Pictured above: Union Hill Baptist Church is focused on prayer and returning to the Lord with a surrendered heart. Through this renewed focus, they have experienced opportunities to pray with others in their community and help seekers learn more about the church and knowing Jesus.

BONIFAY, Fla.– After baptizing no new believers for five years, Union Hill Baptist Church has baptized five new believers in the last four months. The church is experiencing an increase of seekers, with new visitors attending every worship service, looking for connection and showing a desire to learn more about the church and discipleship.

While praying for revival at his church, located in a small rural community, Buck Tidwell, pastor of Union Hill Baptist Church, sensed that revival would only come through a sincere desire to seek the Lord in prayer, both personally and corporately. “The Lord began to show me that when His people come back to a place of surrender, prayer, and obedience, revival follows,” said Tidwell.

Like many Southern Baptist Convention churches, Union Hill Baptist Church welcomes fewer than 100 attendees on a given Sunday. Many of these churches go year after year with no new members or believers coming to faith. The Annual Church Profile recorded no new baptisms since 2018 and only 8 baptisms in the last 25 years.

With a renewed sense of how to lead his congregation, Tidwell focuses every sermon, teaching opportunity, and outreach event on the central theme of “Return to the Altar.” Drawing insight from 1 Kings and Nehemiah, Tidwell believes that “when prayer weakens, spiritual vitality fades, but when prayer is restored, everything else begins to realign under God’s direction.”

“Return to the Altar” is not just a theme, it is a call to surrender. During one Wednesday night prayer meeting, the church conducted a prayer walk around the entire facility, dedicating every room to the Lord. “That Sunday, we experienced one of the largest attendance Sundays in recent memory,” said Tidwell.

As a symbolic reminder that believers plant and water seeds, but God brings growth, the church planted sunflower seeds. The following Sunday, the church gained two new members. “We are encouraged by what God is doing. Our heart is simple. We are returning to the altar and trusting God to bring lasting renewal in His time and way,” said Tidwell.

Tidwell encourages the church to be diligent in private, individual prayer as a means of sustaining a personal walk with the Lord. He believes corporate prayer releases unity, power, and revival in the body of Christ. He also encourages faithful reading of the Word and living out what Scripture reveals. “The walls may have been torn down by the enemy, culture, and world events, but God’s Word rebuilds what has been broken, strengthens what has been weakened, and realigns His people with His purpose.”

The result of returning to the altar in prayer has been “greater unity among believers, a deeper hunger for God’s Word, and a growing sensitivity to the Holy Spirit in worship and ministry. Prayer has also strengthened an evangelistic burden, moving members to pray for the lost by name and share the gospel more intentionally in daily life,” said Tidwell.