New Alabama megachurch pastor gives a nod to 40-year predecessor

NewsThe Rev. Chandler Snyder preached his first sermon as senior pastor of Hunter Street Baptist Church in Hoover on Aug. 16, 2026.HSBCBy Greg Garrison | ggarrison@al.comIt’s hard to follow a legend, especially a pastor who has been in a megachurch pulpit for 40 years.The Rev. Chandler M. Snyder took over as senior pastor of Hunter Street Baptist Church in Hoover this morning, preaching his first sermon.Although he launched directly into a sermon on the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, midway through his message, Snyder gave a nod to his predecessor, the Rev. Buddy Gray.Gray preached his last sermon as pastor on June 21 after announcing his retirement last year to give the church time to find his successor.More than 1,000 candidates were considered, according to the pastor search committee.Hunter Street voted on June 28 to elect Snyder as the next senior pastor. “As preached from this pulpit for decades by Buddy, the most important thing about you is your concept of God,” Snyder said in his first sermon as pastor.“Your concept of God, his power, his magnificence, his love, his beauty - you see all of these things, they provide the right level of perspective, which makes this peace and this peace and this soul rest possible,” Snyder said. “Even in the face of confusion, when you don’t know why your kids aren’t following Jesus - you did everything right. In the face of loss, and unemployment, and deep, deep hardship in life, it’s God who makes peace possible. Because he’s sovereign and in control. You see, these good gifts, grace and peace are given, meaning they’re unwarranted by the recipient. They’re given by an eternal, powerful, and loving, and present, God.” In his 33-minute sermon, Snyder urged members to commit to spiritual discipline and growth.“I’m eagerly anticipating the Lord’s kindness continuing on, not only this morning, Lord willing, but every Sunday hereafter, by his grace and for his glory, as we fulfill the mission of Christ as one body,” he said.Before joining Hunter Street, Snyder had been serving as vice president for institutional relations and as an instructor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he joined the staff in 2022 as associate vice president for student services.Snyder was a missionary to Africa from 2012 to 2022 for the International Mission Board, serving as a church planter in Madagascar and at mission posts in Nairobi, Kenya, and Cape Town, South Africa.Snyder graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2007, earned a Master of Divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2015, and has been working on his Doctor of Philosophy degree in missions at Southwestern.He served as youth pastor of Porter Memorial Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, in 2011-2012, before his appointment as a missionary.“Only a God that is peace, at peace with himself, and in all things, because he is perfect and executes justice, only that kind of God can extend peace to us,” Snyder said. “He defines the reality of peace, therefore, only He can give it.”United Methodists re-boot church near Hoover MetBirmingham area church closes as membership drops, campus put up for saleFairfield has a supermarket againMonastery that includes popular tourist stop Ave Maria Grotto has new spiritual leaderFormer dollar movie theaters in two of Alabama’s biggest cities turn into houses of worshipGreg Garrison writes news and feature stories for Alabama Media Group. He began covering religion for daily newspapers when he joined The Anniston Star in 1985 after graduating from the University of Missouri...