DeWitt, Ark. – For more than 30 years, the members of First Baptist Church in DeWitt had a desire to construct an activities building.
Last year, God answered their prayer.
In June 2023, the congregation moved forward with the idea, voting in favor of constructing an activities building. They broke ground on the new building that July.
Within a year, in April 2024, the church celebrated the construction of the new building with a dedication service.
The building is 9,600 square feet and includes a full-size gymnasium, a large meeting room for youth, two restrooms, a kitchen and more.
The church did have to borrow a little money to build the new facility, but quickly paid it off. On Sunday, July 28, the church celebrated debt-free status with a note burning ceremony.
At the note burning ceremony, the congregation surprised Pastor Jimmy Albrecht by naming the new building – the Albrecht Activities Building aka “The Eagle’s Nest” – in honor of him. The recognition left him in tears.
Albrecht’s wife, Tammy, said it was the first time she had ever seen him completely speechless.
“It was a real honor,” Albrecht, who has pastored at the church for 11 years, said. “Everybody is just excited. This year has been a phenomenal year for our church.”
At the beginning of the year, Albrecht said the church was running about 140 in attendance at worship. Now, they are running about 250. Additionally, so far this year they have had 26 baptisms with three more scheduled for Sunday.
“It’s just been a phenomenal year at our church … and it’s nothing that I have been doing other than trying to stay out of God’s way,” Albrecht said.
He called the completion of the building in relation to the increase in attendance “perfect timing.”
“God knew what was coming,” Albrecht said.
