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Photos by Erin Nelson.
Rev. Larry Hollman sits in a pew at Mt. Joy Baptist Church in Trussville on June 27. Hollman has been leading the congregation at Mt. Joy Baptist for 30 years.
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Photos by Erin Nelson.
Above: A photograph of the former church building in 1992 and a photograph of Rev. Larry Hollman with his daughter, DeRenda Hollman, and his mother, Vera Walker Todd, after Hollman gave his first sermon in 1986 at Damascus Baptist Church in Tarrant, Alabama.
When Larry Hollman came to Mt. Joy Baptist Church — Trussville in October 1992, there were 11 people coming to the biweekly church services, the annual church budget was $4,900, and the bathrooms were located outside.
Hollman, a Tarrant City native, came with a vision to “make bricks without straw.” The day he interviewed for the pastor position, he heard that phrase, that sermon, three different times. Bricks don’t hold without straw. The metaphor is that a task must sometimes be taken on without necessary resources. After his interview, he felt God speaking to him, “That’s your mission.”
“That’s what we did,” Hollman said. “We didn’t have a lot of money, we didn’t have a lot of people, but we had faith in God.”
It took a year to get indoor bathrooms and two years to hold church services every Sunday at the oldest Black church in Jefferson County, founded in 1857 by slaves. Prior to starting Mt. Joy, the slaves were attending First Baptist Church of Trussville, where they sat in the back on Sunday mornings and were not allowed to participate during worship services, according to church history. The white minister would preach to the slaves on Sunday afternoons. In 1857, the slaves were dismissed and allowed to organize their own church.
They first received permission to worship in a log cabin located on the Sam Latham plantation in Trussville, and it was initially called Latham’s Baptist Church. After the Civil War, two brothers, Henry and William Talley, settled in Trussville and purchased land. In 1867, worship services began on the land of William Talley. The Rev. Isom Talley became the first pastor. In 1868, Henry Talley donated land to the struggling church. Members constructed a box-framed building on the hill — Valley Road — where the current church is located.
Under Hollman, church membership grew. In 1998, the former church building was torn down and a new one constructed. While it was under construction, services were held at Mt. Canaan Baptist Church in Trussville. When the new Mt. Joy building was completed, Mt. Canaan merged with Mt. Joy, a reconnection after being split from each other for 84 years. In 2000, New Bethel Baptist dissolved, leading to more members joining Mt. Joy.
By 2007, Mt. Joy signed a note to construct a 350-seat sanctuary with a fellowship hall, pastor’s study, associate ministers’ study, Sunday school classrooms, and various other rooms. The price tag was a bit more than $1 million.
“We had a note that would choke a mule,” Hollman said.
The timing was ominous. The economy lagged. Church offerings decreased. The new sanctuary was dedicated in January 2008. Hollman said several “miraculous” things happened during that time. Mt. Joy was struggling to pay the bank note. A $1,400 check randomly came one month, without a name. It came again the next month. It came nine months in a row, doubling at Christmas, and it ultimately came 18 months.
“We’re talking about miraculous stuff,” Hollman said.
First Baptist Church of Trussville Pastor Buddy Champion met Hollman 15 years ago at a community Thanksgiving service. The two churches have worked together as ministry partners over the years, and an annual gathering began in 2016, Champion said.
“Larry is a delightful individual that has a passion for life and Mt. Joy,” Champion said. “His infectious personality and heart for the Lord has enabled him to have a sustaining presence. He truly cares for the people of Mt. Joy as they worked together on life’s journey.”
In 2017, Alabama state Sen. Shay Shelnutt and Alabama state Rep. Danny Garrett presented a proclamation to Hollman recognizing the church’s history. Garrett has been back several times since, including taking his dad to a men’s day service. Hollman was thrilled that Garrett had brought his father, who had grown up poor in Mississippi. From then on, Hollman asked about Garrett’s father. When Garrett’s father died, flowers from Mt. Joy were sent to the funeral, a caring gesture that Garrett didn’t know about beforehand.
“Very sincere, very genuine,” Garrett said. “Whenever I’m around him, it’s a very positive, uplifting [time]. I would consider him a friend, and we have a good relationship. I appreciate what they do in our community, and want to help them any way I can.”
Today, there are about 275 people on the church roll. The COVID-19 pandemic was a tough time, but Hollman estimated that attendance now includes 65 to 70 people attending Sunday and 80 to 90 on Facebook Live. The Word finds a way.
“Miraculous,” Hollman said. “God takes care of His house.”
Hollman is 70 now. He said Mt. Joy will soon need to find his replacement. He wants to preach until he’s 75, but if the Lord brings the right person before then, he’ll be happy. He wants to get the church’s debt paid off and to find an energetic youth minister. He said the miracles of the last 30 years, not just of keeping Mt. Joy open but growing, are what got the church to where it is now.
“Now we’ve got to do what’s got to be done to build a ministry,” Hollman said.
Hollman is a planner, marketer and student of history. He has been a “builder” of this church and community, a consensus-maker, adjectives that he said define his legacy. He has had two hip replacements and wants to walk out of the church confidently. He knows, whenever the time comes, what his final sermon will be. It comes from 2 Timothy 4, something he has never preached before. In those verses, Paul talks about fighting the good fight, about finishing the race and keeping his faith along the way. Hollman will draw from it as his long Mt. Joy career ends.
“That’s exactly what I want to do,” he said. “I want to preach that sermon and drop the mic.”
