Garywood Assembly of God
Encyclopedia
Garywood Assembly of God is a large church in Hueytown, Alabama
; a western suburb of Birmingham
. It is affiliated with the Assemblies of God.
Dorine Justice. The church began with just 14 members. Justice served as pastor for the first year. Between 1950 and 1979 there were eleven different pastors, during which time church growth was slow. In 1979, Pastor John A. Loper, then an official with the Alabama District of the Assemblies of God
, accepted the pastorate. During this time the church's radio outreach, Garywood Alive, was aired. This soon evolved into a television outreach as well.
The church is known throughout metro Birmingham for its annual Easter
Drama, which began in 1977 and produced each year since, except for 2005. The church also hosted an annual Garywood Camp meeting, which for many years was billed as the largest "spiritual gathering" in Alabama, featuring well-known figures Vestal Goodman
, Marvin Gorman, Jesse Duplantis
and John Kilpatrick
(of Brownsville Revival
fame).
for relocation. Original plans currently include a 2,500-seat state-of-the-art auditorium, large facilities for youth, children's ministry and greatly expanded capacity for Garywood Christian School
. However, the church sold the property to Colonial Properties Trust
in 2006, and is using the proceeds of the sale to build a new facility approximately one mile away from the first site. Groundbreaking for the new facility, just off Charles Hamilton Road and Old Tuscaloosa Road, took place on November 18, 2007. Construction of the new facility was scheduled to begin in January 2008 and be completed sometime in 2009. However, because of the ongoing economic situation, the move has been delayed indefinitely, and new construction has not begun.
Hueytown, Alabama
Hueytown is a city in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 16,105.It was the home of the legendary NASCAR Alabama Gang...
; a western suburb of Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
. It is affiliated with the Assemblies of God.
Founding
Garywood Assembly was founded in 1947 during a tent crusade by evangelistEvangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
Dorine Justice. The church began with just 14 members. Justice served as pastor for the first year. Between 1950 and 1979 there were eleven different pastors, during which time church growth was slow. In 1979, Pastor John A. Loper, then an official with the Alabama District of the Assemblies of God
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
, accepted the pastorate. During this time the church's radio outreach, Garywood Alive, was aired. This soon evolved into a television outreach as well.
Annual events
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
Drama, which began in 1977 and produced each year since, except for 2005. The church also hosted an annual Garywood Camp meeting, which for many years was billed as the largest "spiritual gathering" in Alabama, featuring well-known figures Vestal Goodman
Vestal Goodman
Vestal Goodman was a singer who performed in the Southern Gospel genre for more than half a century. She is known both as a solo performer and as a founding member of official The Happy Goodman Family, the first was actually her husband and his brothers and sisters, one of the pioneering groups in...
, Marvin Gorman, Jesse Duplantis
Jesse Duplantis
Jesse Duplantis is an Evangelical Charismatic Christian minister based in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., and the founder of Jesse Duplantis Ministries.-Biography :...
and John Kilpatrick
John Kilpatrick
John Reed Kilpatrick was an American athlete, soldier, and sports businessperson. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame....
(of Brownsville Revival
Brownsville Revival
The Brownsville Revival was a widely-reported religious phenomenon that began within the Pentecostal movement on Father's Day June 18, 1995 at Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida...
fame).
Attendance
Under Loper's pastorate, attendance at Garywood grew from 250 to nearly 1,500 people, making it one of the largest churches in Alabama as well as one of the fastest growing churches in the nation. In 1981, construction began on a new 1,600 seat sanctuary. It opened Easter Sunday 1982 to a capacity crowd. Attendannce has since been reduced significantly.Property acquisitions
In 2003 Garywood's congregation overwhelmingly voted to buy property on I-459 near McCalla, AlabamaMcCalla, Alabama
McCalla is an unincorporated community in Jefferson and Tuscaloosa Counties, Alabama, United States, southwest of Bessemer and the geographic terminus of the Appalachian Mountains.- Recreation :...
for relocation. Original plans currently include a 2,500-seat state-of-the-art auditorium, large facilities for youth, children's ministry and greatly expanded capacity for Garywood Christian School
Garywood Christian School
Garywood Christian School was a Christian private school located in Hueytown, Alabama, in the western suburbs of Birmingham. It is affiliated with Garywood Assembly of God, a large Pentecostal church that houses the school's facilities...
. However, the church sold the property to Colonial Properties Trust
Colonial Properties
"Colonial Mall" redirects here. All malls with that name are owned by this company.Colonial Properties Trust , headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is a diversified Real Estate Investment Trust company...
in 2006, and is using the proceeds of the sale to build a new facility approximately one mile away from the first site. Groundbreaking for the new facility, just off Charles Hamilton Road and Old Tuscaloosa Road, took place on November 18, 2007. Construction of the new facility was scheduled to begin in January 2008 and be completed sometime in 2009. However, because of the ongoing economic situation, the move has been delayed indefinitely, and new construction has not begun.