegation to the Association to apologize and ask to be re-admitted to the Association. Adoniram was re-admitted on the promise that all members received into the church during this period be taken off the rolls. That ended the Saville affair.[2]
In 1963 the Judson Missionary Baptist Association hired its first Director of Missions, Rev. Marvin Agee, with a very limited salary but with permission for this new director to also pastor one of the smaller churches in the association for additional income. By 1972 the Director of Missions, Rev. James Perry, was also serving as pastor of the Adoniram Baptist Church to support his family’s income.[3]
Compiler’s Note: Members of this congregation later migrated to Texas and named a church and the village of Judson, Texas, for their Alabama congregation. See entry 1883-Present, Village of Judson, Texas 75660.
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[1] R. J. Lee and Larry Smith, History of Judson Missionary Baptist Association, unpublished manuscript available from 532 Ozark Road, Abbeville, Alabama 36310, p. 1.
[2] Ibid., p. 8.
[3] Ibid., p. 19.