Back in 1971, three military families came together and put a deposit down of $100 on a small church on Franklin Street. The small congregation lead by Pastor Turner, began Bellevue Assembly of God (BAG). BAG quickly became Nebraska’s fastest growing Sunday School in ‘73, ‘74, and ‘75. Our church began growing so quickly!
We were gaining traction and starting to open our homes to more and more families. Bellevue Christian Center began flooding with blended families, military families, single parent families and more. We were one of the first and largest culturally diverse churches in Nebraska and began realizing that God had more for us in store. Under direction of Lead Pastor Sam Mayo, BCC started pouring into the Bellevue community through opening up a daycare center and Christian school.
As Pastor Gary Hoyt moved into the Lead Pastor position, we began construction on our new sanctuary in the spring of 1990. In 1991, 14 acres of land at 1400 Harvell Drive became what we now know as Bellevue Christian Center. BCC went from an auditorium of about 400 to a capacity of over 1,500. We couldn’t have imagined what God would do but we knew He would move mountains. We became home to Masters Commission and throughout it’s time saw more than 300 students grow in their relationship with God. God gave Pastor Hoyt a vision of water flowing out of BCC’s doors and into the community leading to our mission today of saturating our city and our world with the heart of God.
In early 2000 tragedy struck our church and our Lead Pastor, Gary Hoyt, became paralyzed in an accident. Our church was not expecting something so tragic to ever strike but God had a plan and a path already laid out. As we trusted God through this season, He showed us opportunities and partnerships with our Bellevue community. We were prepared to love on our city through witness, Words of God, and worship.
The 2010s were a year of transitioning the past and looking towards the future. Our building received a new update including paint, carpet, the addition of our BCC Kids area, lights, tech equipment, you name it! We were excited to watch our church grow and be able to accommodate the features accessible to churches. One of the largest floods Nebraska has ever seen, hit our city and displaced many. Our doors opened as a flood relief refuge for those in need of necessities, food, and supplies.
The 2020s started off in a way none of us expected. Hit with a global pandemic we were about to navigate a new area BCC has never been before. Under direction of our new Lead Pastor, Andy Kaup, we realized our city needs us now more than ever. If we are to saturate our city and our world, then we must be in our city and world. We launched FOR BELLEVUE to show our city that we are FOR life change, establishing and creating healthy homes, the next generation, coming together through unity in our community, and that we want to always be thinking about the legacy we are leaving. We are excited to move through the 2020s and see how God wants to use us in this decade.
