Mission:

Our focus is Jesus Christ. Our mission is to be a beacon in our community to show others the way that leads to Christ.

History :

Bear Creek Baptist Church was first organized in 1898 under the leadership of Rev. Olive Johnson. The first site of the newly organized church was on land owned by Mr. Jim Phillips. Meetings were held in an old fashioned "brush harbor". Soon a small frame building was erected as the first permanent place of worship. The exact date of this first phase of development is not known.

Known charter members include: Mr. & Mrs. Furman Guthrie, Mrs. Irene Burns, Mr. & Mrs. Van Phillips, Mr. & Mrs. Jim Phillips, Mrs. Hepsey Mosely, Mr. & Mrs. Charles Forman, Mr. & Mrs. Louie C. Reed, Mrs. Rhoda Phillips, Mrs. Martha Guthrie Burns, Mr. B.A. Guthrie, Mrs. Sarah Guthrie Jones, Mr. & Mrs. D.W. Peebles, and Mr. Matthews.

Several years later this building was moved to a lot donated by Mr. John Campbell. This was around the year 1915. Rev. Willoughby was pastor at this time. Later, as the church began to grow, two rooms were added for Sunday School. The history for the next few years is lean due to a fire in the home where church history records were kept.

In 1954, two more Sunday School rooms were added. Pulpit and Communion furniture was donated by Mrs. Lenora Phillips. A choir room was built in 1957. Other improvements that year were new windows for the sanctuary, sheet rock for the walls, and new pews donated by Durwood Aman. By 1958, two bathrooms and two more classrooms were added.

During this time, Bear Creek shared a pastor with three other churches, Swansboro First, Piney Grove, and Enon Chapel. This was later reduced to two churches, Bear Creek and Grant's Creek. Finally, in 1960, Bear Creek became a full-time church with its own pastor, Rev. O.A. Boyd. The photo above was taken around this time.