Our History

A Brief History of Rockport Baptist Church

The idea for Rockport Baptist Church began on October 6, 1965 when the congregation at Second Baptist Church Festus, Missouri, voted to establish a new mission on Miller Road near Hwy 61-67 in northern Jefferson County (near what would soon become Arnold, MO).  The new mission, called Miller Road Baptist Mission, held its first service on November 14, 1965, and soon saw its first profession of faith and baptism.  Reverend Gene Casey served as mission pastor.

The little mission called Reverend Lee Brown as its first official pastor on February 15, 1966. In July of that same year, they held their first worship service at 3761 Telegraph Road in the old farm house that once stood on the property. There were 35 members. But the growing church had a vision for a more permanent place to worship.

The ground breaking for a new building took place on October 22, 1967. By that time there were 120 members. The mission had an aggressive weekly visitation program as they sought to take the gospel to those who lived in the rapidly growing residential area.  Pastor Brown would often cook breakfast on a weekday morning for a group of ladies who would then go out to visit other women in their homes. In those days most women stayed home, so this was an effective way to take the gospel to new households. Through such efforts, and the Lord’s faithfulness, the congregation continued to grow. The first service in the new building was held on June 20, 1968.  By this time, there were 230 members. Work was begun to add a nursery and Sunday School classes in the building’s basement.

In 1972, the mission was incorporated under the new name, Rockport Baptist Church. It continued to experience growth for the next few years.  But then, at some point in the late 1970s, a series of internal struggles over doctrine, leadership and the charismatic movement resulted in a period of division and decline leading Bro Brown to resign in July, 1981 and the church to close its doors for several weeks.

Later that same year, the few remaining members asked the Jefferson Baptist Association for help. Brother Jim Enoch, the Director of Missions, came to preach and encourage the struggling congregation. He then helped them call Reverend Jack Gray to serve as interim pastor. Brother Gray served from September 1981 to April 1982.

Don Spalding was called in April 1982 as the second official pastor of Rockport Baptist Church. He and his wife, Charlotte, would remain for three years. Brother Spalding led the church to make many organizational changes that would strengthen the small congregation. During his time the sanctuary was remodeled, turning the left side of the upstairs space into offices and an additional classroom. The platform was also extended and new carpet and pew-padding installed. It was during Brother Spalding’s pastorate that Kurt and Cindy Boehm began to attend Rockport. On October 30 1983, the church celebrated a time of “Homecoming” and a note-burning service as the building and property were finally paid off. Several special guests were in attendance, including the former pastor and previous interims.

In June of 1985, Rev Spalding resigned for health reasons and the church was once again without a pastor, but not for long. A search committee was formed and Brother Tommy Chapman was called to serve as pastor beginning on September 1, 1985. Tommy and his wife Janice and their sons would be at Rockport for five years. During that time, Walter Lockhart served as minister of music with his wife Shirley playing the organ. The church continued to see growth as it sponsored a series of tent revivals and other outreach efforts.The basement was remodeled to add a Fellowship Hall, the parking lot was extended and the old farmhouse torn down. An office trailer was purchased to provide more classroom space and a program called “Together We Build” launched in hopes of raising money to build a new education wing attached to the rear of the church. This, however, was not to be.

In September of 1990, Brother Tommy resigned as pastor in order to return to seminary. Brother John Hessel was called to serve as interim, and a search committee established to seek a new pastor.  Around this time, Rockport Baptist Preschool was begun, led by Joni Markowski and Cheryl Walker. It would continue for a little over ten years. Several who are now adults in our congregation attended the preschool. But without a full time pastor, attendance at Rockport again began to decline into the mid-60s and low 70s. Yet, there was a solid core of committed people who were praying and were eager to move forward once a new pastor was called.  

In the Spring of 1991, the search committee led by Sterling Parson was given the name of Scott Lee, who, along with his wife Amy and their two small daughters were living in Fort Worth, Texas. Scott was a recent graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and was considering further studies or possible service with the International Missions Board. Contact was made, prayers were offered and the Lord opened the door for the Lees to move to Missouri along with their daughters Stephanie, age 4 and Kim who was 1 year old. Scott was 28 years old when he became Rockport’s fourth full-time pastor on June 1, 1991. Kurt Boehm was chairman of deacons.

It was anticipated that the Lees would be at Rockport no more than three to five years before moving on to the mission field. But the Lord had other plans. Through a series of providential events, the Lees began to believe the Lord had brought them to Rockport to stay.  By God’s grace, the little church began to grow, though slowly at first. During those early years, Ernie Downs served as minister of music with his wife Linda, playing piano. Tony Turner was one of our first youth ministers. We saw the Lord do many good things and bring many new families into our fellowship, including the Lovings and Webers who came from a struggling mission church Rockport was attempting to assist. Brother Chad Hodges, who is now one of our Saint Louis Metro Association leaders, also served as youth pastor (his wife, Joann, is currently our secretary). It was also during this time that the Lord provided an opportunity for the church to purchase a modular home to serve as a parsonage for the pastor and his family.

  The mid to late 1990s were years of growth and development for Rockport, both numerically and theologically. It was during these years that the Lord began to open our eyes to a more biblical, reformed understanding of the Gospel, the church and its mission. For Pastor Scott two things anchored him to the Bible as the foundation for everything the church believes and practices: (1) a love for biblical, verse by verse exposition of Scripture, and (2) a love for the faithful example and teaching of men like Jonathan Edwards, Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, etc. By 1997, the pastor had come to clear convictions about God’s sovereignty in all things and His faithfulness to build His church by the power of the Word Alone by Grace through Faith in Christ Alone to the Glory of God Alone. That commitment to the Doctrines of Grace, to meaningful church membership and the practice of church discipline was revolutionary.  It meant that we as members do not get to decide what the church is and does. Christ alone does that. We must simply be obedient to what He says He will do through His word faithfully proclaimed, lived and loved. And yet, these growing convictions also led to a great disruption at Rockport by the end of 1999 and into 2000. There were some who objected to what the pastor was teaching. Everything came to a head when a meeting was called to determine whether the pastor would be allowed to stay, or asked to leave. At the end of the meeting, a vote was called. Those who voted agreed unanimously that the pastor should stay. Yet, there were many present who abstained.  As a result, over the next several weeks about a third of the members left the church to go elsewhere. It was a very difficult time. Many who left had been friends. And yet, when the dust settled, we realized we had gained the freedom to reorganize and reform our church according to the Scriptures.

The Reformation of Rockport Baptist began in earnest in 2001. By 2003 we had revised our Constitution and Statement of Faith to bring them more in line with a biblical view of a plurality of elders and a foundation of solid, biblical church life. Since that time we have seen much growth and experienced many tokens of the goodness of God!  We have seen many come into our fellowship who are hungry for a place where worship is simple and biblical, focused on the cross of Christ, and church life is centered on learning how to walk together in Christ as faithful disciples. During these years, the auditorium was remodeled to provide additional seating, and Grace Bible Conference and our Annual Family Camp were begun to deepen our fellowship, knowledge and joy in the Lord. We still have much to learn, but we are growing in grace.

Since then we have seen the Lord continue to bring many more faithful members and leaders to our church. And though these years have not been without periods of struggle, the Lord has proven faithful time and time again. We have seen Him work, even through our failings, to bring glory to Himself. We have watched many of our children come to faith, and new families established. We have seen young men and women growing up in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have had the joy of sending young men out to serve as pastors, and watched young men and women become missionaries for the sake of the nations (Billy and Sarah Jackson, and Mike Hawkins, come to mind). We have had the joy of helping plant other churches, most notably our sister church, Heritage of Grace in Columbia, IL. We have watched the Lord open doors of service in the county jail through the efforts of Bake Ottofy, and give a heart for missions to many through the work of Aaron Sutton and Psalm 67 Missions Network. We are currently led by four pastors: Scott Lee, Kyle Davis, Warren Kesselring and Mike Booker.  We are served by a number of faithful deacons, worship leaders, Sunday School teachers and faithful servants of all kinds. It is through their work and the work of the Holy Spirit, that we have seen the good growth and ongoing stability that have led to our need for a larger facility.

Because of that growth, in 2023, a study team was commissioned to consider our options. Could we expand the present building? Would it be feasible to construct a new sanctuary on our present property and convert the old building to education space? One solution after another was considered, but the answer always ran into the same roadblock. We could not afford to build the space we needed, and what we could afford to build would not meet our needs. What about going to multiple services? Since our elders are committed to the principles of “one assembly” where the church meets together for worship rather than dividing into multiple congregations meeting at separate times, that option was also rejected. With these doors closed to us, we once again began to pray.  We needed the Lord to provide us with a clear answer.  And soon he did.

In early 2025, we learned through the Malin family that St David’s Catholic Church would soon be for sale. A team was appointed to look into the possibility. At first, it did not seem very promising. The Catholic diocese wanted $2.1 million for the building and property. Our property was assessed at $1.4 million. The gap seemed too large.  And so we prayed that the Lord would make it possible for us not only to afford the purchase of the new building, but also to have what we needed to remodel it and prepare it for occupation. And, of course, the Lord has graciously done exactly that, and even more than we asked! But that’s a story shared elsewhere.

And so, with gratitude in our hearts, we prepare to leave the property God gave us 60 years ago, where he has nurtured us and taught us and sustained us and helped us learn what it means to walk faithfully with Him. It has been a joy to meet with Him all these years at 3761 Telegraph Road. Here, is where many have come to Christ and been nurtured in the faith. Many have grown up here, and raised their families. We’ve wept together at funerals and rejoiced with one another at weddings, birthdays and other celebrations. We’ve worshiped the Lord and heard his word proclaimed. We’ve celebrated victories and grieved over failures. And through it all God has been faithful! So together we affirm that God has been good to us here. And that gives us confidence that he will continue to be as faithful and good as ever as we make our transition to our new location at 2334 Tenbrook Drive. 

May the Lord give us many more years of faithfulness together in Him as we enter this new chapter in our lives as Rockport Baptist Church.