By Grace Thornton
The Alabama Baptist
Brad Doss said when he and his wife, Connie, moved to the Alabama coast after 27 years of ministry, they didn’t have a plan. They just knew God was calling them there to do something different.
“I sat down with Rick Ellison (director of missions for Baldwin Baptist Association) to talk about ministry opportunities, and he asked me if I would consider planting a church,” Doss said. “Our first response was, ‘I don’t really know,’ but then God got a hold of us.”
Fast forward about a year, and they’re leading Life Church, a church plant in the Glenlakes area of Foley. The church is based around Bible study groups who meet on Tuesday and Thursday nights and gather for worship on Sunday nights.
“Before COVID-19, we were rolling along pretty well and had good numbers considering we were new,” Doss said.
But then the RV resort clubhouse where they met closed, and that allowed someone else to be a part of what God was doing — Friendship Baptist Church, Bon Secour.
Doss picked up the phone and called Charles Inman, pastor of Friendship Baptist, their watch-care church with Baldwin Association.
And Inman said come on.
“We have a large family life center that they’re now using for worship,” Inman said.
At Friendship Baptist, they’ve got ample facilities and have been praying for a new season, he said. Ever since he first read articles about church revitalization in The Alabama Baptist, he’s been leading his church to look for ways to move toward revitalization — including partnering with a church plant.
“We’re excited about having them here,” Inman said.
Doss said he’s been grateful for the graciousness of Friendship Baptist — it’s allowed them to keep meeting and prepare to start their home-based Bible studies in July.
Their help, along with the incredible assistance of Baldwin Association and Rick Barnhart, director of the office of associational missions and church planting for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, have made a massive difference in what they’ve been able to do, Doss said.
“We’re thankful for all the support and training,” he said. “We’re focusing on evangelism and discipleship and getting people in a place where they can hear the gospel. And God is at work.”
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