A Brief History

In 1974 God began to lay upon the hearts of a few individuals the need for a sound, Biblical church to reach out in the Manistee area. Hiawatha Baptist Mission (now Continental Baptist Missions) was contacted about the possibility of helping start a church in Manistee. The late Rev. Arthur Cunningham, Director of Hiawatha Baptist Mission, conducted interviews with missionary pastors and in the summer of 1975 Rev. James and Shirley Van Liere agreed to come to Manistee and start a new work. The first service with the Van Lieres was held on February 22, 1976. When the Van Lieres moved to Manistee in the summer of 1976, regular weekly services began to be held in homes with up to 15 people in attendance.

As the church grew, services were held at more spacious but still temporary quarters; first at the old Kennedy Elementary School and then later the Intermediate School. In September of 1976 the congregation purchased property on Lakeshore Drive; however, circumstances precluded building there. After much prayer, God opened up an even better location on Parkdale Avenue (U.S. 31), just across from the old Kennedy Elementary School. The land there was owned by Mr. Jack Sievert, who was willing to take our property on Lakeshore Drive in trade and the balance on a personal note at no interest. At this point the congregation turned to the missionary church builders at Hiawatha Baptist Mission for assistance in constructing a place to worship. Ground was broken on September 24, 1978, and with much hard work from many volunteers and the assistance of missionary builder Donald Chilson, the church building was completed and the first service was held on May 6, 1979.

In January 1986 the church took a step of faith and made the decision to go self-supporting. This decision freed the Van Lieres, and the Lord opened the door for them to begin a church planting ministry in Grayling, Michigan. Rev. David Friedkin then accepted the call to become pastor and arrived in July of 1986. He served six and one-half years as pastor during which time the church had the joy of burning the mortgage and being debt free. In late July of 1993, Rev. Tom Garlock became the next pastor and served until November of 1998. The current pastor, Eric Struble, has been serving since May of 1999.

Affiliation

Heritage Baptist Church is an independent Baptist Church in fellowship with the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches and the Michigan Association of Regular Baptist Churches.