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In the beginning was breakfast.
On a cool fall morning in 1975, fifteen men met for breakfast at a local restaurant to consider together God's call to form a new church. Paving the way with prayer, the group began holding weekly services in a home. By the end of the year founding members were ready to draw up documents and established the Bible Believers Church. The name reflected its stated purpose: "to provide a place of worship where born-again, Bible-believing people will be fed on the Word in a congenial atmosphere." Today, newcomers will soon run across many names of the 52 charter signers: Appleman, Conley, Elmer, Flinte, Fowler, Fulton, Lemon, Lowe, Van Donkelaar, and Wood.
A year later, the church called its first pastor, Jerry Detandt, who remained about a year. Then, in 1979 the church called Jim Conley, who served as pastor until his home-going in 1998.
A name and a home.
The church grew from a downstairs rec room to rented space and then, in 1980, to a building on its first property on State Park Road. With that move came another change: the new name of Heritage Bible Church. The final move came in 1987 when the church relocated to its present home on the corner of Hudson and Old Spartanburg Roads in Greer, just outside of Greenville, S.C.
With its home base established, Heritage sought to meet needs in other communities, sending out youth pastor John Barnett in 1992 to a fellowship of believers in the Wren community and, likewise, two years later associate pastor Eric Sipe north to plant a church in Spartanburg. Those fledgling bodies, with early support from Heritage, are now the thriving Community Bible Church and Grace Bible Church.
A benediction.
Pastor Conley, diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor in April 1997, went to be with the Lord nine months later. He was virtually the only pastor Heritage had known, but because the church is centered on the person of Jesus Christ, and not on him, Heritage has not faltered.
His great wish was that we be transparent, that we be willing to let others see the real us, and the real Jesus who lives within us. Pastor Conley left an abiding legacy, not the least of which was his own example of transparency and of humility. We will be forever grateful.
From his hospital bed Pastor Conley recorded a farewell to the church. He said in part:
"I know that each of us is here to contribute to God's cause, not our own. And if Heritage has been a blessing in anybody's life, it is simply because God in His grace saw fit to include it in His great master plan which He will do. He says, 'I will do all my Will,' And we are simply a part of that. . . . you and I have a marvelous opportunity to show others Christ . . . through . . . love."
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