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Bible Baptist Church History Beginning of Bible Baptist Church by Reverend Mark Mills (1963-1968)Bro. Mills, his wife Brigitte and three small sons traveled every Sunday morning to Sunday school and worship services from Biloxi, Mississippi to Wilson Avenue Baptist Church in Prichard, Alabama for almost a year. Bro. Everett Batty was the new Pastor and Bro. Sammy Gates was the song leader. Bro. Mills talked with Bro. Batty about a need for an Independent Baptist Church in Biloxi and what we could do besides praying for the Lord's guidance and wisdom. Bro. Batty told Bro. Mills, “When God lets us see a need for a church to be built He has called us to start it with His help and wisdom that is available to us if we rely on God.†After much prayer, on the first Sunday in May, 1963, Rev. Mills and his family stepped out by faith and began the Gulf Coast Baptist Temple of Biloxi. They first met in the pastor's home until property was purchased on Iberville Drive just west of Keesler off of Pass Road. Soon two old barracks buildings were purchased from the air base and relocated onto the property for about seven hundred dollars. Rev. Mills led the church in a name change to Bible Baptist in January 1967 and he continued as pastor until the summer of 1968. Bro. Jim Garrison and his wife Mary were saved and baptized during his ministry. He was stationed at Keesler AFB where he attended one of the many electronic schools. He would be the first member who left the military and attended Baptist Bible College. He is currently serving in Germany as a missionary. |
Pastor Robert Coffey (1968 - 1973)The church called Rev. Bob Coffey from San Antonio to be their pastor in 1968. Under his able leadership the church continued to grow, reaching into the 70's and 80's with highs over 100. Rev. Coffey led the church in a renovation of the buildings, including bricking the exterior. Soon thereafter the congregation was faced with a major decision. Due to military transfers the attendance was unstable. Also, if they were to continue to grow, they were going to need more room. Inspired by the leadership of the Holy Spirit, the church set out to relocate to a more stable and larger facility. A search for property began, ultimately leading the congregation about 8 miles northwest where they purchased twenty acres and relocated in the fall of 1971 to our present location. This proved to be a wise decision as the church continued to grow. Under Bro. Coffey both a bus ministry and a Christian school (K-5 - 4th grade) were started. In the summer of 1973, Pastor Coffey led the church to build a new church auditorium which seated 366. He continued as pastor for one more year until resigning in the summer of 1974. |
 Pastor Ronald Jenkins (1973 - 1977)The church then called Rev. Ronald Jenkins as Pastor in August, 1974. Under Reverend Jenkins' ministry, the school adopted the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) curriculum, and the grades were immediately enlarged to go through 12th grade. In the summer of 1976, the ground was broken for a new school educational wing, which was attached onto the back of the old auditorium and housed three learning centers, plus the church and school offices. Probably one of his greatest contributions was the establishment of a Faith Promise Missions program, which in only its third year led to a goal of $25,000.00. Bro. Jenkins also led in an expansion of the church's bus ministry by running seven routes a week, through which many children and adults were brought to Christ. Bro. Jenkins led the church to purchase pews, and the Baby Grand piano, and continued as pastor until the summer of 1977. |
 Pastor Rick Carter (1977 - 1998)
On the first Sunday of July, 1977, the church called Rick L. Carter as their new pastor. One of his first goals was to strengthen the church financially. This was accomplished through the church's first Stewardship Program which brought increased offerings with funds to remodel the auditorium. As with each of the former pastors, God's hand was evident, and the church continued to prosper. In the summer of 1979, another building was built and furnished, which included a church nursery, toddler class, rest rooms, new church offices and a mission's apartment. The church paid cash for this building as it was built and occupied in August, 1980. Sensing the need to expand and improve the quality of our Christian school program, the church broke ground for a new two-story educational building in May, 1986. Phase I, the downstairs and exterior, was finished and occupied by the school year in September, 1986. Phase II, the upstairs, was completed in the summer of 1987. The church also paid cash for the construction of this facility. In November, 1987, we started Phase III of the program which included a gymnasium, boys' and girls' locker rooms, additional classrooms, fellowship hall, and commercial kitchen. These facilities were paid for by a construction loan. Every phase of the church ministry grew under Pastor Carter - attendance, offerings, missions offering, and outreach ministries. |
| Pastor Harold Payne (1998 - 2005) June 6, 1998 Bible Baptist Church installed Harold Payne as it's fifth pastor. In September Hurricane George battered the church with a tornado and 30" of rain. The damage to our church facilities was turned into a positive as we remodeled our offices, the Toddler and Nursery rooms were modernized, the maintenance barn was rebuilt, and the exterior upgraded. While this project was going on we remodeled our gymnasium, which included adding air conditioning. The newly remodeled gym was our temporary auditorium for over a year. It was during this time we removed the old auditorium, did a complete drainage system, tripled our parking spaces, refurbished our soccer field, and built our current auditorium. We made improvements to our softball/baseball field and added 2 new playgrounds for our K1-5 children. Our Missions program has continued to increase. |
 |  Pastor Jim Stady (2006-present)
In March 2006 Bible Baptist Church voted 100% to extend a call to Pastor Jim Stady. He officially accepted the unanimous call and became the Sr. Pastor of Bible Baptist Church on April 2, 2006. Pastor Stady and his wife Kim, have been married for twenty five years. They have two children, Jordan (daughter) and Kameron (son). Kim is currently a homemaker, although she has training in the field of education and a degree as a para legal. Pastor Stady has a track record of faithful service to God in a variety of ministries. He brings over twenty five years of ministry experience in both local church and Christian education ministry. God is using Pastor Stady not only to help us rebuild from Hurricane Katrina but also for long term growth and ministry development. |
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