The Baytreat retreat center has had many lives over its 164-year history. Its most recent owner, Trinity Presbyterian Church in Fairhope, Alabama, just a few minutes’ drive from the property, has rededicated its purpose for use by ministries and organizations that serve the community.

Originally built as a log home on scenic Mobile Bay in Alabama, the property was remodeled in 1904 as the Beach Hotel. Visitors to the hotel arrived directly by Bay steamer, the only way to cross Mobile Bay at the time, as a respite from the city and to enjoy waterside activities. Rev. Matt McCollum, pastor of Trinity, says the Beach Hotel was an incredibly popular destination.

“There were no paved roads to get from Mobile to the Eastern Shore so folks would come over here during the summers especially because it was a little less humid, a little more breeze,” he says. “In its heyday, the hotel had three stories, 12 rooms, a nice dining room. People would come over, even in the evenings, have dinner and go dancing and return to Mobile by moonlight.”

Beach Hotel becomes Presbyterian

When the Mobile Bay Causeway was constructed in 1926, the Bay steamer went out of service and hotel use declined as fewer people traveled the roads now connecting Mobile with the Eastern Shore of the bay.

The property was acquired by the Meador family who were members of Government Street Presbyterian Church. Following World War II, the family gifted Baytreat to the church in 1957. The property was utilized as a ministry and retreat center, including hosting hundreds of Presbyterian youth groups for urban mission trips that served in and around Mobile. Although renovated with more modern amenities in 2006, the 10 suite, 32-person capacity facility did not rebound to its former use levels following COVID restrictions and the changing landscape of youth mission experiences.

McCollum was approached by members of Government Street Presbyterian at a presbytery meeting in June of 2024 who said the congregation was considering selling the property. Since Trinity is located only two miles north of the property, and Government Street wanted to keep the property in the “Presbyterian family,” they asked if McCollum’s congregation might want to own and operate Baytreat before placing it on the market.

Capital campaign yields results

Trinity’s session and congregation expressed interest and raised the initial $1 million payment within three weeks. The church launched a capital campaign, initially being told by a consultant they could expect to raise $1.9 million, possibly a stretch goal of $3.4 million, of the $4.5 million purchase price.

The congregation met to discuss the vision, to pray about how Baytreat might be used as an extension of Trinity’s ministries and as a blessing to other organizations. McCollum preached a four-part sermon series on the church’s vision for Baytreat and the stewardship required to own the property. As support started coming in, Darrell Adams, chairperson of the capital campaign, saw the pledges arriving and the consultant’s estimate being eclipsed, then doubled.

“The pledges just kept coming and kept coming,” Adams said. “I said, ‘My goodness, we’re going to get pledges above this $3.4 million.’ And they kept coming. On the first fruits Sunday, I think we had a total of $1.8 million that had been given by that time.”

In the year and half since that initial pledge collection, as of August 2026, the congregation is just $100,000 shy of meeting the total capital campaign goal.

“Hearts have been touched, people have been moved, and the money just keeps coming in,” says Adams. “We now see what the possibilities are for this place. We see God’s hand in this every way. We’re just blown away by what Baytreat has been able to serve and provide to the point that those people are now some of the biggest fans.”

Baytreat is reborn

Adams says his leadership of the capital campaign “has probably been one of the strongest faith strengthening events” in which he’s taken part.

“To see how people have been moved and how they have chosen to participate has been incredible,” he says. “And we’ve just scratched the tip of the iceberg in terms of opportunities and possibilities. Every day somebody has a new idea.”

With 200 feet of shoreline and a wharf that extends out into the bay, church and community members are open to come to Baytreat to relax and watch the sunset from the wharf when it’s otherwise not being used. Ecumenical service groups, the Presbyterian Home for Children in Talladega, Living River retreat center, the Presbytery of South Alabama, and other faith-based groups are currently using the facility for meetings, training, and retreats. In all, Baytreat has scheduled 125 events for 2026.

Modernized by a $250,000 renovation that included a new roof, new furniture, a fresh coat of paint, and updated landscaping, Trinity is still finding the best mix of allowing some ministry organizations free use of the facility and paid use for other groups, and how best to support Baytreat’s operations through a combination of church contributions, a possible operating endowment, and facility fees. And with the calendar for 2027 already filling up, McCollum’s initial fears that the property would be underutilized or unused have not been realized.

“This is the most exciting movement of God that I’ve ever been a part of,” he says. “There’s so many creative things that are going on down there, it’s easy to see God at work.”

Faithfulness in vision

Rev. Dana Waters, Presbyterian Foundation Ministry Relations Officer for the Southeast Region, has seen Trinity’s stewardship effort and vision for Baytreat come into existence. He’s inspired by the congregation’s faithfulness and their willingness to use what has been gifted to them for the good of the entire church.

“When I stood on Baytreat’s dock earlier this year, I was able to see Trinity’s vision coming to life,” he says. “Rev. McCollum asked his congregation to take a leap of faith as they embraced a new way to live out their mission in Fairhope. The congregation’s generous response was even more breathtaking than the view of the bay! Trinity’s faithful witness gives me hope for the future. They are demonstrating that the work of the Church of Jesus Christ continues to thrive in new seasons and new places.”