Passing through Opelika, we couldn't miss this massive white beacon of a church and the historical…read moremarker out front that gives a clean, chronological snapshot of its past. We were here early on a Saturday morning, so we didn't stay for services, but even from the sidewalk you can tell this is one of the city's long‑standing anchors. The marker reads, "On this site in October 1859, the Opelika Baptist Church was organized. In 1861, a "little white framed church" was erected. After a fire consumed this original building, a new structure was built in 1885. This building was referred to as the "big brick church". A larger sanctuary was built in 1954, and an educational building was constructed in 1959. Structural additions were completed in succeeding years. These included an educational building in 1964 and a chapel in 1966. Later expansion included a new family life center in 1979. An enlarged sanctuary, new office facilities, a youth building and additional educational classrooms were completed in 2008. To God Be the Glory! Great Things He Hath Done! "Lifting Up Jesus and Loving People"" The marker was erected by the First Baptist Church. It does what good local markers should do: it ties the modern building to the long arc of the congregation's life, from a small frontier‑era gathering in 1859 to a large, multi‑building campus that has grown alongside Opelika itself. [Review 283 of 2026 - 266 in Alabama - 25472 overall]

Pretty solid. Teaching was well done and the community is the best part. The college ministry…read moreespecially is great. They also have a Hispanic and Korean ministry.

I love visiting my best friend at Auburn because I get to…read morevisit acc and listen to the Lord speak through miles live! I love what this church is for and have thought about moving to Auburn just for the church haha! The Lord is moving here and the body of this church is on fire! Highly highly recommend!

Very fun go to motion supper cool definitely should go all the members are great and helpfulread more

Best church ever! We have been here since 2015 and even after 8 years, I have to stay it's the…read morehighlight of my week. Small Groups are amazing. It is such a life giving experience to attend here. They do treat you like family. There's a great business model too. I highly recommend you visit. Messages are easy to understand. All the pastors and speakers have been truly relatable. Try it! All ages.

Wonderful church to attend, as they always have something going on. The people here seem to be…read morevery friendly and that honestly care about serving their community. You can tell that they care about their facility, and that excellence is very important to them. There is a wonderful sense of freedom in the worship and a very intellectual and dynamic speaker. They seem to care a great deal about structure but at the same time allow the operation of the gifts of the spirit. Enjoyed attending this church.

We were here on a Saturday afternoon when there were no services and the campus was not in session,…read moreand after stopping at the public safety office for a parking pass we had the place almost entirely to ourselves. That quiet approach made the chapel feel even more striking as it came into view, a tall brick form rising from the center of campus on the same site where the original 1898 chapel once stood before it was destroyed by fire in 1957. The loss of that earlier building was a major blow to the Tuskegee Institute, and the university moved quickly to plan a replacement that would honor its architectural legacy while embracing a new modernist vision. Standing in front of the current chapel, completed in 1969, you can see how that vision took shape. The initial design was created by Paul Rudolph in 1960, but the final building was realized through a close collaboration with the African American architectural firm Fry and Welch, whose partners had deep ties to Tuskegee and translated Rudolph's sculptural ideas into a steel‑framed, brick‑clad structure that fit the campus's long tradition of masonry craftsmanship. The decision to shift from concrete to brick was driven partly by cost and partly by the desire to maintain continuity with the university's historic building fabric, and the result is a late modernist landmark that still feels rooted in place. With school not in session, this gave us a perfect opportunity to appreciate the building undisturbed, and the longer we stood there the more the details revealed themselves. The chapel's soaring interior, its careful brickwork, and its role as a spiritual and social center for generations of students all reflect the university's commitment to craftsmanship and community. Exhibitions at the National Building Museum and Yale Architecture have recently highlighted how the chapel embodies a rare partnership between Rudolph and Tuskegee's own architects, showing how the building's design, construction drawings, and material choices came together during the 1960s to create one of the most significant modern structures on any HBCU campus. It remains an impressive and deeply intentional work of architecture, and on a quiet Saturday afternoon it felt like the perfect place to pause and take in the history around us. [Review 295 of 2026 - 277 in Alabama - 25484 overall]

This is the most welcoming community. Though it is covid and we were not entering any buildings,…read morewhen we mentioned we were coming to the area to meet their community a fabulous group came to connect with us. They cooked a welcome meal and we spent a joyful afternoon learning about all they do in Auburn. We learned a bit of their challenges. And now we have joined their community, even though we live in Connecticut. The building is small and loved. So we could see the inside one member was kind enough to film the inside for us to see! Looking forward to more good time. Shalom Chaverim