THE HISTORY OF BEREAN BAPTIST CHURCH
since 1993
Striving to Reach Shelby NC with the Good News of Jesus Christ
Berean Baptist Church held its first service on the campus of Ambassador Baptist College in Shelby, North Carolina on June 6, 1993 with three families in attendance and Mark Pritchett serving as pastor. The members of Berean Baptist Church continued to meet at the college until October 1994. In October they moved to a building on Elizabeth Avenue in Shelby NC where they met for the next year.
In October 1995, the church had the opportunity to purchase its current facilities from Grace Baptist Church. For the next 11 years, the church continued to meet under the pastorate of Mark Pritchett.
After 13 years, Mark Pritchett stepped down as Pastor of Berean Baptist Church in the spring of 2006. The church remained without a Pastor for the next 1-1/2 years.
These were very difficult times for the church, and at one point the members of Berean considered merging with another local church. If it had not been for the grace of God and the dedication and leadership of Deacon Crosby and Deacon Ford, Berean would have ceased to exist.
It was during this period the church was blessed by the wisdom, and guidance of Dr. Joel Spencer. Dr. Spencer served as a temporary pastor and prepared the church for a new pastor.
After considerable prayer, Berean was blessed with a new pastor. In November of 2007 Pastor Leland Johnson and family moved to Shelby to lead the Berean Baptist Church.
