Old Salem Baptist Church: the oldest church in Monroe County

Old Salem Baptist Church: the oldest church in Monroe County

The Old Salem Baptist Church is an ongoing and living testimony to the dedication and endurance of God’s people. It’s a church older than the state of Alabama itself. Salem church was founded in November 1817 when this area was a part of the newly formed Alabama Territory. Salem Baptist Church, now called Old Salem Baptist Church, was established on the frontier of newly available lands, survived the Civil War, World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the wars of the middle east and still stands today in the midst of a divided world as an unwavering example of what can be accomplished when people stand in the unity of an almighty and living God. This book is the story of the Old Salem Baptist Church—its people, its meeting houses, its work. Cleveland Brown was born in Old Salem, Alabama which is a little country community about nine miles northwest of Monroeville, Alabama in Monroe County. He accepted Christ as his savior at the age of nine, preached his first sermon at age fifteen, was licensed to preach at age sixteen and was ordained at the age of nineteen. Cleveland was a graduate of Monroe County High School in 1963 and was graduated from Mobile College in 1969 with a BA degree consisting of a double major (Religion and English) and a double minor (History and Philosophy). The following year (1970) he received a MS degree from Livingston University with a major emphasis in literature and had the distinction of maintaining the highest grade point average of all the graduates that year. Class "A" secondary teacher certification in English and Social Studies and a Class "A" certification in administration and supervision were received through Troy State University. Cleveland later was awarded Class "A" and Class "AA" certification in Marketing and Marketing Education from Auburn University. Since retiring from thirty-one years of teaching in Monroe, Barbour, Butler and Conecuh counties and more than fifty years of serving as pastor of various Southern Baptist churches in Monroe, Clark, Conecuh and Covington counties and serving as the Director of Missions for the Conecuh County Baptist Association, he has devoted more of his time to pursuing his writing and photography. Three of his photographs have won awards in the Outdoor Alabama Photo Contest in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Cleveland began writing poetry about four years ago and several of his poems have won awards in the Alabama State Poetry Society contests and the Pensters writing group contests. Writing both gospel and secular songs and playing guitar are also an enjoyable part of his creative endeavors. He also serves a supply preacher and interim pastor when needed. Cleveland is a member of the Eastern Shore Camera Club and the Pensters writing group, both of which are in Fairhope, Alabama. He is also a member of the Alabama Writers Forum and the Alabama State Poetry Society. He is married to Shelia Hooks Brown of Evergreen, Alabama. They have two children: Alana Kay and Randal Cleveland, and four grandchildren.