FBC Bellevue History

Settlement of the township began in the 1870s but things did not start moving until 1882, when the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway made Bellevue a shipping point on its line. That same year a post office was applied for and for reasons known only to him the railroad's surveyor named the town after the famed hospital in NYC.

 

In early 1885 the Bellevue Baptist Church was established and met at the local schoolhouse. Construction began on the original church at the present location in early 1891 and on September 5-6 of that same year the annual associational meeting was held at the newly completed Bellevue church. 

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On April 26, 1906, the original Bellevue Baptist Church was destroyed by a cyclone that annihilated most of the town of Bellevue. Through great sacrifice on the part of so many, a new building was completed and on September 16, 1906 the first service was held in the new facility.

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On November 11, 1909, the church voted to build a parsonage and in January of 1910 a lot was purchased and arrangements made for materials and workers to begin construction. The parsonage was soon completed in the location directly south and behind the church building.​

 

In 1911, the church decided to add a graded Sunday school program and in 1912 new Sunday school space was added to accommodate that effort. In order to accomplish this feat, the porch which was in the front center of the sanctuary, was enclosed and folding doors added to divide the space from the rear of the main sanctuary yet could be opened to provide overflow for large crowds. The balcony directly above the new Sunday school room was added along with new front entry doors on either side under the current bell tower peaks. Additionally, two Sunday school rooms down stairs and two upstairs were added directly behind the pulpit area.

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In 1953, the church voted to change the official name of the organization to First Baptist Church of Bellevue and in July of 1955, the church voted to build a nursery, kitchen, two restrooms, and an outside stairway leading to two new upstairs Sunday school classrooms.

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In 1971 with donated funds a Fellowship Hall was built. The new building would be added on the west side of the nursery and kitchen area with access doors from both locations.

In 1977, the church voted to build a new parsonage on a location near the high school. The new three bedroom, three bath, brick home was completed in 1979. Shortly after the completion of the new parsonage the original parsonage located behind the church was sold and moved to Windthorst, Texas.

 

In 1981, the church voted to upgrade the outside of the building by adding white metal siding which would alleviate the need to paint for the foreseeable future.

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In 2001, with the help of local church volunteers and a team of Baptist men from the Wichita-Archer-Clay Association, the church built a new fellowship hall. It would be accessible via a long hallway along the east side and toward the rear of the main building. A full kitchen, men’s and ladies’ bathrooms, and a stage platform were added to make an efficient space for church and community gatherings.

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On Sunday, May 1, 2011 at around 9:45 AM, a lightning strike hit the east bell tower of the building kindling a fire inside. As church members began arriving for Sunday School, smoke and flames began to pour from the bell tower and prayers began to go up to save the building.  Around noon, the fire was finally extinguished and although there was severe smoke and water damage, it was apparent that God had heard and answered those prayers.  The structure was saved!

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Thanks to a great insurance company along with a wonderful contractor the building was restored as closely as possible to the original design of 1906.

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In 2011, the church purchased the adjacent property on the corner of 4th Street and FM 1288 and in 2012, the church voted to build a Family Life Center on the newly purchased property. The initial appeal for donations and pledges netted over $400,000 and though it would only be half enough to complete the building, the church began construction to put the building in the dry. As construction drew to the point of exhausting available funds, God provided a matching $400,000 donation needed to complete the facility. The new Family Life Center would include 6 classrooms, a full kitchen, dining hall, bathrooms, a shower, and a gym. The facility would be a great blessing to the church serving adults, youth, and children’s ministries as well as a host of benevolent and community activities.

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For a more detailed history click here.

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