A Parish with Roots on Redstone Arsenal
Progressive Union Missionary Baptist Church sits on Brandontown Road in northwest Huntsville, a few miles from Redstone Arsenal. The church's history begins in 1911, when Reverend Sam Gaines organized Gaines Chapel Baptist Church in the Pond Beat community, the land that later became the Arsenal. After the Gaines Chapel members joined with New Pine Grove Missionary Baptist Church for a decade of shared worship at St. Matthew Primitive Baptist Church, Reverend Newman Townsend led the two congregations to build a new house of worship, completed in 1951, and to reorganize under the name Progressive Union Missionary Baptist Church.
Five pastors have shaped the congregation since then. Reverend P.S. Swoope led the new church until his death in 1960; Reverend Sam Whitman followed and served until November 1974. In 1975, Reverend Herbert Cartwright Jr. was called as pastor. A new sanctuary was built under his leadership, and Minister Bernell Tibbs became the first woman called to ministry in the congregation's history. Reverend Wayne P. Snodgrass was elected pastor in January 1986, completed the Family Christian Life Center in 1994, and dedicated the present sanctuary on April 2, 2006. The mortgage was paid off in 8.5 years, and the church marked the milestone with a mortgage burning on New Year's Eve 2014. The current pastor, Reverend Dion Jamar Watkins, accepted the call to Progressive Union on July 12, 2021.
Worship on Sunday Morning and Wednesday Evening
Sunday morning worship begins at 10 a.m. in the sanctuary, and the service is livestreamed on the church's online platform, Facebook, and YouTube for those who prefer to join from home. Teaching is biblical and conversational, often illustrated with current events and personal stories, and the music is led by a team of musicians, vocalists, and dancers. The musical mix pulls from contemporary gospel, historic hymns, and current worship songs.
Sunday School gathers at 9:30 a.m. across roughly fifteen classes that cover every stage of life, from preschool through the Sanctuary and Family Christian Life Center, with separate classes for adults and seniors, couples, ages 18 to 22 and 23 to 34, and every grade level from first through twelfth. New Member Classes meet virtually at 8 a.m. on Sunday mornings.
Wednesday is the second pillar of the week. A 6 p.m. service brings adults into the sanctuary while children and youth go to age-graded classes. That same night, a midday Bible study meets in the Prayer and Worship Chapel at 11:30 a.m. The full Bible Study schedule covers four evenings: Women's Bible Study on Monday, Men's Bible Study and a College/Young Adult class on Tuesday, the adult Wednesday study, and an adult study in the Family Christian Life Center on Thursday, all at 6:30 p.m.
The Twelve Tribes: A Family Ministry Care Plan
Pastoral care at Progressive Union runs through a structure the congregation calls the Family Ministry Care Plan, or FMCP. Twelve teams, each named for one of the tribes of Israel, divide the entire membership by the last letter of the family name. Gad covers A through B, Reuben covers C and D, Asher covers E through G, Issachar covers H, Judah covers I and J, Benjamin covers K and L, Dan covers M, Simeon covers N through P, Zebulun covers Q and R, Naphtali covers S, Levi covers T through V, and Joseph covers W through Z. Tribes are sized from 36 members up to 133, depending on the alphabet they carry.
Each Tribe is led by two Deacons, one or two Deaconesses, and a Minister, with Young Adult and Youth Tribal Leader Assistants as needed. Tribal Leaders reach out to assigned members every month by phone, text, email, Facebook, or in person at Sunday worship and Bible Study, watching for life changes, prayer needs, graduations, bereavement, new addresses, and college attendance. Members who have not been contacted in sixty days are encouraged to call their Tribal Leader.
Music that Spans Generations
The Music Department brings together six ensembles that rotate across the month so that every age group leads worship several times a year. Voices of Praise, the adult ensemble for members aged fifty and older, sings on the third Sunday. The Mass Ensemble, for members aged 25 and up, leads on the first Sunday. The Male Chorus leads on the fourth Sunday. On the second Sunday, the Youth/Young Adult Choir, for ages 12 to 25, and Progressive Union Primary Praise (PUPP), for ages 3 to 11, share the music selection. When the calendar gives a fifth Sunday, the Mass Choir unites all the choirs for one service.
The department also trains dancers, a drama ministry, and instrumentalists, with the stated mission of ushering in the presence of God through music, dance, acting, and playwriting.
A School from Six Weeks to Pre-K
The Progressive Union Child Development Center, often called the CDC, operates on the church campus Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., serving infants from six weeks old through four-year-olds. The center uses the ABeka curriculum for twos, threes, and Pre-K, layering in music, art, physical education, story time, motor skills, science, and social studies. After the school year ends, Fall Break Camp, Thanksgiving Break Camp, Spring Break Camp, and a Summer Camp keep children engaged, with Bible study woven into each program.
The CDC follows the Huntsville City Schools calendar for weather closures and observes government holidays. Parents reach the center at 256-539-1072 or cdcmanager@pumbchurch.org, and the director is Dionne Eatmon. The CDC also runs seasonal celebrations including Trunk-A-Treat, a Harvest Stroll, Grandparent's Day, Muffins for Mom, Donuts for Dad, an Easter egg hunt, and a Pre-K graduation each spring.
Reaching the Incarcerated
Progressive Union operates one of the more distinctive ministries in the area, the Jail and Prison Ministry, often abbreviated JPM. The mission is to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ and spiritual life skills to inmates and ex-offenders, partnering with the Alabama Non-Violent Offenders Organization for reentry support.
The ministry runs four weekly classes at the State Pardons and Paroles Day Reporting Center, including the Women Safe Haven Class and the Men's Life Skills Class on Mondays at 11 a.m., and the House of Healing Class on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 11 a.m. On Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., the team leads Worship on Thursday inside the Madison County Jail. On the second Saturday of each month, the Aid to Inmate Mothers (AIMs) trip transports family members from the Huntsville Medical Mall on Memorial Parkway to Tutwiler Women's Prison for visits, with a 6:30 a.m. pickup and a return by mid-afternoon. On the second Sunday at 1 p.m., the team conducts a visitation and worship service inside the Madison County Jail.
Eight Spiritual Vision Initiatives expand the work. SVI-1 supports reentry through biblically grounded life skills classes. SVI-2 connects pen pals with inmates of PUMBC family members through birthday, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas letters, and twice a year provides commissary funds. SVI-3 assembles hygiene gift bags for Limestone Correctional Facility, Madison County Jail, and Tutwiler. SVI-5 provides school book bags and gift cards to children of incarcerated parents, while SVI-6 is the Angel Tree Christmas gift program. SVI-7 preaches, teaches, and facilitates Bible study at Limestone and Madison County Jail, and SVI-8 raises public awareness of recidivism and prison reform. Reverend Dr. Earl Robinson directs the ministry.
Youth and the Path to Careers
The Youth and Young Adult Workforce Development Ministry, sometimes abbreviated YYAWDM, supports high school students in grades nine through twelve and young adults up to age twenty-five. The committee is led by co-chairs Marcia Mathews and Alfred L. Mathews, with Deacon Brian Wood as advisor and Danny Davis as secretary.
Monthly meetings are held virtually on the third Monday at 6 p.m. The ministry focuses on standardized test preparation, college readiness, college curriculum advising, resume review, mock interviews, and workplace etiquette. ACT Prep classes run as a five-session Saturday series from 10 a.m. to noon on the Progressive Union campus at 4201 Oakwood Drive, and the ministry maintains a list of major North Alabama employers, including Northrop Grumman, SAIC, Scientific Research Corporation, Boeing, Dynetics, Toyota Manufacturing, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, along with job search portals.
Beyond the workforce track, youth ministry at Progressive Union runs under the name InTune, with the mission to entice, edify, empower, and encourage young people with the Word of God. Youth Church for ages 13 to 18 meets every third Sunday, and a parallel Parent Ministry encourages and supports the parents. Recent highlights have included the 2019 Teen Retreat on the theme of Spiritual Vision, the 2019 Children's Retreat, a 2021 Teen Retreat, an annual InTune Youth Week, and a Father and Daughter Banquet.
Meeting Practical Needs
Progressive Union keeps two formal channels open for material help. The Benevolence Assistance Application is a confidential intake for church members needing help with food, rent or mortgage, utilities, or other urgent expenses, with the Benevolence Committee reviewing each request. The Benevolence Food Outreach Ministry Request supports families needing food assistance in the broader community.
Several standing ministries serve the day-to-day life of the congregation. The Transportation Ministry provides rides for members and visitors without other means to reach services and activities. The Nurses Guild offers immediate first aid at church functions until professional care arrives. The Usher and Greeter Ministry, which includes men, women, and youth, welcomes members and visitors at the door. The Security Ministry covers the inside and outside of the campus during worship and events, and the Audio/Visual Ministry records services for the homebound and those unable to attend in person.
Beliefs and Belonging
The church's Articles of Faith list eighteen core teachings, beginning with the Scriptures, the True God, the Fall of Man, and the Way of Salvation, and continuing through Justification, Sanctification, the Perseverance of the Saints, the Harmony of the Law and the Gospel, a Gospel Church, Baptism and the Lord's Supper, the Christian Sabbath, and the World to Come. The Church Covenant, recited in the presence of God, angels, and the assembly, binds members to walk together in Christian love, to maintain family and secret devotions, to educate their children, to seek the salvation of their kindred, to abstain from the sale and use of intoxicating drinks as a beverage, and to remember one another in prayer.
Visitors are told to come as they are. Some members wear suits and ties, others come in casual clothes, and clothing is never a condition of welcome. Newcomers are not expected to give in the offering; guests can simply observe, and the offering is described as an act of worship for those who consider Progressive Union their church home. Giving can be made by check or cash during the service or through an online account. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the building for those who want to follow along on a digital Bible.
Children are released to Children's Church during the announcements after the start of the 10 a.m. service. Parents who prefer to keep children with them in the adult service are welcome to do so. New Member Classes meet virtually at 8 a.m. on Sunday mornings for anyone ready to learn more about joining the church family.
Reverend Dion Jamar Watkins
Pastor Watkins is a native of Buffalo, New York, the father of Xavier Watkins, and a covenant father to Josiah and DeAndre. He accepted Christ at sixteen and grew up at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Lackawanna, New York. After graduating from Lackawanna Senior High School in 1997, he earned a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Canisius College in 2001 and a Master of Science in Reading Education from the same college in 2003. He later returned for a Master of Divinity at Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, completing the degree in December 2007 with honors at every level.
Watkins taught sixth grade in the Lackawanna City School District for nearly thirteen years and was inducted into the district's Wall of Fame in June 2010. He was called into the ministry in 1997 at seventeen and, at twenty-one, became the first associate minister to be installed as pastor of his home church, Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church, on April 29, 2001. He ran a campaign for Mayor of Lackawanna in 2011 and, after a narrow primary loss, promoted a write-in effort. In 2013 he relocated to Hartford, Connecticut, where he served as senior pastor of the historic Mount Olive Church Ministries for seven years and burned the church mortgage during his tenure. He accepted the call to Progressive Union Missionary Baptist Church on July 12, 2021, and now leads a congregation working to bring revival to the Greater Huntsville region and beyond.