The Sunday of Independence weekend is one of the larger turnouts at Church of the Pines on Lake Martin – right up there with Easter Sunday, Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend.
The upcoming service on Sunday, July 6, should be no exception. A full house is expected, or rather, a full A-frame and grounds.
The service starts at 9 a.m. and features well-known preacher John Ed Mathison, as well as music by Catherine Anderson and Friends. It's better to get there early to find a parking spot. Bring a folding chair or a beach towel to sit.
Here is an invitation to the Church of the Pines this Sunday from Elmore County Commissioner Mack Daughtery, a leader in the ministry:
John Ed was the pastor of the megachurch Frazer Memorial in Montgomery for 36 years. After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70, he founded John Ed Mathison Leadership Ministries. He is also now pastor emeritus at Frazer.
John Ed, as he is universally called, is a busy, busy “retired” minister. He isn't actually retired, as he serves daily within and outside his large and growing circle of influence.
John Ed speaks at various venues. He runs a daily email, Biblically based advice column. He broadcasts a daily podcast. He films a weekly video.
To subscribe to the free daily email message from John Ed Mathison, click here.
Alabama residents often visit our gorgeous lakes on the weekends. Since some cannot (or do not) drive home for their Sunday worship services, Christian leaders in the Lake Martin area came up with a commonsense idea: Bring the worship service to the lake — and to the people at the lake.
That’s essentially the thinking that led to the creation of the unique, non-denominational Church in the Pines on Lake Martin in the Eclectic area.
On last Easter Sunday, when Church in the Pines overflowed, they couldn’t all get a seat, but they stayed. They could not all hear the preaching, but they could all hear the singing, and they joined in.
Some walked there, some came by boat, and most came by automobile, but they still had to walk a ways after finding a parking place.
Here is the official description:
Church of the Pines is one of the most unusual structures on Lake Martin. Built on the shorelines, it draws visitors from all across the country. Even when it is not Easter Sunday, all 800-plus seats are filled during the warm Spring and Summer, or guests pull up by boat to catch a Sunday service.
With its distinctive, open-air structure and dramatic backdrop of the Kowaliga Bridge, it’s really no wonder Church in the Pines is a treasured icon at Lake Martin. Here is the official description of Church in the Pines:.
Built in 1953, Church in the Pines is one of the oldest churches (and one of the first) on the shores of Lake Martin. It started as a small, pine straw-covered arbor, where weekenders could catch a Sunday service without having to leave the lake and head back to town for church.
You see, in those times you didn’t skip church on Sunday morning – especially after a few rowdy weekend nights. So as to not be seen as “heathens at the lake,” folks with cabins decided to build a church locally. This way, instead of rushing home at sunrise to catch church in town, they could experience a Sunday worship service at Church in the Pines and catch a few extra hours at the lake.
Church in the Pines is located on the water, which opened up the opportunity for people to come to church by boat. Many times, people anchor their boat in the harbor and listen to the teaching without ever stepping ashore. This was a very casual approach to church and looked down upon by some. The worship-by-boat has been fondly embraced over the years.
Jesus sometimes taught by boat, but He was in the boat, and the crowds were on the shore.
Church in the Pines began to grow in popularity, and in 1956, it transformed from the original pine straw arbor into the large A-frame of today.
Initially, preachers were hard to find. It’s been said that well-known “big city” pastors were hard to come by, as they usually taught at their own congregations on Sundays and were often leery of coming to the lake.
Over time, it became easier to persuade guest preachers to spend their Sundays at Lake Martin. They were said to be well-fed and entertained at someone’s lake “cabin”, making an invitation to teach at Church in the Pines suddenly a coveted opportunity.
In addition, payments to the preachers were made as undisclosed “love offerings” in brown paper bags from the congregation. As time went on, these bags became heavier. As word got out about the brown paper bags, it suddenly wasn’t so hard to get guest preachers to Lake Martin on Sundays.
Church in the Pines has grown and continues to host guest preachers every weekend, as well as visitors from across the country.
Church in the Pines holds services every Sunday at 9 a.m. During the warmer months, you can often expect to see all 800-plus seats filled with people under the shade of the A-frame roof, as well as sitting on blankets stretched all across the surrounding hill.
The tradition of pulling up by boat still lives. On warmer Sundays, especially when the lake water levels are up, it is not uncommon to see the shores next to Church in the Pines filled with boats anchored and eager guests ready to catch a teaching.
During the colder months, services are held at the nearby Radney Family Children’s Chapel.
Oh come, come, come, come.
Come to the church in the wildwood, oh come to the church in the vale.
No spot is so dear to my childhood as the little brown church in the dale.
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler’s beat is the colorful and positive about Alabama -- her people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at [email protected].
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