God's Growing Family at Bellevue

A Short History: 1967 to today

Forty  years ago, the Bellevue community was little more than a few houses and a handful of two-lane roads.  Then, in 1966, the Braswell family invited the widely separated Christians in this area to their home to discuss starting a congregation of the Lord's Church in the Bellevue community.  Of the original charter members of the congregation that was formed at this meeting, ten continue to worship at Bellevue today.

The first public worship of the Bellevue Church of Christ was February 26, 1967 at an elementary school on Hicks Road.  There were 117 present for this first public assembly.  Larimore Austin preached the first sermon, which was titled "Encouragement from the Lord Jesus Christ"; and that day, those worshiping were indeed encouraged by God's Family.

In July 1967 Marlin Connelly, Jr. and his family began working with the new Bellevue Church of Christ.  The Lord's Church began growing at a phenomenal rate!  Seven acres were purchased on Highway 70S and a building was erected in 1969.  The first worship in the new building was April 13, 1969.  In 1974, there were 343 people regularly worshiping at the Bellevue congregation, but by 1990, there were 650 in attendance.  The end of a 26-year era came when Marlin resigned as pulpit minister in 1993 to become pulpit minister at the Hillsboro congregation.

The Bellevue Church of Christ has continued to grow  and remarkable ministers, elders, and deacons have served the people here.  In July 2002 a new era dawned at Bellevue when Steve Blackman became the Pulpit Minister and Evangelist.  In January 0f 2007 Marlin Connely, Jr. returned to the ministry staff and in February of 2008 Monte Jackson joined the staff as the youth minister.  During these years of growth, the Bellevue Church has reached out to the community through visitation, benevolence, and preschool programs.  The Church has a very active Sunday-Wednesday Bible Education program.  A tremendous amount of financial and personal support goes to foreign missions and domestic evangelism.  Bellevue has grown numerically and the heart of the Bellevue family has increased. 

Today the same Spirit of God's Family is still present among the members of the Bellevue Church of Christ as was present among the 117 who first met in 1967.

While we have a glorious past, our future is brighter than ever with God's blessings.  We would love for you to be a part of that glorious future.