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By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

Mineral Springs Baptist Church is making plans for some much-needed upgrades to its road to the cemetery.

“The road is in disrepair and is something that continues to get worse,” Pastor Jason Green said. “It is something that we have to do, but because there are so many people from the community that have family members buried there we wanted to give the community an opportunity to pitch in.”

Green said the project will need about 150 yards of asphalt for the road and additional for the parking area.

The cemetery is more than 100 years old, and has at least 200 burial plots in use. Some of these are unmarked graves, and so old that no one is sure who is buried there. Local historians and family members of those buried often come to the cemetery to do research.

Among those buried there is Mordecai Roberson, who was the first probate judge of Baker County. Baker County was the original name for Chilton County.

The little road gets a lot of use, and the community can partner in the project by contacting Green or the church. The church can be contacted through the Mineral Springs Baptist Church Facebook page, msbcal.org or calling 205-646-3480.

Green can be reached at pastorjasongreen@yahoo.com.

Checks to Mineral Springs Baptist Church with “cemetery road renovation” on the memo line can also be mailed to the church at 8316 County Road 51, Clanton, AL 35046.

The church is also exploring options for making more plots available in the cemetery.

Renovation to the road is just one of the projects the church has planned for this year. Other projects for the church buildings are planned and will be paid for through funds from church offerings. One of these projects will be “creating a children’s ministry department, not just a group of classrooms, but something that is specifically designed to tell our families in the church and those that might visit that we really do care about doing children’s ministry well.”

This department will be on one level of the Christian Life Center. A secure check in and check out procedure will also be put in place.

Creating larger rooms by talking out some walls, painting and flooring projects are also in the works.