SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Bible Baptist Church came full circle three years ago when its membership roll hit eight, the same number of parishioners who chartered the independent, fundamentalist church in 1972.

Today, the congregation averages about 35 worshipers each Sunday, and long-range plans are on the table for construction of a multipurpose building to accommodate the growth Pastor Richard Ullo said he’s confident is coming.

“For the longest time — and rightfully so — Bible Baptist Church has been recognized as an older, dying church, but we’re bringing it back to life. We’re coming alive and ever becoming part of the community again. We’re just in a slow-growth phase,” he said.

The unassuming building sits on four acres just off Spanish Fort Boulevard and purchased in 1972 under the leadership of Pastor Roger Dale Keener.

Within three years, Bible Baptist offered a 300-seat auditorium and a secondary Sunday school building that also housed Eastern Shore Christian School.

Tragedy struck in 1976, however, when Keener was killed in a plane crash while traveling to procure a new church van. The congregation has struggled for 35 years to maintain momentum, but few believed the house of worship could ever be restored to its former presence that peaked with more than 200 members with Keener at the helm.

“It was never completely forgotten. Evangelists and interim pastors would come through, but nobody really came to the community and really became part of the community,” Ullo said.

‘Why are we praying about something we know we should do?’

Ullo, who hails from Eastern Texas, said he never had any intentions of settling in Spanish Fort, but it’s funny how things work out.

In fact, he was en route to South Carolina to candidate, an audition of sorts, with a church there that he said would have been a “fabulous opportunity” for him and his family, but he felt called to do the same in Spanish Fort.

Fourteen parishioners, including his family, listened to him deliver his sermon that Sunday in 2008, and then they left for South Carolina.

Although Ullo said he felt the tug to head north after candidating at both locales, something drew him into Spanish Fort on their return trip to Louisiana, and the entire family got out of the vehicle and prayed over the dwindling little church.

He and his wife spent the following week praying about the dilemma, he said, before he walked in one day, and she asked him, “This is just stupid. Why are we praying about something we know we should do?”

That was November of 2008, and within eight months, the family had relocated from Louisiana, and the building — both physical and spiritual — began.

The front door was falling apart.

The grass out front stood nearly six feet tall.

The windows were made of plastic.

The décor had been left untouched since its 1972 debut.

So the Ullos and a core group of dedicated volunteers set about each project one at a time, transforming the former auditorium into a cozy sanctuary, complete with a donated baby grand piano and organ.

The foyer and restrooms have been updated, front door replaced and a former utility closet has been opened up and converted into a functional nursery just ahead of four partitioned Sunday school classrooms.

“What we were able to do was create some room to at least get things started,” Ullo said, adding, “The Lord has supplied all of our gifts along the way. He has really taken care of us.”

Growth phase looming

The lettering along the side of the church’s van really sums everything up.

“Come grow with us,” it reads, and Ullo is hopeful several of the initiatives and plans in the works during the coming months will do exactly that.

The van, for instance, can be used to shuttle those unable to make services on their own to and from the church.

Meanwhile, church leaders are preparing to take bids on a new, 8,500-square-foot multipurpose building to accommodate anticipated growth, but Ullo said no one’s rushing into anything. The design work and a site plan have already been completed, but no timetable has been set for moving forward.

“In this economy, and still being small, getting the funds to do that is very hard,” he said, noting grant funding earmarked for church revitalization will be sought to help offset the cost of the $750,000 to $1 million project.

“Small churches like this can’t pull that out of their pockets,” he said.

What they can do, however, is monitor growth and respond accordingly with the appropriate ministries such as music and children’s ministries that have fallen by the wayside.

Although, Ullo said Bible Baptist’s role in Spanish Fort’s diverse spiritual community is to offer a “conservative, traditional approach in a more modern world.”

Of course, nothing says they have to be boring about it.

“We still want to be an exciting and vibrant church,” he said.

Ullo also noted that interest has been expressed in giving the main building’s façade a facelift and keeping with the city’s classical Spanish-themed design for its proposed municipal complex and community center.

The work completed to date, however, has already begun to spark interest and drive new parishioners through the door, and Ullo credits his congregation’s zeal in ministering to the community.

“We still go out and knock doors and pass out tracts, but what we really want is people with a dedicated desire to serve the Lord and not just attend church socially. We want people who will come and stay and become part of this wonderful thing we’re building,” he said.