By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
MONROE, La. (LBM) – First Baptist Church, Monroe, was at a crossroads in 2020 when they learned repairs to their 110-year-old facility would cost $16.3 million.
The congregation, which had worshipped at the same location since the church’s founding in 1854, could either make the necessary repairs or relocate and build at another location in the city.
After months of prayer and fasting and a series of congregational meetings, the church voted unanimously in June to sell its facility and build on Tower Drive, an area of town with a flurry of new construction projects.
Pastor James Doughty said the experience has been humbling. He believes God has opened doors for a move that will position the church to reach future generations for many years to come.
“Through the whole process, God has been so faithful,” Doughty said. “Everything in his timing has worked out perfectly. God aligned everything perfectly. God did it. The way God opened doors, the favor we had through the negotiations, it excites me to see the church be willing to do whatever it takes to reach people with the Gospel.”
Construction on the multi-purpose facility is expected to begin in early February, and the move is being facilitated by a friendly relationship between First Monroe and the St. Francis Medical Group.
The new First Monroe building will be located adjacent to the community health center of St. Francis Medical Group, which purchased the current First Monroe building.
St. Francis will allow the congregation to continue meeting where they are until the new campus is completed, estimated to be ready by Easter 2023.
Doughty said the congregation’s unity about the change says a lot about the members’ spiritual health and growth.
“I’m excited about the church’s decision,” Doughty said. “We told our members that the church isn’t a building, it’s the people. The thing that has excited me through this process is to see the church embody that in the vote. Their excitement about moving forward reminds me that God is not done with us at First Monroe.”
