By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

CHELSEA – Fifty-seven people attended Chelsea Baptist Church’s grand opening and inaugural service March 27.

A mixture of adults and children came to the new church, located at the corner of Alabama 47 and Chesser Crane Road, to celebrate Easter and learn more about CBC and its leaders, Pastor Steve Kilpatrick and his wife, Debbie.

“Everything went great,” Steve said in a March 28 phone interview. “We had a good day. A lot of folks enjoyed the service and said they’d be back next week.”

Steve said a highlight of the service was having two of the couple’s missionary friends, Daniel Files and John Tinkle, talk to guests about their work in the field.

“I think folks enjoyed having our two missionaries that were there,” he said. “Some of them have never … met missionaries like that in person. I think that was a unique thing for the service, for folks.”

Nearly 30 of those who attended the service accepted an invitation to join the Kilpatricks for a free lunch at a local restaurant afterward.

CBC is a church planted out of Gospel Light Baptist Church in Helena, which the couple started 13 years ago.

After serving as pastor of Gospel Light for all 13 years, Steve stepped out to start CBC.

Steve’s former associate pastor, Gary Bohman, has assumed the role of pastor at Gospel Light.

Chelsea was among the places Steve considered when he was searching for a location to plant a church more than a dozen years ago. Although he chose Helena, Steve kept Chelsea in mind.

“Chelsea has been a city the Lord has had on my heart to get a church started over here,” he said. “Shelby County is full of young adults, so we’re trying to meet that need … to provide a place where families can grow and come to know the Lord.”

The Kilpatricks have been in the ministry for many years and have a background in missions. In the 1980s, they served as missionaries in the Philippines.

Steve, an Alabama native, has worked at churches in the state and in Arkansas.

CBC will hold services once a week on Sundays at 10 a.m. As the church grows, plans include adding Bible study time, a Sunday evening service and mid-week services on a weekly basis, Steve said.

Construction on the 2,500-square-foot facility lasted roughly four weeks and wrapped up in time for the first service.

“We were able to finish everything and get it decorated Friday night,” Steve said. “Everything fell in place, and it really just turned out beautiful.”

The facility includes an auditorium, nursery and a children’s Sunday school room.

Other churches in a group the CBC belongs to called Baptist Friends helped fund the facility’s construction, Steve said.

For announcements and updates about services and activities, visit Chelseabaptistchurch.com.

“We had a good response,” Steve said of the grand opening. “They enjoyed the church and were glad to see us start there in Chelsea.”