The Blackwood Hills Story

The Blackwood Hills Baptist Church was established in 1939 in Eden Hills with 8 members. Records show that between 1939-1942, 147 services were held with an average attendance of nine. This small group called themselves .Eden Hills Christian Fellowship. and met in the Church of England Parish Hall on Willunga Street. By 1949 a building fund was opened with the intention of building a church on SABU land in Willunga St, Eden Hills. For many years the services were led by lay preachers or Baptist pastors who visited as part of their circuit.

In 1958 the land in Willunga St was sold and three blocks of land on the corner of Eden Ave and Alpha Road were purchased, adjacent to Manson Oval. Slowly but surely the church had grown to the point where it moved its base from Eden Hills to Bellevue Heights in 1959. When the building was built it was one of only 2 buildings in the street. The church officially changed its name to .Bellevue Heights Baptist Church. in 1963 and appointed its first full time Pastor in 1968, Rev H. Law-Davis; who was followed by Rev R. T. Wooten in 1971 and Rev. F. Hoepper in 1973.

Over the next decade the church grew steadily. In 1977 when Lance Flatters was pastor the church undertook the first extension of its Eden Ave property. In 1989 after Graham Jones had been pastor for 8 years the building was extended again to the size that it is to this day. This coincided with the appointment of Sam Thomson, who had been the Director of Youth Ministries since the mid-1970.s. Sam.s position as Youth Pastor grew from part-time to full-time in 1990 and he also began as the chaplain of Blackwood High School.

The church continued to grow and in 1994 employed a third pastor in Brandon Chaplin. Brandon coordinated outreach and small group ministries as well as running the children.s program. In 1997 he became the chaplain of AFL.s Port Adelaide which formed part of his ministry. In 1998 the ministry of Graham Jones concluded after 15 years and the church went through a period of transition and rebuilding. After a year as the acting pastor Brandon Chaplin was appointed as Senior Pastor in 1999. In 2001 Melinda Cousins joined Brandon and Sam in the Pastoral Team, her ministry steadily increasing in the ensuing years. This put the church in the unusual position of having three .home grown. pastors.

In the second half of 2001 a number of significant events occurred. Firstly, the church decided that from February 2002 it would begin a second AM service for a number of reasons . including building space. The church went to two AM services at 9.00am & 10.45am, a move which proved to be very successful. Secondly the opportunity came to put in an .Expression of Interest. to the Mitcham Council for the purchase of the old Blackwood Recreation Centre on Coromandel Parade in Blackwood. The latter would require a huge financial commitment if the proposal went forward.

It turned out that in January 2002 the church was given the opportunity to purchase the old Blackwood Recreation Centre. The church membership went ahead with the purchase for a price of $850,000. This decision was affirmed on May 26th 2002 when the congregation gave a total of $149,000 is cash on one Sunday and promised further pledges of over $400,000 over the next 2 years. After the 2 years was complete in June 2004 the congregation had given more than $600,000 over and above its regular giving. This was truly an amazing .kick-start. for which we praise God and look forward in faith to seeing God provide in what is a long term commitment as we service an $800,000 loan.

In the same period BHBC settled on its Eden Ave property for $425,000 with Clear Vision Christian Fellowship who will take over the building from October 2004. The old Blackwood Recreation Centre became our possession in January 2004 after the Mitcham Council completed its new centre on the Blackwood High School site.

During 2004 great progress was made with our project. Ably headed by Rob Beaumont the project continued on steadily. Rob did a great job in steering the renovations and leading us. Others contributed tremendously . Laurie Russell, Doug Baker, Craig Cope and Craig Adams to name a few. Some put in enormous hours into the building and the sacrifice was amazing. Many chipped away at tasks, took on responsibility, showed up every Saturday morning, dropped in during the week, and baked goodies for our volunteers. A major transformation occurred in the building and we now enjoy the final product.

After more than 9 months of tireless work, the renovations were complete at a cost of just over $1 million. The church finally moved into its current premises in September 2004. It had been a challenging 3 year journey but it had been worth the wait. The church today now enjoys the benefits of the sacrifices made as it seeks to be a community hub and make an ongoing positive impact in the Blackwood Hills.