Our History

It all began in November of 1971 when 19 people gathered together to explore the possibility of starting an American Baptist Church in Sun City. Dr. Charles Bell was called as the first pastor and the new congregation was officially sponsored in February, 1972 as an American Baptist Church. The first public worship service was held on March 5, 1972 in the Lakeview Recreation Center. The Church was named Bellevue Heights Church because the word “Bell” means beautiful. The first pastor’s name was Bell. Thus, Dr. Bell’s view from one of the highest points in Sun City was called Bellevue Heights.  

By 1975, attendance had grown to 144 people and land was purchased on the corner of Burns and Hutton with no debt. The Church was blessed to have many people who freely gave of their time and their resources to help the Church fulfil its mission. One such member was Bob Hoover. He and his wife Ruth gave $2 million to the Bellevue Heights Foundation. The purpose of the BHC Foundation is twofold. First it is to provide scholarships for seminary students training to become pastors. Second, it is to provide grants to Christian ministries locally and around the world. The BHC Foundation has granted over $10 million in grants and scholarships and still has a balance of $14 million.  

The original sanctuary was the first building constructed on the property where the Church met for the first decade. It is now our Fellowship Hall. Between the years of 1980 – 1985, the Church added a new sanctuary, office building, chapel, and a bell tower without incurring any debt.  

There came a time in history, when conventions and groups began to drift away from their Biblical roots. The American Baptist Convention drifted to the point where Bellevue Heights voted to withdraw from the American Baptist Convention in 2007. Bellevue Heights was one of approximately 70 Churches from Arizona and Southern California who withdrew from the convention and began a Church network called Transformation Ministries. For the past 15 years, Bellevue Heights has been and independent Bible teaching Church adhering to conservative Baptist convictions.   

In 2020, Bellevue Heights congregation voted to reorganize the governance of the Church which focused less on committees and more on ministries under the guidance of a Leadership Team.  Dr. Rob Boyd was called as Pastor in February 2021 and helped to institute these changes with the Leadership Team. In the past three years, the Church has grown from an average of 250-300 weekly attendance to 700-800 people each week. God has blessed us during these past 50 years, and we look forward to a bright future as we continue to live out our mission statement that says, Following Jesus: Loving God, Loving His Church, and Loving His World.