To the praise, honor and glory of God, The Eternal Sovereign we live, move and have our being. Our lives and service belong exclusively and totally to Him, and we are under His command, and at His consummately wise use and disposal.

     Elder Wm. Doyal Thomas served as the God assigned pastor of His little flock, the Philadelphia Baptist Church of Decatur, Alabama from 1997 - 2008.

     Elder Thomas was saved, according to the eternal determination by the ONLY Sovereign, and called by the Holy Spirit , using the preached gospel  into sonship in 1950 at the age of 17. He was soon called into His service in April, 1951 at the age of 18. These wondrous and momentous events were manifested to the Lord's church, Old Union Baptist Church near Haleyville, Alabama in the community where he grew into young adulthood, and where he and his dear wife maintained church membership for a few years.

     Since that time, the Lord has blessed with an helpmeet of unusual quality and gentleness of spirit that is seldom seen among the population of this, or any other land. His dear and loving wife, Sister Corene, has been constantly by his side, and an ever present help through all the circumstances that have come before the family, consisting of three children, their spouses, and eight grandchildren, as well as the Lord's people and churches across the land who know, or have known them, and can attest this truth.

     Through these many years, Elder Thomas has been blessed greatly to have been enabled to study extensively, earning several degrees in the academic and theological disciplines, and then be provided opportunity to teach and exercise those gifts that God has granted. It is to the glory of God that any and all divine enablements have been given, and all praise for everything belongs to God alone.

     Elder Thomas has been used of the Lord in many ways through these intervening years. He has been directed to the pastorate of some of the Lord's churches in the states of Alabama, West Virginia, Texas, and now in the state of Alabama again. These years have been, and continue to be years of great joy as the Lord has been ever gracious, and has provided abundantly the needs that have come before the family and the Lord's churches.

     Bible Conferences and protracted meetings have been a great part of the ministry, across the nation from coast to coast and from border to border. Hundreds, perhaps even thousands of dear saints of God have been a blessing, and continue to be the cause of great joy in the vineyard of the Lord's planting. Perhaps some of these many dear saints and churches have benefited by these encounters. Many have shared in the times of sweet fellowship, and growth and spiritual maturity may have been the fruits of such joyous labor. While we await His soon coming for His saints, may we all each and every one of God's children be found to be faithful to Him, and praise and serve Him until He comes.
 
 

Sister Corene & Brother Doyal

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Elder Ted Tweet
Former Pastor
Philadelphia Baptist Church
2008 - 2013

By the grace of Almighty God, the Lord was kind in giving me spiritual life; to grant me repentance of my sins and faith in His dear Son at the age of sixteen.  I was reared in a Christian home, my father being Elder Glen L. Tweet, pastor of South Park Missionary Baptist Church in Seattle, Washington.  I had made a profession of faith at the age of eight, but in fact did not yet know or understand about true repentance and faith in Christ.

    After graduation from high school, I left with Sylvia and several other young people from our church, to go to Lexington Baptist College, in Lexington, Kentucky, during which time we were members of Bryan Station Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, and our pastor was Brother Al Gormley.  Sylvia and I were married there on December 16, 1967.  From Lexington, we drove back to Seattle and started our family.  The Lord blessed us with three children: Glen, Lisa, and Connie.  Also, Sylvia’s three brothers (Vincent 15, Harold 13, and Albert Richter 11) came to live with us when my father-in-law passed away.  We lived there for ten years before the Lord called me to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, and then we moved with our children and two of Sylvia’s brothers to attend Clarksville Bible College in Clarksville, Tennessee.

    As members of Julien Baptist Church in Gracey, Kentucky, I was ordained to the gospel ministry under the leadership of Pastor Garner Smith and started my first pastoral duties in Melbourne, Florida.  From there, we moved back to Seattle once again, where I assisted my father for one year before being called to pastor Pathway Baptist Church in Troy, Michigan.

    After almost three years in Michigan, I felt the leading of the Lord to become a missionary in the country of Honduras, Central America, in response to a prayer request issued by Brother Al Gormley at a conference in Clio, Michigan.  In December 1984, we began by joining Bryan Station Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky and being granted the needed authority.  We arrived in Honduras to begin our mission work in June of 1985 and came back to the United States in 1996 for a brief stay, during which I was called to pastor Landmark Missionary Baptist Church in Monks Corner, South Carolina, until we were led of the Lord to return to Honduras in 1998.

    As I sensed the Lord was preparing us for a different place to serve Him, I began to seek His will for the future and the Lord directed in moving us to Philadelphia Baptist Church in Decatur, Alabama in December 2008.  I pray that His blessings will be upon us as we labor together for His honor and glory in the Decatur / Hartselle, Alabama area.