Rev. A. L. Hawkins founded Bell Missionary Baptist Church in 1883. The early congregation first met in a house in Cooks Alley before moving to various locations over the decades. The church faced significant challenges, including being destroyed by fire in 1936 and hit by a tornado in 1945. Nevertheless, God’s faithfulness prevailed, and the church completed construction of a new building at our current location on Oak Street in 1946.

Rev. Uriah Fields led Bell Missionary unwaveringly throughout the civil rights movement, and the church played a vital role in it: Church members transported Montgomery residents during the Montgomery bus boycott (December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956). On January 10, 1957, our church was one of five churches bombed in retaliation for their involvement in the struggle for freedom. Nonetheless, under Rev. Fields’ leadership, the congregation united to rebuild, completing our historic brick sanctuary on May 10, 1958.

Our current leadership has labored tirelessly to preserve and share Bell Missionary’s powerful testimony, and their efforts have not been in vain: On April 21, 2024, the Historical Marker Committee of the Alabama Department of Archives and History placed a historical marker (plaque) in front of our church edifice in recognition of our church’s important contributions to U.S. civil rights history.

Today, we, the current members of Bell Missionary, continue to honor this legacy of faith, resilience, and community impact. With able leadership, we move forward into the future, committed to serving Montgomery with the same faith and courage that defined our founders.