About Us

Foundational History:
What does it mean that BBC is an independent Baptist church? It means we are not affiliated with any denominational conference or ruling body. Our church answers to the headship of Jesus Christ. Because of this we select our own leadership and support our own missionaries that fall in line with our statement of faith and covenant. We are fundamental in doctrine, (based on Scripture). We believe the Scriptures are the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God.

Also, like many Baptists we hold to the five great emphases of the Reformation:
1) Justification on the basis of the work of Christ alone;
2) Provided and imparted to human beings by God’s grace alone;
3) Appropriated in a personal and effective way in each individual life through faith alone;
4) So that God’s glory alone, not man’s, is exalted;
5) And all of that based not on tradition or ecclesiastical authority but on Scripture alone.

Our History:
BBC of Marysville, Washington was founded on the Love of God, His people, and His Word. We were in a fellowship where God’s love was not being honored. So, in June 2012, about 60 members left - each intending to worship on their own. However, at our next weekly fellowship breakfast, we invited Pastor Jim Eldred who had been let go from the previously mentioned church, and asked if he wanted to be part of starting a new church. With that, everything "snow-balled".
Velva Scott, Esther Holmes, and Marie Nelson called many people they had worshipped with to an informational meeting. We worshiped with 60 people under a large gazebo at Dick Kelley’s house. The Lord blessed us beyond our imagination. Then Wayne Lawson found a space to rent at the Holiday Inn Express in Marysville, where we stayed for a year.
We named our church Berean Baptist to reflect our love of God’s Word (Acts 17:11-12). We selected our first deacons: Wayne Lawson, Gordy Matthews, Dick Kelley, John Gustafson, Richard Reupert and Earl Shaffer. Joyce Knorr was our first church secretary and Minister of Records.
Then Wayne Lawson located a building at 601 Delta Avenue, in Marysville. Dick Kelley found over IOO+ chairs. Soon, many things we needed to do ministry were donated, and continues to be a grand effort on the part of this congregation.
In 2019, we had to search for a new location, and the Lord provided the Sons of Norway building in Everett, which resulted in a number of our members not being able to attend. The Pastor and a majority of the Board recommended to disband the church, but after much discussion, instead the congregation voted to continue worshipping together. And the Lord provided the Marysville Historical Society, on September 23, 2019, and it was a joyous occasion. At which time, Pastor Jim and his family felt called to another ministry.
On a sad note, in 10 years, 27 beloved members have graduated to Heaven. Further, many members were no longer able to physically attend, but are still visited and loved. In Pastor Jim’s absence, John Gustafson and Dave Sainfils filled the pulpit, until we got our second pastor, Pastor Matt Lee in September of 2021.
In June of 2022, we celebrated our 10th Anniversary! Though we would still like to have our own building. It should be noted that the Historical Society was very grateful to have our congregation meeting there, because it was closed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
BBC has many ministries you can check-out on our website, and we support a group of missionaries, which was inaugurated by the Lydia Mission Circle, which later developed into our first missions board. Today BBC continues to grow and meet in Marysville. We hope that you will prayerfully consider becoming part of our church family, and worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ through biblically grounded teaching, preaching and music.

Mission: Berean Baptist Church (BBC) is a grace filled community of believers who exalt the name of Jesus Christ through loving God, loving one another and proclaiming the truth of God’s Word.

Vision: BBC are ambassadors in the great redemptive work of God for which we were saved, called and equipped. We are to glorify God through our Lord Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit; treasuring all that God is and loves, praying for His purposes, and meditating on His Word, while being sustained by His grace and mercy.

Purpose Statement: The purpose statement spells out the details of how BBC will carry out our mission and vision statement.

“Ambassadors”: Since Jesus no longer walks the earth in the flesh, followers of Christ are His ambassadors, speaking and acting on His behalf for those who do not know Him. Christians, as the body of Christ, are His head, hands and heart to those who need Him. (Eph. 6:20, 2Cor.5:17-21)

“Great Redemptive work of God”: God’s character is manifested in His Righteousness, Holiness, Purity, Justice, Love, Sovereign Authority…etc. And man is created in His image, but has fallen short. Therefore, reconciliation is achieved in the divine act of redemption from the Father’s judgement, which man deserves, by the blood of Christ, the only worthy sacrifice. For Jesus is the only worthy sacrifice to meet God’s demand for His perfect holiness; due to His total identification with mankind, as the incarnate Christ. He came to man as Emanuel, God with us, to redeem all of mankind. (Jn.1:1-3, Col. 1:13-14, 1Thess.3:13, Isa.7:14)

“Saved”: It is the condition of placing our faith, which is trusting in the promise of God in Christ, for personal salvation, without any effort on the part of the individual. The only requirement is to respond in faith to the call of God to “His great redemptive work” in Christ on the Cross. This response of faith satisfies the offense of the curse of sin, causing them to be born again. (1Jn.5:12, Eph.2:8-9, Jn.3:3-7)

“Called”: This is the process by which the Father draws (or calls) a person to Himself. It includes God’s opening of a person’s mind to understand spiritual truth, and it is literally an invitation to salvation for that individual; and being called, we become adopted into God’s family, and are ambassadors of Christ. (Rom.8:28, 2Tim.1:9)

“Equipped”: God, through the Holy Spirit, manifests Himself, through the Church of God in different ways. He equips each believer with at least one spiritual gift. We do not all have the same gifts as we are not all constituted alike and do not all have the same ministry committed to us. These gifts are given for the edification of the body of Christ, that Christ may be exalted through us. To one may be given the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge. To one may be given the gift of faith to accomplish a certain special work, to one may be given the gift of teaching or ministering. There is an endless list of gifts given to believers as God entrusts us with them. The greatest gift is love, “The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us.” Every gift is given for the glory of God, and is not in any sense for the glory of the individual possessing that gift. (Rom.5:5, Eph.4:12-16)

“Glorify God”: To glorify God is to acknowledge, to the best of our ability, all of the attributes of God, often manifested in the incarnate life of Jesus Christ, and also manifested through the Holy Spirit. It is to give God the highest honor that should be given to Him by everyone and everything in the universe. “For the heavens declare the glory of God.” It is the honor shared among the members of the Trinity. God’s glory is something that belongs to Him alone. We should always strive to glorify God through prayer, our thoughts, our words, and through our deeds toward our brethren. God created us for His glory, and therefore we are to “do all to the glory of God.” (Lk.19:40, Ps.19:1, Isa.43:7, 1Cor.10:31).

“The power of the Holy Spirit”: His power flows from the God-Head and is the very presence of God touching all the creation of heaven and earth. It is by the person of the Holy Spirit that we are united with Christ the Lord. It is by the wisdom of Christ that we are given understanding of the Scripture. And through the personal indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to obey the character of Christ. In the Holy Spirit we are overcoming sin in our persons and are able to live godly lives in a fallen world, exercising personal victory. He connects us with God, and is our deepest friend. (Rom.8)

“Treasuring”: To treasure the character of God is to abandon all other mindsets based on human values. Prioritizing God’s word as the source of our daily walk with Christ. This overflows into treasuring the effectiveness of the local church fellowship. (Ps.119)

“Praying for His purposes”: This means to pray for God’s will to be accomplished. What is His will? The Word of God. We accomplish this by faith and obedience; in the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to glorify God. We do this by praying individually and corporately, as we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. (2Cor.1:20, 1Jn.5:14-15, Rom.12:1-2, Heb.4:16, Jn.14:13-14, Phil.4:6-7, 2Cor.1:11)

“Meditate on His Word”: This means to abide by, and stay connected to God’s Word. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. However, it’s not just enough to meditate on the Word, believers also need to obey His commands. We accomplish this by keeping God’s Word as the source and foundation of truth, which guards believers against false teaching. (Jn.8:31-32, Jn.14:15, 1Jn.3:18, Acts17:11-12, Jos.1:8)

“Sustained by His grace and mercy”: Grace: Grace is the kindness of God our Savior toward man, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done…we are justified by His grace.” When we by faith receive God’s grace our position in Him is fully realized. Therefore, we grow in grace, not into grace. God’s grace is that matchless, wonderful, act on His part when He, out of the infinite love of His heart, stepped down from His judgment throne in heaven to take upon Himself the guilt of our sin and penalty which is justly ours; not doing this for His friends, but for His enemies.

“Mercy”: Mercy is the compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone by whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm. In other words, when we receive mercy, we are not given the punishment that we deserve. Instead we are granted clemency through compassion. God’s mercy is one of unmatched sacrifice. At its core, mercy is forgiveness. God extended His mercy toward us when He forgave us our sins through His Son. He shielded us from the punishment we deserved because of our sin. We show mercy to others by reflecting the mercy that Christ showed us. Mercy is forgiveness, mercy is patience, mercy is love. God gives mercy for past failures and grace for present needs. (Grace: Titus 3:5-7, Rom.5:10, Rom.8:1) (Mercy: Eph.4:32, Heb.4:16)