Selma Baptist Church celebrates 150 years

SELMA, N.C. (WTVD) -- First, the number --150 -- catches your eye. Then the fact that it refers to a century and a half of ministry registers, and the achievement of Selma Baptist Church is crystal clear.

The church's pastor, Todd Daniels, is proud of his church but humble as well.

How did his church reach that milestone year?

"The faithfulness of God," he said. "His hand's been on this church for all these years. This was the first church in this town. I think what it shows is the longevity of people's faithfulness, their willingness to serve, and be faithful to what we're called to do as Christians, and that's just share the love of Jesus with our community. We're still doing that today."

It's happening after the pandemic pause caused by concern about the coronavirus, which arrived in communities including Selma at about the same time as Pastor Daniels.

"Started here Jan. 6, 2019. So we had a COVID year, things were challenging," he said. "Even still, it was, we never missed a beat. We closed down like everybody else. But we went online, did all of those things, and our people just stayed faithful!"

Daniels knows all about the importance of not missing a beat since he's also the church's drummer.

"Soon as we could open, we opened back up, got back in here, so now we're seeing the momentum coming back. We're seeing new faces among us," he said. "Impacting people's lives, seeing lives change through the gospel message of Jesus Christ. That message changed my life, still is changing my life. And I know it can change other people's lives as well. So we want to be faithful to that mission until He returns."