This year, Cleveland First Baptist Church celebrates its 125th Anniversary! The following article was published in the Blount Countian shortly after our current church building was constructed in 2000.
New Church Links Past and Future
- by Sue Tidwell
Light rain dampened neither the spirit nor excitement of members of the First Baptist Church of Cleveland as they let their red brick building on Sunday, Aug. 27, and, taking turns carrying a large wooden cross, marched en masse to their striking new white church.
The church was organized in August 1893 as New Harmony #2 Baptist Church with 17 charter members. Members met for four months with Pine Grove Baptist while their church building was under construction. That building, standing in front of Cleveland High School, was occupied until 1908, when the church purchased a site on what becomes U.S. 231 in the heart of Cleveland.
The large wooden structure built there was designed with two Gothic towers and housed sanctuary, Sunday school rooms, and a library. Following a Wednesday night prayer meeting July 4, 1944, the building was destroyed by fire. A two-story red brick structure was erected to replace it.
The name of the church had been changed in 1899 to Cleveland Baptist Church and in 1970 to the First Baptist Church of Cleveland.
Farsighted members bought 10.75 acres facing Ala 79 in July 1992, but ground was not broken for the new building until March 28, 1999. The last section of cement slab was poured Nov. 19 that year and the metal structure erected in January 2000. Members, Carpenters for Christ, and Friendship Baptist Association volunteers raised the interior walls beginning Memorial Day and finishing the week following.
Member Tommy Head drew plans for the new building with towers that matched those of the 1908 structure. Head remembered climbing in those towers as a little boy.
In a remarkable extension of design, Leeds Stained Glass lengthened by two feet a piece removed from behind the baptistry of the 1944 building to fill the larger, corresponding space in the new church. It is flanked by stained glass windows, which are also seen in the foyer and lining the walls of the sanctuary. An immense one in front portrays Jesus praying in the garden.
In a place of honor in the foyer are two original pews with curved seats and the pulpit from the 1908 church, all carefully restored by the church family. Those pieces, too, are reminiscent of Gothic design.
Interior walls are sheetrock, painted Shaker beige, with oak parquet under the choir space. Oak pews are of Gothic design with deep green seats and backs, the color repeated in the carpet.
Twenty-four-inch tiles form a cathedral ceiling over the sanctuary and foyer. Recessed lighting highlights the stage and reflects off the outer walls, while the chandeliers give an antique effect.
Seating capacity is 340 for the main floor, 100 for the yet unfinished balcony, and 60 for the choir. The church reports 467 members. Value of the new building is well over $1 million but the actual cost of construction is much less because of volunteer labor.
Classrooms are grouped according to age, with primary colors for children’s furniture. Some of the 20 classrooms have decorative ceiling borders. A fellowship hall, fully equipped kitchen with oak cabinets, and plenty of serving space will see much use.
Offices include a study for pastor Ralph McGowan, who came to the church in July 1999. Jim Reid, choir director, considers the two-foot curve for the choir loft seats to be a dream come true.
Church members consider the much larger quarters adequate to accommodate the rapidly growing Cleveland community. They are delighted to be in the new building, even though it still needs a few finishing touches. A dedication service will be planned when everything is complete.
Hope House purchased the vacated building, where it is offering a range of free services to Blount County residents in need.
The 1908 pews and pulpit and the baptistry stained glass window from the old building give the congregation a connection between past, present, and future.