Our History

On September 5, 1978, a group of concerned individuals met together to discuss the possibility of starting a new church in the Grand Rapids area. Their desire was to initiate a church whose motive would be to reach people for Jesus Christ. At this first meeting, the name of the church was chosen to be "Southside Baptist Church". Mr. Jack House was chosen as the interim pastor while a search committee was appointed to begin the process of choosing a pastor. The first official meeting of the church was held on September 24, 1978. On October 7th, our name was changed to "Heritage Baptist Church."

The chartering service for Heritage Baptist Church was held March 1, 1979. This organizational meeting was held at Dutton Elementary School with 115 people present. At that time, Dr. David Wood was chosen to be the church's first pastor. The church experienced tremendous growth during its first year so that as a result, Heritage Baptist was recognized as "Michigan's Fastest Growing Church" in 1979. On the church's first anniversary held on March 2, 1980, there were 710 people in attendance. This was truly a remarkable achievement for a church just one year old. During Heritage's first year, the Lord enabled the church to purchase 36 acres of property in Gaines Township where our present complex now exists. Ground breaking services for the auditorium were held October 21, 1979. The next few years were years of continued growth and blessings. Under Dr. Wood's leadership, the church expanded its ministries and became known for its strong outreach.

On April 23, 1984, Dr. Wood resigned as the pastor to enter into full-time evangelism. We owe Dr. Wood a debt of gratitude as God used him at Heritage to help establish a strong church in the Grand Rapids area. In February of 1985, Rev. Garvin Dykes became the church's second pastor. Pastor Dykes served as pastor until June of 1986. Under his leadership, the church was able to add an annex wing that helped to accommodate the Sunday School crowds. Pastor Dykes served our church faithfully and we also owe him a debt of gratitude for his service during his eighteen months of ministry at Heritage.

On November 16, 1986, Pastor Moore became the third pastor to lead our ministry. Under his leadership our church has continued to see growth in all areas of ministry.  Under Pastor's leadership, Heritage has a recognized "Faith Promise Missions Program" in which we are presently supporting over 60 missionaries and mission projects. Pastor Moore has a great desire to see Heritage do bigger and better things in the future to reach our community with the Gospel.

Email Us: info@hbckentwood.org