Ensley Baptist Church

Ensley Baptist Church was a Baptist church located on the corner of Avenue E and 23rd Street in Ensley.

The church was organized on February 11, 1900 as a mission of the First Baptist Church of Birmingham by a group of 55 who had been meeting above a hardware store on Avenue E. They erected their first building that year on the corner of Avenue G and 18th Street, adding a pastorage in 1906.

In 1911 the church began a new building on its present site and converted the older one into a Sunday School building. A new more substantial education building was constructed beginning in 1924. The church took out a loan four years later to pay off the debt on that building and extend it forward forming a new sanctuary.

The massive brick building with limestone trim features tall Jacobean arched windows and deep buttresses supporting tall side walls with clerestory windows. The front wall has a gabled pediment and the education buildings are arranged on the back corners forming a "T" shape.

Another building campaign in 1962 added a new education wing with an elevator and provided for renovations to the sanctuary.

The church held its final service on September 25, 2005 after deciding to sell its buildings to Abyssinia Baptist Church.

Pastors

• J. W. Willis, (1900-)
• D. M. Gardner
• C. B. Miller
• H. W. Provence or S. M. Province
• J. H. Longcrier
• O. P. Bentley
• A. K. Wright
• W. C. Kirk
• Lamar Jackson
• Garnett Puckett
• Hayward Smith
• Bob Curlee, 1967–1972
• Jack Farmer, 1980s

References

• Prince, A. G. (1982) Landmarks of Ensley: Past and Present. revised edition. Ensley: Best Printing Service
• Brooks, Lauren (October 6, 2005) "Ensley Baptist Church closes after 105 years" The Alabama Baptist