By Will Hall, Message Editor
ALEXANDRIA – Horseshoe Drive Baptist Church commemorated the dedication of its new worship center June 30, 1968, with a congregational photo, and interim Pastor Robert Daniel said he hopes for a reenactment Aug. 21 as members celebrate a “last service” in the recently renewed and updated facilities before re-launching as a revitalized congregation Sept. 18.
“This will be our final service as ‘Horseshoe Drive Baptist Church’ and we’re going to treat it as a homecoming,” said Daniel, director of missions for Central Louisiana Baptist Association. “We’re inviting past members and leaders to come and celebrate our legacy, but also to rejoice in the future God is unfolding for us as a reborn family of faith.”
He added that it is important to recognize all the impact the congregation has had as salt and light in Alexandria before it is reborn as a multi-site campus of Philadelphia Baptist Church in Deville.
“We’ll have a time of food and fellowship Sunday morning in place of Bible study classes,” he explained. “Worship services will include a message, but also a time to recognize pastors and long-time members who have contributed to this ministry since Nov. 16, 1958.”
The ‘final service” will serve as a point of closure, he explained, but also set the stage for the reboot of the congregation in the community.
Sept. 18, the campus will be re-launched as Philadelphia Baptist Church, Horseshoe Drive.
Daniel said the facilities have received more than just a facelift in recent months in anticipation of the multi-site service which will be inaugurated when the two congregations become one.
Pews have been reupholstered and refinished, and the front of the worship center has been redesigned, he said. The children’s ministry area has been completely redone, and the fellowship hall received some needed upkeep.
Likewise, he said the technology in the worship center has been upgraded.
Besides a major overhaul of the sound system, two wall-mounted 90-inch LED viewing panels have been installed on either side of the platform, and a 9 foot by 12 foot projection screen has been built into the platform and will rise up from the floor to facilitate joint services with the Deville campus.
“We invite past members to come celebrate with us,” Daniel said. “We also welcome the community to join us as well. But if they can’t make it Aug. 28, we’ll be out in force in just a few weeks to reintroduce ourselves to them!”
