Berean Baptist Church was organized on June 16, 1957. The original
congregation voted to put John Frier, Jr. and his wife, Ruth, on full time
salary. Although the church was small, John and Ruth Frier had great
expectations of spreading God's Word and seeing souls saved and lives changed
for God’s glory.
The
church relocated from Buckner
Boulevard to her present location in Sunnyvale, Texas
in September, 1973. At that time there was one building that included the
sanctuary and an educational building. Since that time, a FamilyCenter,
new Sanctuary, and new Adult Educational wing have been added to the campus. And currently, the church is in the process of a renovation and expansion process that has included remodeling bathrooms, main auditorium, and turning the gymnasium into a Student Center.
Mission work has always been close to the hearts of the Berean church
family. The church now supports over 125 different gospel mission
endeavors including foreign missionaries, home missionaries, Bible colleges,
summer camps, and children's homes. Many have believed on Jesus through
evangelization efforts and the preaching of the Bible, as well as through the
church's mission program. Berean has helped finance at least 15 churches
in New England and many local churches across Texas
and other parts of the United
States.
On
January 1, 1995, by the goodness of God and by the strong leadership of John
Frier, Berean Baptist was able to burn the mortgage on all of the property thus
becoming 100% debt free!
Pastor
& Ruth Frier resigned as pastor after 38 years and turned over the mantle
of leadership to David and Tami Mills in a very tender ceremony on December
31, 1995. This was a great homecoming as David had previously
served on staff at Berean for 10 years.This was a day of rejoicing and thankfulness by the members for the
strong, godly leadership of the only two senior pastors of BereanBaptistChurch.
Again
with God's grace and the leadership of Pastor Mills, Berean has grown in number
and influence. The church has been able to see God greatly bless as more
and more people have joined the church family. Berean continues to serve
the Lord in a number of ministries specifically designed to reach people of all
ages.