During the first week of the Fulton Bridge Baptist Church in Hamilton’s new sanctuary build, the Journal-Record visited each day to document the progress. Several of those photos can be found on page 3.
With the first Easter approaching since the completion of the new sanctuary, we recently sat down with pastor Shane Stidham, and his wife, Kimbo, to reflect on the build, which began with a week-long framing push as the 50th church build by the Baptist Church Builders of Texas.
The Stidhams noted Patrick Staley was one of the men who headed up the project.
“These people were like the best people you’d ever want to meet,” Shane said. “Just Godly people. Helpful and hardworking. It rained on us every day of the build, and they never missed a day. They worked extra to help us get as far along as we could.
“They were encouraging to us during and after the build. We became great friends with a lot of them. I can’t say enough good things about them. I know God placed them here.
“Everybody was the most giving. They were sacrificing people. No one ever complained. And what was so cool about it was they were exactly like the people we have at Fulton Bridge. They are just the best.”
Kimbo noted as workers were bringing the building up, there was also a lot of work going on behind the scenes.
“There were probably 30 women in the kitchen cooking every meal for us,” she said. “Pam Click was one of the leaders for the ladies, while her husband, T.J. Click, was one of the contractors over the build.
“They were all just great. They fed us lunch and supper every day we were here, and we all ate together.”
The couple noted there were a great number of church members who also helped every day.
The Stidhams said it felt special to be the 50th build for the organization. They also explained the blessings are passed on down the line for other churches in the future.
“Not only did they come and frame up the church in five days, but they brought a very generous tithe to us,” Shane explained. “We will go with them now wherever they build next. We’ll help build the next church, and we’ll contribute funds. That’s what they do in their organization. Every church tithes for the next church.”
They also noted, although the organization’s name states Texas, members and builders came from all over the United States.
From Monday to Friday, there were approximately 1,000 workers on either construction projects, helping to make the food to feed everyone or on other support endeavours.
“There were probably 20-25 states represented here at our build,” Shane said. “From workers who were here to all of the churches who donated.”
The Stidhams explained the work was hard and days were long, starting early and pushing through.
“We’d be on the slab by 7 a.m. ready to work,” he said. “The first day, we had more than 120 workers on the slab. Most of the time, we’d stop about 5-5:30 in the evening. But there were a couple of days toward the end, they worked extra even past that.
“We dodged the rain all week. And it was amazing how many things were going on at the same time. They knew exactly what they were doing. It was very impressive to see how everything was working together.”
After the first group left, other groups came in to help, including another Texas group who helped with the sheetrock. The Marion County Baptist Association also had a crew to come in and help with sheetrock. A group of painters from the Baldwin County Baptist Association also assisted on the church.
The Stidhams explained the church build began on June 16, 2025, with their first service in their completed church held on Nov. 2.
“In four months, we went from slab to a complete building,” Shane said.
The night before the build started, a service was even held on the slab, led by the Baptist Church Builders of Texas.
“Everything that could go right with the build, did,” Shane said. “It was amazing to see God’s Hand at every turn, from the sprinkler system to everything being delivered on time. Everything just worked out.
“It was uncanny, but I know it was the Holy Spirit. I know it was God.”
Kimbo added, “He has gifted us this. We had renovated a lot of the church already, and all of our projects combined cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but every step of the way, God has given us whatever we needed. It’s been unreal.”
After volunteer associations were finished, the Stidhams, along with most of the church members, pitched in to finish the project over the next four months.
“We were here every day from June until Nov. 2,” Kimbo said. “Every single day. We would have church in the gym on Sunday, and after church, come out here and work.”
Shane added, “Our church was extraordinary. We would never have been able to do this without our church. Our church members helped save thousands and thousands of dollars worth of work and labor and never complained. They were never angry. They just kept working.
“They are still here, and God keeps sending people. It’s amazing. And the people He sends are just fantastic. They’re workers. They’re Godly. They love the Word. We’re grateful. There’s no way a handful of people could have done this.”
Church member Jeff Pugh was the build manager for the project, with Shane noting, “He did a fantastic job. When you’re doing a project this size—it’s a lot. We also had a great build committee and a great decorating committee. We have a great team.”
The couple mentioned one of the earlier renovations done by the church family was the nursery.
“When we got here, they had two babies in the nursery,” Kimbo said. “Now, we’re up to 20 babies on a Sunday.”
Shane has been pastoring the Fulton Bridge Baptist Church for three and a half years.
“June will be four years,” he noted. “It’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything like all of these blessings. We may have built all the structures, but spiritually, our church has grown in so many ways.
“There are so many great stories of people who have come back to Christ. Or of people who came to Christ. Or maybe they were here or at another church and just sitting, and God brought them here to grow, and they really caught on.”
Shane explained FBBC has a vision shared among the church members.
“We are an Acts 2:4-47 church,” he said. “We have a little acronym called G.R.I.P. We’re Grounded in the Word, Relentless in prayer, Intentionally generous beyond our means and we Prioritize fellowship.
“We’re not going to just be a church who sits here. We’re going to be a church that affects the community. And what we ask ourselves is— not would we miss our church if it was gone—but would our community miss our church if it was gone?
“Would they miss the yards we mow, the ramps we build, the food drives we have and the encouragement we give co-workers?
“We come here to church to get equipped, but we don’t stay here. We get outside of these walls, and we affect people in our community through coaching, through teaching, through nursing or whatever else we do. We affect people.”
Shane said since he’s taken over, the church’s dynamic has changed — from its deacons in leadership all the way down to its teachers and singers.
“Everybody has bought in to the vision God has given us,” he said. “It’s true. It’s amazing.”
Previously, there were about 50-60 church members present each week.
“Last Sunday, we had about 370,” Kimbo said. “That’s our average. But we don’t get any of the credit. We give all the glory to God. People will come up to us and say, ‘Y’all are doing so good down there.’ We’re not. It is God and we know it. Most of the time, we’re just hanging on.”
Shane added, “Everything happened so fast. If it wasn’t for God sending us people to help us, we couldn’t have done this build or any renovations. It’s like, all of a sudden, God sent all these kids. And the next thing you know, a couple walk in saying, ‘Hey, we want to work with kids.’
“God has just blessed us,” Kimbo said. “We know we’re not doing this. We’re humbled. We can’t believe God allowed us to be a part of this.”
Shane said, “We’ve even had a lot of local churches help us—pastors and churches. A ton of people have given towards our growth who don’t even go to church here.”
Fulton Bridge Baptist Church is located at 3090 County Road 55, near exit 14 on I-22. Their Sunday services include Sunday School at 9 a.m., with Worship Services beginning at 10 a.m. They also have a service at 6 p.m. on Wednesday nights. The church has small group meetings throughout the week and on Sunday nights, as well.
For more information, you can call the church and leave a message at 205-921-3669.
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