A Brief History Of Great Bridge Baptist Church
(For a downloadable PDF of the 50th Anniversary Booklet with the complete listing of Charter Members, please click this link)

 

GREAT BRIDGE BAPTIST CHURCH

FIFTY-TWO YEAR HISTORY

(1957 - 2009)

 
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The history of Great Bridge Baptist Church is a demonstration of God’s love for His children as evidenced by their response to His invitation to worship Him as He has set forth in His divine word in the Bible.

In the summer of 1955, Dr. John Brown, Executive Secretary of the Norfolk Baptist Association with the aid of Rev. Willis E. Joiner and some dedicated members of Temple Baptist Church of Norfolk, Virginia visited people in homes in Great Bridge to see if they were interested in a church in their own community.  Mr. & Mrs. L. D. Hewitt of 2563 Marion Dr. opened their home for a Baptist Sunday School at 2:30 p.m. on the last Sunday in March 1956 with seven people present.  This Sunday School continued until property was purchased by Temple Baptist Church on the corner of Hwy. 168 & Hurdle Dr.  On Nov. 4, 1956, the Sunday School moved into the little house on the property, which was dedicated as the Great Bridge Baptist Chapel.  Mr. Bradshaw served as the Sunday School Director and Dr. Brown was temporary pastor.  Dr. Brown led the work at the Great Bridge Chapel until May 15, 1957 and continued his work with the Norfolk Baptist Association until his retirement in January 1969.

Great Bridge Chapel

 From Nov. 4, 1956 until May 15, 1957, fifty-two members united with the Chapel.  On May 19, 1957, Rev. W. A. Richardson became the pastor.  The congregation continued to organize and in July 1957 the Board of Deacons included Mr. L. D. Hewitt (also Sunday School  Superintendent.), Mr. B. L. Lancaster, Mr. Cecil Morris (also Training Union Director), Mr. D. T. Spence, Mr. J. S. Snow, Mr. L. D. Lane, and Mr. J. H. Norton.  Great Bridge Masonic Lodge No. 257 laid the corner stone for our first building on Saturday, November 9, 1957.  Rapid progress continued and on December 29, 1957, the Great Bridge Baptist Chapel organized into the Great Bridge Baptist Church, with 180 charter members.

             The first unit was completed and dedicated on February 2, 1958 and on February 27, 1958, the Great Bridge Baptist Chapel was accepted into the Norfolk Baptist Association.



1960 Bulletin Cover

God continued to bless this congregation in Great Bridge and on April 13, 1958, work began on the second unit.  This unit was ready for use on October 1, 1958, with ground breaking for the third unit held on June 14, 1959.  A new organ given to the Church in memory of Billy Dunbar was dedicated to the Glory of God on December 6, 1959.  On May 10, 1964, a new sanctuary was dedicated to accommodate the growth of the congregation.

Deacons in 1969

On July 1, 1969, Rev. Charles L. Moseley came to our church as pastor, to lead our flock in God’s service, giving our church strength through his leadership.  At this time, there were 650 members.

Great Bridge Baptist Church experienced continued growth requiring the addition of a two-story educational building for additional classrooms that was completed in 1979.  This building was accomplished by a Victory Sunday with Mr Ernie Fulford as Chairman, Mr. Ron Gatlin Chairing the Building Committee and Mr. Bob Brooks Chairing the Stewardship Committee.



GBBC 1976

Due to continued growth, in 1986 it was necessary for GBBC to begin another building program. This would again increase our classrooms and provide additional office space, enlarge our social hall and kitchen, media center, and create a music suite.  God arranged the financing for this $1,250,000 addition that was constructed and dedicated on October 2, 1988.  At this time Sunday School enrollment was 1300 and membership was 1500.  In October 1989, the church conducted a “Together We Build” campaign to retire the debt incurred by the most recent building and in 1996 we accomplished this goal.



Winter Scape 1989

As the church continued to prosper and grow, it became apparent that more space was required to meet the needs of this expanding congregation.  A new sanctuary was proposed, planned and financed in 1998 and on March 4, 2001, a milestone in the  development of our church was realized.




Present Day

Facilities are now available to accommodate the entire membership in one worship service plus additional offices, music suites, and classroom spaces.  The combined facilities now allow worship activities throughout the week in addition to the Sunday School and corporate worship.  During the construction of the new Worship Center, a Bible was placed in a compartment under the pulpit so that the preacher is always “standing on the Word of God”.  Members of the congregation are deeply involved in local evangelistic efforts to include as many local residents as possible in the worship of Almighty God.  They are also involved in missionary trips to Central American countries as well as trips to storm-ravaged sections of the U.S. to help physical recovery from the effects of weather devastation.

The response to God’s call in the Great Bridge area can be measured by the growth in membership from 7 in 1957 to 1,690 in 2007 and in the number of baptisms of 1161 during this time with 822 in the recent period of 1991 to 2007 alone.

After 38 years of faithful service to this church body, Rev. Charles L. Moseley retired in December of 2007.  In 2008, he was declared Pastor Emeritus of Great Bridge Baptist. 

In 2008 Dr. Kenneth Keathley was called as our Interim Pastor. Dr. Keathley and his wife, Penny come to us from Wake Forest, NC where he served as  Senior Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

With great joy in October of 2009, God called Dr. Will Langford to serve as our Senior Pastor. Will, his wife, Melissa and their two daughters, Brittany and Bethany, are from Independence, Kentucky where he pastored for 7 years at Hickory Grove Baptist Church.

Rev. Moseley and Dr. Langford have bonded in the Spirit of the Lord in a close net relationship. And so continues Rev. Moseley's influence and encouragement, and so grows the peoples love for Dr. Langford as he brings the love of Christ as well as the challenge to live as Christ Followers. We surely have a remarkable opportunity to be used of the Lord to make an impact in this region of the Mid Atlantic in Jesus Name.

The best measure of Great Bridge Baptist Church’s activities however is the attendance and fervor of the congregants who are constantly bringing God’s word and caring throughout our community and around the world.  He is alive within this congregation!  We give Him all the Glory!

(Revised March 2010)