Sherwood is a contemporary Southern Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, with traditional values. If you live in the Albany area, we would love to meet you! Join us this Sunday at 9:30 am or 6 pm.
Sherwood Baptist Church
2201 Whispering Pines Road
Albany, Georgia U.S.A. 31707
(229) 883-1910 - Main
(229) 431-9338 - Fax
Church E-mail Address
sbc@sherwoodbaptist.net
Our vision Statement
Sherwood Baptist Church exists to see people awakened by the Gospel to a life of knowing Christ and making Him known.
History of Sherwood
1955-1974
- First Baptist Church of Albany established a Mission for Northwest Albany
- Mr. J. T. Haley gave 6.3 acres of land on Whispering Pines Road
- Sherwood Baptist Church was named and 309 Charter members were enrolled
- Dr. Albert L. Cardwell - First Pastor
- First education building (capacity of 750) was constructed
- Law M. Mobley - Second Pastor
- Curtis A. Burge - Third Pastor
1975-1989
- A sanctuary was built on Whispering Pines Road (capacity of 1,000) and completed in February 1976
- W.A. "Brother Billy" Smith - Fourth Pastor
- Dedication of the completely paid off $1.2 million Family Life Center
- Sherwood opened Sherwood Baptist Christian School grades K3-8
- Michael C. Catt - Fifth Pastor
1990-2000
- The Prayer Chapel opened
- Alpha Center opened
- Christian School became Sherwood Christian Academy, expanding through the 12th grade
- Riverview property became the new SCA Upper Campus, housing grades 6-12
- The Flood of 1994 allowed Sherwood to show God's love by housing, clothing and feeding 250 flood victims. Sixteen of those professed faith in Christ.
- More than 5,400 workers from 21 states were coordinated through our church, and homes were cleared of mud, debris and damage by student and adult volunteers.
- Began AWANA and UPWARD Basketball for families
- Ground was broken for the new worship facility
2000-2010
- New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Extension established
- New Worship Center opened (capacity 2,000)
- First joint service with Mt. Zion Baptist Church
- Established The Ron Dunn Center for Biblical Studies and Sherwood Day Care
- Produced and premiered Sherwood Pictures’ first movie, Flywheel
- Hosted the first ReFRESH® Conference
- Hosted Bridge Builders Conference with Warren Wiersbe and Michael Catt for pastors in the region
- Michael Catt preached his 1,000th Sunday sermon at Sherwood
- Sherwood Pictures produced second movie, Facing the Giants
- Church family purchased an additional 40 acres of land to expand ministries on Old Pretoria Road
- Hosted first July 4th Freedom Festival outreach to community
- Celebrated 20th Anniversary of both Pastor Michael Catt and Sherwood Christian Academy
- Celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the church
- Pastor Michael Catt elected President of the 2008 Southern Baptist Convention Pastor‘s Conference
- Sherwood Pictures’ third film, Fireproof, was released in theaters and was No. 4 in the Weekend Box Office
- Release of Pastor Michael Catt’s books Prepare for Rain, Fireproof Your Life, and the ReFRESH® Series - The Power of Desperation, The Power of Persistence, and The Power of Surrender
- All debt was paid off in full
- Produced Sherwood Pictures’ fourth film, Courageous
- Opened Sports Park, renaming it “Legacy Park: A Ministry of Leading People to the Cross.”
2010-2020
- Coca-Cola Bottling Consolidated granted Sherwood the Coke Plant on Pine Avenue
- The Alpha Pregnancy Center opened in its new location
- Established KidzBlast, a VBS-style day camp for kids
- Hosted the first ReFRESH® Conference at the International Mission Board
- Expansion of the ReFRESH® Conferences
- Courageous was released in theaters (2011) and on DVD & Blu-ray (2012)
- Began the Meet the Need: Vision 2020 Campaign
- Participated in Billy Graham’s My Hope Initiative: More than 90 people were saved
- Constructed new facilities on the church campus – brand new Hope, Joy and Faith Buildings
- Renovated and expanded Sherwood Christian Academy to house all grades (K3-12) on one campus on Old Pretoria Road
- The Source Café was added and The Source Bookstore was updated
- Sherwood members celebrated the church’s 60-year anniversary in 2016
- The Alpha Pregnancy Center celebrated 25 years of ministry in 2016 with multiple locations open in Southwest Georgia
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Sherwood continued to support new church plants through Meet the Need
- Sherwood partnered with Samaritan’s Purse and mobilized disaster relief throughout Southwest Georgia after major tornado and violent windstorm in early 2017
- The Coke Plant facility was renamed The Hope Center at the Coke Plant in 2018
- Sherwood mobilized hundreds of volunteers to assist in recovery efforts and housed Samaritan’s Purse operations after Hurricane Michael hits Albany in October 2018
- Life Skills classes hosted at the Hope Center for youth and adults in the community
- Sherwood participated in the “Who’s Your One?” initiative with the North American Board in 2019
- 82 students made decisions for Christ at SCA in September 2019 during ReFRESH®
- The Elevate Student Worship band released an EP in 2019
2020-Present
- Sherwood mobilized to meet needs for food distribution, medical supplies, and spiritual encouragement in the community when Albany became a national hotspot for COVID-19 activity in the spring of 2020. Volunteers fed hospital employees on the frontlines, sewed hundreds of masks for essential workers, and hosted distributions at the Hope Center for food, masks, and hand sanitizer.
- Sherwood moved to online church services exclusively for a time during the 2020 pandemic and continued meeting online for large group worship gatherings, midweek experiences and Connect Groups
- Pastor Michael Catt preached his 2,000th sermon at Sherwood on November 22, 2020
- Pastor Michael Catt retired after 31 years as senior pastor in April 2021
- Paul Gotthardt preached in view of a call at Sherwood on June 20, 2021 and was voted unanimously by church members as Sherwood's 6th senior pastor