History of Heritage Bible Church
1970
On February 5th, 1970, an organizational meeting was held in the chapel of Southerland Funeral Home (located at that time at 1123 Harrison Avenue) to establish an independent Methodist church in Panama City. The Articles of Incorporation for the First Independent Methodist Church were accepted by the State of Florida in September, 1970.
The first worship service was held February 15th, 1970, at the old white frame church building on the corner of 11th and Chestnut Ave. in St. Andrews. 53 people attended.
On April 8th, 1970, Rev. Ray Walker, a student at the Baptist Bible Institute in Graceville, Florida, began serving as an interim pastor.
On April 15th, 1970, the congregation voted to purchase the “oldest church building in Bay County”, 1004 Chestnut Ave. for $10,000. Individuals within the congregation loaned the money to purchase the facility from the Christian Church of Panama City.
1971
Henry Hazard began his ministry as the church’s first full-time pastor July 11th, 1971.
1973
On January 14th, 1973, Pastor Hazard was ordained by the church.
1974
On November 24th, 1974, There was a dedication and a mortgage note-burning celebration held during the Sunday morning worship service.
1978
In July of 1978, after leading a home Bible study for several weeks at Venture Out R/V Resort in PCB, Rev. Henry Hazard began an early morning church service in their beach-side clubhouse. *This ministry has not only been a blessing for the residents of Venture Out, but it also has contributed greatly to the ministry of Heritage Bible Church.*
On August 7th, 1978, the Lord gave Rev. Henry Hazard a promise from Joshua 3:4 for some property to build a future facility on. The aforementioned verse described how God removed the barrier (the Jordan River) so Israel could enter the Promised Land. Likewise, if we followed God, He would remove our barrier (finances) for our “Promised Land” *For a personal narrative of the promised God continued to give to Rev. Hazard until the land was purchased, refer to “The Promised Land: An Addendum”.*
1981
January, 1981, at the annual church conference the budget for missions was established at 10% of all undesignated receipts.
1982
In January, 1982, the church voted to affiliate with the Christian and Missionary Alliance.
1983
In January, 1983, the church voted to change the name from “The First Independent Methodist Church” to “Heritage Bible Church”.
1986
In January, 1986, the budget for missions was increased from 10% to 12%.
1987
In January, 1987, the budget for missions was increased from 12% to 14%. *For a detailed history of the church’s giving to missions, refer to “Missions Funding” on page 6.*
On August 7th, 1987, God fulfilled His promise through the sacrificial giving of members and friends. In August, 1987, we had $75,595.18 available in our property fund, and on August 7, 1987, we purchased five acres of land on State Ave. for $75,000.
1991
On March 29th, 1991, Mrs. Linda Grantham offered to sell us an acre of her property that was adjacent to our five acres. So on March 29, 1991, we purchased 1.1 acres for $23,877. After purchasing the five acres in 1987, and purchasing the 1.1 acres in 1991, we started to seriously increase our building fund to apply toward clearing the land and then preparing for the construction of a new church facility.
1992
On August 16th, 1992, hurricane Andrew hit South Florida as a category 5 hurricane with winds up to 174 mph. The cost of the damage was billions of dollars. South Dade Alliance Church of the C&MA Southeast District suffered extensive damage. Mark Barefield, Chairman of the Board at that time, reccomended that we send 10% of the amount in the building fund to help our sister church in South Florida repair their church facility. In August, 1992, our building fund totaled around $28,950. So we sent South Dade Alliance Church $2,895. The Lord blessed that gift and increased our building fund beyond the cost of that gift. *When hurricane Michael hit in 2018, South Dade Alliance Church, along with others in the Alliance family, gave generously to help repair damage to our church facility.*
1995
On January 27th, 1995, the church voted to build a new church facility without borrowing money to do so.
1997
On March 23rd, 1997, (Palm Sunday), we had a ground breaking ceremony at the State Ave. property.
1999
On September 21st, 1999, a certificate of occupancy was issued to Heritage Bible Church for its new church facility at 3380 State Ave.
On September 26th, 1999, we had our first worship service in our new, debt-free, church facility.
2001
In August, 2001, the church voted to deed our old church facility at 1004 Chestnut Ave. in St. Andrews to the Southeastern District of the C&MA. *It is now home to the Historic St. Andrews Church of the C&MA. Ownership has been transferred to the Alliance Southeast District of the C&MA.
2002
In 2002 plans were made to build a 40′ x 60′ Sunday school and fellowship addition attached to the current facility, when adequate funds were accumalated.
2006
In 2006 construction on a 50′ x 60′ addition began.
2009
In March, 2009, we recieved a certificate of occupancy for the 2-story, debt-free addition.
On March 15th, 2009, we began using our new addition with its nursery, Sunday school rooms, and fellowship hall on the first floor, and a large youth activity room and additional classrooms on the second floor.
2015
In October, 2015, Brian Rice began serving as the Associate Pastor of Heritage Bible Church. He and his wife, Rachel, and their two daughters, Audrey and Juliet, moved here from McLean Bible Church in McLean, Virginia.
2016
In October, 2016, Caleb Rice joined the Rice family.
2018
On April 1st, 2018, (Easter Sunday), Rev. Henry Hazard retired as Senior Pastor of Heritage Bible Church. Brian Rice assumed the role of Senior Pastor.
Hurricane Michael
On October 10th, 2018, hurricane Michael directly hit the Mexico Beach/Panama City area as a category 5 hurricane with 162 mph winds. It devastated the entire area. Every building from Mexico Beach through Panama City was severely damaged or destroyed. At least 98% of the homes and businesses suffered roof and water damage.
When the church sanctuary was being constructed, the elders of the church, who were the building committee, insisted that the sanctuary be built to withstand storms so it could be used as a shelter for those who needed it. Fourteen church members stayed at the church facility during the hurricane. Although the facility suffered much water damage, broken windows, and some roof damage, those within the building were safe. Although there wasn’t a lot of food in the kitchen, they found an adequate supply of bottled water in a storage room. There was no water or electricity for several days. They used water from the nearby creek for restroom use. However, the newly constructed children’s playground in back of the facility, as well as the storage shed, were totally destroyed by the falling trees.
In October, 2018, Pastor Brian Rice led in the cleanup and repairs of the church grounds and facility. The Southern District of the C&MA sent plywood, nails, tools, cleaning supplies, bottles of mold-remover, generators, de-humidifiers, and other helpful items. In addition to working on the church facility, Pastor Brian and church members helped clean up people’s yards and homes, restore electrical masts that were bent, cover roofs with tarps, and board up broken windows.
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2020
In March, 2020, Pastor Rice and the church were confronted with another serious crisis: COVID-19. Pastor Rice and the elders decided to err on the side of caution and temporarily suspended all in-person meetings. Sunday, March 22, was the first digital-only church service. The Sunday night and Wednesday night services met via Zoom and continued through the rest of the year. When the church suspended in-person gatherings, Pastor Brian started a daily Pastor’s Corner to give a brief, daily devotion for the church. A post-church Zoom call enabled folks to enjoy fellowship with one another. The church resumed in-person Sunday morning services on May 30, while continuing digital services for those people who were unable or not yet comfortable worshipping in person. In June these digital services were uploaded onto Facebook and YouTube to premiere at 10:30 Sundays. By the end of the year, the services were live-streamed through Facebook and YouTube.
2021
May, 2021, in April 2021, Rev. Brian Rice determined that the Lord was calling him to another pastorate. On May 23, 2021, he resigned as Senior Pastor of Heritage Bible Church. He accepted a call to be Senior Pastor of Joyce Bible Church in Joyce, Washington. Elder John Camperman transitioned to Chairman of the Board. Several lay leaders began a preaching rotation.
July 15th, 2021, Heritage Bible Church entered into a “Memorandum of Understanding” with the Alliance Southeast District for Rev. Bruce Rzengota to serve as Interim Pastoral Coach. Rev. Rzengota was serving as Chaplain at the Sheriff’s Boys Ranch in Live Oak, Florida, and twice each month he and his wife, Cheryl, traveled to Panama City to preach and to minister to the congregation of Heritage Bible Church. The church’s lay leaders continued their preaching rotation on the Sundays when Rev. Rzengota was not there.
2022
January, 2022, a Search Committee was activated to seek qualified candidates for the next Senior Pastor for Heritage Bible Church.
April 17th, 2022, (Easter Sunday), Rev. Bruce Rzengota resigned as Interim Pastoral Coach of Heritage Bible Church. He became the Senior Pastor of New Hope Community Church in North Port, Florida.
June 22nd, 2022, On behalf of the Search Committee, Elder Ken Crowe contacted Dr. Randy John, letting him know that the Senior Pastor position at Heritage Bible Church was open for his consideration. Soon thereafter and after consulting with Alliance Southeast Superintendent, Rev. Tom Flanders, Dr. Randy John submitted his resume to the Search Committee.
September 25th, 2022, Dr. Randy John candidated at Heritage Bible Church. At the evening service, the church congregation voted to issue a call for him to assume the Senior Pastor position of Heritage Bible Church. Dr. John graciously accepted the call.
2023
January 1st, 2023, Dr. Randy John and his wife, Susan, began their ministry at Heritage Bible Church.