Columbiana’s two Assembly of God churches are very close together in distance and offer much to our community with their close–knit fellowships.

First Assembly of God of Columbiana was established in the mid 1950s. Their leader for most of the last 45 years has been Pastor Terry Linholm, a preacher called and self–taught by God. Pastor Linholm said he was preaching at the First Assembly before he married his wife of 45 years and it has been a huge part of his life living in the Columbiana and Shelby area.

The Easter weekend begins at First Assembly with an Easter egg hunt for the children, young and old, at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 11. There will be a sunrise service at dawn on the front steps of the church, followed by breakfast provided by the church on Easter morning.

Pastor Linholm will be preaching his Easter sermon at 10:45 a.m. following traditional Sunday School at 9:30 am.

Shelby Christian Fellowship Assembly of God was established in 1984 and is proud of its recently built building. Pastor Quintin Auten, originally from Topeka, Kan., moved to Alabama as a teenager. He received his ministerial training at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Fla., which is affiliated with the Assemblies of God. He began his preaching as a youth minister and associate minister in Florida and Alabama until he became pastor at Thompson Assembly of God in Jemison. He and his family moved to Columbiana when he became pastor of Shelby Christian Fellowship in July 2008.

This will be Pastor Auten’s first Easter at Shelby Christian. He is planning an Easter egg hunt for the children on the church’s grounds April 11 at 10 a.m. Special “Resurrection” Easter eggs will be found by the children and used in a gospel presentation by Auten as each of the 12 eggs are opened. The last egg revealed will be empty to symbolize the empty tomb of Christ after His resurrection. Auten will preach his Easter sermon at 11 a.m. called Whip, Hammer and Cross, and he will use video, special music and illustrations to bring his sermon alive.