Grace in the details: Sherrie Forehand’s decades of service helped shape First Baptist Church Trussville

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People

Sherrie Forehand began her career at First Baptist Church Trussville in the summer of 1979, the summer between her junior and senior years at Baylor University. At that time, she was First Baptist’s summer recreation director. She soon received her Bachelor of Science and Education in church recreation from Baylor.

“I wanted to get into church drama,” she said, “and in the ’70s, the path was to have a degree in church recreation. So here’s my God story: I didn’t even take P.E. in high school, and my degree is in health, physical education and recreation. It just shows that God will get you where He wants you because church recreation was under the HPER at Baylor.”

Forehand worked in several areas at First Baptist for a few years, including as the Weekday Early Education Center director, and then in Tuscaloosa for a while.

In the late ’90s, Forehand took a pause in her career to stay home with her children. One day, she received a call from then-Pastor Gary Hollingsworth, who asked her to come back and manage the gym, and she was hired as the director of recreation, where she served for 20 years.

“Recreation changed a lot in 20 years,” she said. “When I got into it, it was everything: senior adults, preschool, family events, first aid, sports. But 20 years later, it’s 90% sports.”

When Senior Adult Minister Bobby Erwin left First Baptist, Forehand assumed his administration responsibilities, serving as both event coordinator and recreation director. Current Pastor Buddy Champion came on board in 2007, and a few years later, he split those two positions. Forehand became the event coordinator, where she has served since 2013.

How would Forehand describe her job to someone who doesn’t know what she does?

The staff need to know what to set up, what doors to open, what tech is needed, whether to have the air conditioning turned on and so forth.

“Nothing happens on the campus that doesn’t come across my desk,” she said. “Our main job at this point is communication … and to avoid chaos.”

Most people have no idea how many events and programs happen at a church the size of First Baptist.

“People don’t realize … we have over 20 ministries — just ministries — that are firing on all cylinders,” she said.

And that means there is something happening at the church almost all the time.

“I would say 90% of the time I love it … because I love organizing. I’m really big into grids,” Forehand said.

With so many moving parts, it’s not unusual for people to have suggestions when something doesn’t go as planned.

“Buddy taught us … don’t ever ignore people’s suggestions,” she said. “Listen and thank them. Sometimes there’s a good idea. And we debrief on every single event that happens here. What can we do better next time?”

What’s the biggest thing Forehand has learned in her time as the event coordinator at First Baptist?

“Keep your mouth shut. … It’s my job not to talk,” she said with a laugh. “But my son taught me to say, ‘I have a suggestion. Would you like to hear it?’”

Forehand’s time at First Baptist has spanned the terms of four pastors. Richard Francis first hired her. Dewey Corder was the pastor when she was the WEE Center Director. Gary Hollingsworth brought her back after her short time at home with her kids, and she has been there during Buddy Champion’s full tenure.

“God has blessed me through these years, and any successes are because of Him,” Forehand said. “I’ve always known that whatever I’ve done here wasn’t me — it was the Lord working through it.”

Forehand has learned over the years that even though you feel God is moving you toward something, you have to be patient when somebody else is involved because God’s timing is perfect for them too.

She told the church leadership about three years ago that she was looking toward retirement. They told her they would want to bring in her successor to learn the job at least a year out. Soon after, her workload became really heavy. The church leadership told her the search would begin for the person who would replace her, and they would go ahead and hire them. Forehand prayed about it.

“God put a name on my heart,” she said. “It was Kimberly Johnson, and I didn’t know her that well. Kimberly was teaching missions in the fellowship hall that day, and I said, ‘You’re gonna go talk to leadership about my position?’ She said, ‘Yes, I’ve been praying about going back to work.’ I asked, ‘When did you start praying?’ She said, ‘A week ago,’ and I said, ‘That’s when God put your name on my heart.’”

Forehand hasn’t been in this alone. Her whole family has been involved since she was first hired.

“Being in ministry requires a supportive spouse, and Stan has supported me from the very beginning. He helped me … even before we were married, and we’ve been married for 40 years. I’ve always said I wasn’t just in ministry — I was in family ministry. My whole family — my husband and my kids, Bradford and Ally — helped with my ministry.

“Most of the work I’ve done was never meant to be seen, and I’ve always been perfectly fine with that. Everything I’ve done has been about serving others and honoring Christ, not about recognition,” Forehand said.

Being an event coordinator at a church includes events and activities of various stages in life — from weddings to funerals, from youth activities to seasoned adult events and beyond.

Forehand learned to keep sheets on recurring events, and she would take the previous year’s sheet to the organizers to show what was done before and ask what would change for the current event.

“It just makes things so much easier,” she said. “It makes for a smoother operation for the facility staff and for everybody. And it’s never just about me. There’s nothing around here that’s just one person. We’re a team here — might be a team of two, but always a team.”

At a church as large as First Baptist, there are often one or two funerals a month, and while counseling wasn’t her role, Forehand guided families through planning services for their loved ones.

“When people [are] at that point, they just don’t know what to do. It’s such a blessing to be able to help them through a time that they don’t know what to do.

“I never saw my work as a job — it was a calling, and I’ve always tried to be faithful to that calling. If things ran smoothly and people felt cared for, then I knew I’d done what I was supposed to do,” Forehand said.

But she’s not leaving. Forehand and her husband have taught a small group of young married couples for about eight years, and they plan to continue.

What will Forehand miss most, and what will she look forward to in retirement?

“What I’ll miss the most is just the people. Keeping up with the people — not just the staff, but the church people and knowing what’s going on in their lives.

“I’m a big Mickey Mouse fan, and I love to go to Disney World and go on Disney cruises, so we’ll continue to do that. I love theater. I work at Cahaba Elementary and help with their musical theater, and I’ll continue to do that. I’ll travel with Stan as his schedule allows and also spend even more time with my three grandchildren,” Forehand said.

Does she feel as if she’s left a legacy?

It was never about recognition — only faithfulness.

“I’ve spent my years here helping other people do ministry — and that’s been the greatest privilege of all,” Forehand said. “My scripture verse has always been from 1 Corinthians 10:31: ‘Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.’”