How Berean Became a Church

Berean Baptist Church > How Berean Became a Church

Berean’s Birth – 1967

Berean Missionary Baptist  Church, Unaffiliated, was officially started on February 7, 1967, from  Grace Baptist Church in reaction to the liberal theological influence within the Southern Baptist Convention. Weldon Butts served as Berean’s first pastor and held the first Sunday service on February 12 in the home of George and La Rue Lancaster. They met in the Lancaster’s home until a building was acquired on 1337 Bragg Boulevard. The first constitution was approved and adopted on May 5, 1967, with 22 adult signatories.

1967….

In the Fall of 1967, Al Bean became pastor of Berean. He served from 1967 until 1972. Under his direction, the church was able to purchase property on Glensford Drive and build their first building in 1972. Presently, that building is still in use for adult Sunday School classes. On December 27, 1971, the word ‘Missionary’ was dropped from the church’s official name; however, the church was still described as Fundamental, Unaffiliated and Missionary in its updated church Constitution.

1972….

In June of 1972, Steven Byrd was called as Berean’s third pastor. Pastor Byrd served for 34 years and led the church in both numerical growth as well as the completion of six additional building projects. Steven Byrd led the church to use buses to reach 1000s of boys and girls with the gospel and the Word of God. Including the children who were bused to church, Sunday school attendance reached 1225 on July 4, 1976.In 1974, Berean saw the completion of a beautiful 700-seat auditorium.  Evangelist John R. RIce was the guest speaker on the rainy dedication day.

1975….

In 1975, Berean Baptist Academy was founded, as a ministry of the church, with a vision to teach and train Christian girls and boys to become responsible, godly young ladies and gentlemen that will impact our world for the cause of Jesus Christ. BBA began with thirty-eight students in very limited facilities.  In 1980, a third educational building was added to the campus.

1986….

In 1986, the 20,000 square foot, Family Life Center, and the future home of the Academy, was built. The 10,000 square foot gymnasium was completed first and was immediately used by the Academy’s sports teams. In 1988, the Junior and Senior High School students moved into the classrooms on the north side of the building. In 1996, the south side of the Family Life Center was completed and all grades moved under one roof. Today, the Academy has over 100 full and part-time employees who minister to over 700 students in grades K3 through 12th. The main school building houses our 5th-12th grade students and our K5-4th graders meet in our Children’s Building that was completed in 2017. Our Academy students also utilize a large elementary playground with a rubber fall zone and shade structure, as well as a multi-purpose soccer/baseball/softball field.

1996….

By 1994, the existing sanctuary was consistently full, and the congregation voted to construct a new auditorium with additional educational rooms. We celebrated a Ground Breaking service on August 20th, 1995 and a year later on August 25th, 1996, Berean dedicated the new 20,000 square foot auditorium at a cost of $1.6 million. The new building was joined to the old sanctuary and the church office building. It had a 72-seat choir loft and seating for 850. The building also included the narthex, choir practice room, two Sunday school rooms, and a new ladies’ restroom. As part of this expansion, the church offices were also remodeled with a new reception area and conference room.

2000….

On April 21st, 2000 our gymnasium caught on fire. It burned so hot that it warped all of the trusses in the gym and destroyed the roof. Firefighters who were present that day still remember it as one of the hottest fires they have ever had to fight. By God’s grace, the fire walls on each end of the gym held firm and the classrooms and offices were not damaged by the fire. All of the staff and many church and school families joined in to help clean up the soot that was present throughout the whole building. Everything from the roof down had to be wiped clean with special soot sponges and then every wall had to be sealed and painted. As a result of the fire, we were able to completely remodel the gymnasium, create two new classrooms, and add a concession stand, nicknamed The Doghouse. It was definitely a time of testing for the ministry, but we saw God do great things.

2006….

In February of 2006, Pastor Sean Harris was called as Berean’s fourth pastor, and on June 10, 2006, Steven Byrd retired. Pastor Sean continues to cast the vision for Berean and has completed a renovation of Berean’s old auditorium into a beautiful chapel, a separate bookstore/coffee shop, and an indoor children’s playground. In 2007, Berean opened a newly renovated preschool building. The preschool accommodates seventy-five K3 and K4 students with its own secure playground area. In 2024, a new rubber fall zone was added to the playground as well as a shade structure.

2016….

On Sunday, January 17, 2016, the church broke ground on a 35,000 sq./ft. building containing education and recreation space for the Academy and Church. In August of 2017 the building was completed and occupied. This building houses our K5-4th grade academy students during the week, and is used for children’s Sunday school and nurseries for church. On Wednesday night our AWANA teams meet in the classrooms and use the Multi-purpose room (MPR) for game time. The MPR is also used for church wide fellowships, game nights, pot luck dinners, and our special annual Lord’s Supper dinner and remembrance.

2017 and beyond….

Since 2017, we have continued to improve our campus by updating several adult Sunday school classrooms, creating a Children’s Power Hour room and AWANA area, and updating the new born nursery. We have enhanced our security by installing over 200 cameras campus wide and creating a central security station to monitor activities on the campus. Our goal is to continue updating our buildings and campus as needs arise and as things become outdated.

Berean Baptist supports about thirty missionary and evangelism organizations with an annual missions budget of $180,000 and has helped plant churches in NC, CT and CA. The ministry continues to impact Fayetteville through the proclamation of the gospel from the pulpit and through our Sunday school classes, a large AWANA program, Bible studies, micro group Bible studies, a preschool and the Academy.