A Church on Danville Road, Built Around Three Phrases
Decatur Baptist Church gathers at 2527 Danville Road SW in Decatur, Alabama, with a simple motto painted across its materials: Loving God, Loving People, Serving Both. Everything from the Sunday morning schedule to the way it organizes its missions strategy flows from that phrase. The church calls itself a multi-generational, multi-cultural Christian congregation, and it opens its doors to anyone walking in, no matter their background.
The building itself is a working campus: an Auditorium for the main Sunday gathering, Holmes Chapel for prayer and student worship, a gym used by senior adults and youth alike, classrooms lettered A, C, and W that house everything from youth small groups to widows' fellowship, and a Family Life Center upstairs where middle and high school students meet in a space called The Axis.
From Moulton Heights to a Community Church
The congregation began in 1898 as a Southern Baptist church under the leadership of Pastor J. Gunn. In September 1906 it purchased land at 1820 Old Moulton Road and took the name Moulton Heights Baptist Church. During the ministry of Dr. Walter Quesenberry, between 1957 and 1961, the church stepped away from the Southern Baptist Convention and identified as an Independent Baptist Church.
The church outgrew the Moulton Heights property and moved to its present Danville Road location in April 1988. Wanting to identify more closely with the surrounding area, the members voted in 1992 to change the name to Decatur Baptist Church, and the new name was well received by the congregation and the city. In 2005, the church voted to return to its roots and again align with the Southern Baptist Convention.
Under the long tenure of Dr. Doug Ripley, who served from 1985 until 2019, the church grew from a small neighborhood congregation into a large community church and helped start churches around the world. The conviction that shaped that season still shapes the church today: that the Great Commission is to make disciples who make disciples.
What a Sunday Morning Looks Like
Visitors arriving on Sunday will find special guest parking near the front entrance, parking attendants to help with a spot, and greeters who meet people at the door of the main worship center. The morning has two anchored moments.
Small Groups begin at 8:30 am across the campus. Coffee is available, and classes are organized so that a visitor can find one suited to their stage of life, including singles, parents of preschoolers, parents of elementary children, parents of young adults, couples in Christ, mature single ladies, legacy builders, empty nesters, Bereans, and senior adults. Each class has its own room, director, and teacher pair. There is also a Latino Sunday School class that meets in Room A203, directed by Adam and Kimberly Haden and taught by Luigi Garcia, for those who prefer to learn and fellowship in Spanish.
The Worship Service begins at 10 am in the Auditorium. Music from the choir, ensembles, and soloists gives way to a Bible message from Lead Pastor Joe McKaig. The service is also livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook for those who cannot be in the room.
Sunday evenings shift to the Spiritual Growth Process, which begins at 5:45 pm in rooms across the campus. The classes that meet then include Cost of Discipleship, Discipleship 1, Discipleship 2, Ministry Tools and Training, Financial Peace, DivorceCare, and GriefShare. Students have their own evening gathering: a free dinner at 5:30 pm in the North Gatheria, followed by a student-led worship service at 6 pm in Holmes Chapel. Children ages 3 through 5th grade gather for AWANA at 5:45 pm during the school year, memorizing Bible verses and working through high-energy games and activities.
Wednesday Nights: House of Prayer
The rhythm of the week gathers again on Wednesday evening. House of Prayer meets at 6:30 pm in Holmes Chapel. Members describe it as a special time of praise and prayer with others, a quieter and more intimate counterpoint to the Sunday morning service. On the first Wednesday of each month, students join the adults in Holmes Chapel for a Missions Night that focuses on the missionaries DBC supports.
Children have their own Wednesday gathering at 6:30 pm called Kid's Music & Missions, where they prepare to sing and act on stage in upcoming performances through songs, motions, and drama. Middle and high school students meet at 6:30 pm in The Axis upstairs above the gym for coffee and fellowship, then split: middle school students move to The Loft for Bible study, while high school students stay in The Axis. The format combines up-front teaching with small-group table discussions, and the curriculum walks students through key Old Testament characters and how to study the Bible themselves.
Adults who are not already part of a Wednesday group have options as well. Celebrate Recovery meets Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm as a Christ-centered 12-step program for those working through hurts, habits, and hang-ups, with open-share groups for men, women, codependency, chemical dependency, eating disorders, and abuse recovery.
Children: Parents Helping Parents
The Children's Ministry operates under a simple motto: Parents Helping Parents to Raise Godly Children. The premise is that it takes a whole community to raise children right, and the church wants to play its part by strengthening the family.
Birth through Pre-K children have their own Small Group Bible Study at 8:30 am and a Preschool Worship at 10 am with interactive songs and stories designed just for them. Kindergarten through 5th grade have a chronological Bible curriculum in Sunday School at 8:30 and a high-energy Kid's Worship at 10 am with praise music, object lessons, videos, and games. Parents drop children off through the Children's building entrance, fill out a one-time registration form, receive a matching parent badge and child sticker, and pick up by returning the badge after the service. AWANA extends the week on Sunday evenings during the school year, and Kid's Music & Missions extends it again on Wednesdays.
The Preschool Director is Judy Knight, and the Elementary Director is Debbie Albano, both working with the Student Pastor and the Lead Pastor's team.
Students: 6th Through 12th Grade
Student Pastor Cody Hyde oversees a ministry that is built around three weekly touchpoints. On Sunday mornings students begin with Small Group Fellowship from 8:30 to 8:55 am and a grade-and-gender-specific Small Group Bible Study from 9 to 9:30 am. They join the rest of the church for worship at 10 am. The middle and high school small groups divide by grade, with current groupings such as 6th-8th Grade Boys, 6th-7th Grade Girls, 9th-10th Grade Boys, and 11th-12th Grade Girls, meeting in FLC classrooms above the gym.
Sunday nights begin with a free student dinner at 5:30 pm, followed by worship at 5:45 pm in Holmes Chapel led by the student praise team. On Wednesdays at 6:30 pm, the students gather in The Axis for coffee and fellowship, then split between The Loft for middle schoolers and The Axis for high schoolers for Bible study. Once a month, all students join the adults in House of Prayer for the Missions Night.
Young Adults, Women, Men, and the Latino Ministry
The Young Adults ministry, called YAMS, welcomes single adults ages 18 to 29 as well as the recently married and nearly wed. Sunday mornings begin with a free breakfast at 8:30 am and small group at 9 am in The Axis, directed by Seth and Nikki Keenum. A second group, the Young Adults Married class, meets in Room A208 under Noah Holladay and Kaleb Godbee. On the last Thursday of every month the young adults gather at 6 pm for coffee and donuts and a worship service at 6:30 pm.
The Women's Ministry reaches across the life stages with a number of smaller recurring gatherings. Women's Missions meets the third Wednesday of each month from 9:30 am to noon in Room A101 to write cards to missionaries. Widow's Fellowship meets the second Tuesday of each month from 11:30 am to 1 pm in Room A101. Ladies Soft Touch Ministry meets the second Wednesday of each month at 10 am in Room A202 to make fleece tie blankets for people battling cancer, praying over each recipient as they work. Linda Bolton coordinates Widow's Fellowship, Loretta Clark coordinates Soft Touch.
The Men's Ministry centers on the phrase faith that is forged, drawn from 1 Peter 1:7, and exists to equip, engage, and encourage men to step into the biblical responsibilities given to husbands, fathers, and church leaders. Seth Keenum oversees the ministry and can be reached through the church office.
The Latino Ministry holds a Sunday School class in Spanish in Room A203 and welcomes any Spanish-speaker interested in learning more by emailing latinos@decaturbaptist.org.
Praise, Worship, and the Production Team
The music ministry at DBC is led by Praise & Worship Pastor Will Stutts and Music Pastor Rex Terry. The team is built around a vision from Psalm 40:3 and includes a Praise Band that leads each Sunday service, an Orchestra that leads and accompanies the Adult Celebration Choir, the Adult Celebration Choir, the Student Choir for junior and senior high school students, and Kids' Praise for elementary children. A Production Team handles sound, lighting, cameras, and projection, making the livestream possible. There is no experience required to join the production team, and the church welcomes singers and instrumentalists to apply.
What They Believe
DBC asks all teachers and leaders to use the King James Version in teaching and preaching. Members are free to use another translation for personal devotions, and the church occasionally uses other translations in guest speakers, literature, and videos.
The statement of faith covers the Bible as the divinely inspired, inerrant revelation of God; the one true God revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the person and work of Jesus Christ, including His virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death, physical resurrection, ascension, and premillennial return; the full deity of the Holy Spirit and His work in regeneration, illumination, and sanctification; the creation of humanity in God's image and the fall into sin; the reality and defeat of Satan; salvation by grace through personal faith in Christ, including regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification; the eternal security of the believer; the church as an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers with baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper as its two ordinances; dispensationalism with a consistent distinction between Israel and the church; the inspiration and authority of Scripture as the church's final standard; biblical marriage as the union of one man and one woman; and the church's responsibility to oppose sin, care for the needy, and contend for the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death.
The church teaches that same-sex marriages and civil unions will not be performed on its properties or by its ministers, whether on or off church-owned properties, and it will not host anniversary, baby shower, or baby dedication events for same-sex couples. The pastor, pastoral staff, and deacons hold final authority on interpretation of the statement of faith.
Support Groups and Recovery
DBC sees itself as a place for people who are hurting, not only for committed members. The support group ministry, directed by Seth Keenum, includes DivorceCare for those going through separation or divorce, with a biblically based curriculum and small-group discussion. GriefShare serves those who have lost a loved one, walking through topics like when dreams fall apart, the seasons of grief, where God is in suffering, and longing for heaven. Financial Peace University, based on Dave Ramsey's teaching, helps families get out of debt and build wealth. Men's and Women's 12-Step groups, as well as Life's Healing Choices, round out the recovery offerings. Each of these groups meets during the Sunday evening Spiritual Growth Process block at 5:45 pm, with the exception of Celebrate Recovery on Thursday evenings.
From the City to the Ends of the Earth
Missions is woven through the entire life of the church. The strategy is organized into four concentric circles drawn from Acts 1:8.
The Jerusalem team focuses on the local area and partners with ministries such as the Committee on Church Cooperation, The Alabama Jubilee, Sav-A-Life Pregnancy Center, First Priority of Decatur, Clothe Our Kids of North Alabama, and the Neighborhood Christian Center. Each year the church holds a Community Impact Celebration (CIC) in the spring to celebrate what God has done in Decatur over the past year and to look ahead to the coming year. A rotating Monthly Impact Partner gives the church a way to focus its energy on one local nonprofit at a time, with named volunteer contacts such as Shontez Wynn at Community Action Partnership's Meals on Wheels, Jessica Payne at the Community Free Clinic, Sylvia Miller at Elijah's Blanket (which makes blankets for NICU families), Larry Franks at First Priority and Clothe Our Kids, Landis Griffin at Habitat for Humanity, Pam Bolding at the Neighborhood Christian Center, Veronna Keen at Sav-A-Life Pregnancy Center, Beverly Henry at Hospice of the Valley, and Jeff Denard at The Circle Ranch, which serves foster children and fostering families in North Alabama.
The Judea team helps with the organizational needs of new churches being planted across the United States, planning trips for outreach, Vacation Bible School, prayer walks, and sports camps. The Samaria team oversees missionaries supported in the Americas. The Ends of the Earth team extends to Africa, Asia, and Europe/Middle East through partnerships and short-term journeys.
Each fall the church hosts a Global Impact Celebration (GIC), gathering missionaries from around the world. Recent missionaries joining the GIC have included Larry and Tammy Allred in Mexico, Justin and Mandy Bedwell in Zambia, Tim and Pamela Bolding in Alabama, Stanley and Lynn Kilgore in the Philippines, Daniel and Hannah Reid in Georgia, Shaun and Jeri Vance in Kenya, and Erion and Jonida Vogli in Albania.
Mission journeys have taken teams to Louisville for Centershot Eastern Nationals, Ringgold for Harvest Deaf Ministries, Portland, the Dominican Republic, Chipata and Southern Province in Zambia, London, Albania, Croatia for the Refresh Conference, the Philippines for Christmas outreach, and Malawi. Members can sign up for specific trips and submit Faith Promise and Life Commitment cards to support the work financially and with their own availability.
The 2030 Vision
The church has set out a five-year plan that runs under the theme The Mission Continues: Winning, Growing, Going, anchored in Isaiah 37:30-32.
The Take Root phase focuses on discipling every member, training and mobilizing every member to evangelize in daily life, training 25 members for full-time pastoral or missionary service, mobilizing 250 members as Missionary Champions, and training 1,500 church planters through partnerships.
The Bear Fruit phase aims to mobilize 300 members to serve nonprofits in Decatur and Morgan County, see 250,000 people trust Christ, plant 24,000 churches, and engage one unreached people group.
The Go Forth phase looks toward sending 5 DBC families to plant a church in the continental United States, 30 short-term mission teams of a month or less, 15 long-term mission teams of a month or more, and 6 DBC family units to the foreign mission field in full-time ministry.
The Lead Pastor and Staff
Lead Pastor Joe McKaig returned to DBC in January 2019 after 14 years away. Both he and his wife Debbie grew up in the area. He first served at DBC as Student Pastor beginning in 1991, then moved to Cartersville, Georgia, where he spent 14 years as Lead Pastor of Oakland Heights Baptist Church before God brought the family back. A graduate of Louisiana Baptist University, Joe has invested more than 20 years of ministry into the local church. He has also served as a chaplain for both the Cartersville and Decatur Police Departments. He and Debbie have two children, Lauren and Drew, and the family's shared passion is to see families serving together to share the gospel in Decatur and around the world.
The pastoral team includes Cody Hyde as Student Pastor, Danny Holmes as Pastor of Small Groups, Seth Keenum as Spiritual Development Pastor overseeing the discipleship process and support groups, Will Stutts as Praise & Worship Pastor, Rex Terry as Music Pastor, and Jeff Gilliam as Director of Finance. Behind them, Judy Knight serves as Preschool Director and Assistant to the Student Pastor, and Debbie Albano serves as Elementary Director.
The Five E's and the Year Ahead
The church organizes its ministry around five verbs that begin with the letter E, each tied to a Bible passage. Evangelize flows from Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:8, calling members to share the gospel. Encourage flows from 1 Corinthians 15:58 and is built around Discover DBC and small group connections. Edify flows from 2 Timothy 2:2 and centers on the Cost of Discipleship class and Life on Life Discipleship. Equip flows from Ephesians 4:11-16 and finds expression in Discipleship 2, the church's course on how to study the Bible. Exalt flows from Psalms 40:1-3 and Psalms 100, the scriptural grounding for the praise and worship ministry.
Joining, Baptizing, and Staying Connected
Anyone curious about membership can attend Discover DBC, a single-session class that meets in the Conference Room at 8:30 am on a Sunday morning and walks through the church's purpose, beliefs, history, structure, and ministry opportunities. The class is the first step in the membership process but does not obligate anyone to join.
Those who have come to faith in Christ and want to be baptized can request believer's baptism, write out their testimony, and arrive at the Welcome Desk in the Gatheria by 9:35 am on the scheduled Sunday, meeting the pastor in the baptistry at 9:45 am. The church provides towels; the candidate brings shorts, a dark t-shirt, and a bag for wet clothes.
A weekly newsletter keeps members and visitors connected between Sundays, and giving is available online. The offices are open Monday through Thursday from 8 am to 5 pm and Friday from 8 am to noon. The phone number is 256.353.8579, and the fax number is 256.350.8229.
Decatur Baptist Church describes itself plainly: a multi-generational, multi-cultural congregation that wants people to know how to have a relationship with Christ, how to get connected in a small group or support ministry, and that the church is ready to pray for anyone who asks. The Sunday gathering, the Wednesday House of Prayer, the Latino Ministry, the student-led worship service, the children's AWANA program, the Celebrate Recovery meeting, the Community Impact Celebration, the Global Impact Celebration, the mission journeys, and the discipleship process all aim at the same thing the motto names. Love God. Love people. Serve both.