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Sunrise
Bible Church started as
a mission of Nellis
Baptist Church on June
30, 1957. At
that time, a survey was
taken of the area and it
was determined that
approximately 4000
people lived in the
section “where the
church property is now
located”. The
survey showed that there
was only one other
church group attempting
to serve the spiritual
needs of all these
people.
Sunrise
Baptist Church was
constituted and became
affiliated with the
Arizona Baptist
Association, and the
Southern Baptist
Convention on April 13,
1958, with a charter
membership of 36 people
in a carpenter shop, an
abandoned building
without lights, water or
sewer or other
facilities on the corner
of Nellis and Meikle.
Organizational council
members were Troy
Brooks, Robert Smith,
Wayne White, H. Merritt,
Virgil Reeves, and E. W.
Hunke Jr. Other program
participants were MSgt
Virgil Clubb, who became
the first mission pastor
of the church, R. Loden,
and Eugene Mockerman.
During
the summer of 1958 the
church met in a store
front in Nellis Plaza.
On August 30, 1959, the
church purchased the
property on the corner
of Betty and Kell.
There was an existing
building measuring 16 by
32 foot that was used as
a church for the next
two years. The
building was in a
serious state of
disrepair but the
capacity of the
structure was 85
worshipers, and at times
benches were placed
outside the front doors
to accommodate the
overflow. The
church bid $1.02 for the
Little Theater building
in Boulder City and the
government accepted the
offer. The
structure was dismantled
and transported the 25
miles to this building
site, where they
completed their first
unit in 1962. The
church purchased an
additional 3 parcels of
oproperty by paying the
past due taxes for a
total of 6 acres.
The Home Mission Board
funded $20,000.00 toward
the church to help pay
the pastor and to build
buildings.
In
the beginning Sunday
School classes met in
huge packing crates
borrowed from Nellis.
When the weather
permitted they simply
met outside and in cars
and the house across the
street. On one occasion
when Billy Graham was in
the nearby area in 1960
he came to the church
property and prayed for
the church growth. There
was no formal meeting or
anything, he just came
and a few people met
with him and waded out
in the mud and prayed
for the church.
Sunrise
was started by military
people from Nellis, and
has always ministered to
folks from Nellis.
The size of the church
has been directly
affected by military
groups being assigned to
or away from Nellis and
on several occasions the
church has doubled or
been halved in size due
to these impacts.
There was a time when
one of the Chaplains
from Nellis joined the
church.
The
first sanctuary, a one
room building, was
completed in 1960.
The educational
building, that which is
now our fellowship hall
and the children’s
wing, was completed in
1965. The third
unit the current Worship
center was started in
the late 1970s, and was
completed in 1985 and
dedicated on September
22, 1985.
In
1998 a major improvement
project was started
involving the completion
of the offsite
requirements, (curbs and
gutters) paving the
parking lots, desert
landscaping, and a major
exterior reconditioning,
designed to make all the
buildings look alike.
Many interior
improvements were also
made and the parsonage
was turned into an
administrative building
housing all the church
offices and support
equipment.
The
church has always had a
strong emphasis on
missions. They had
5 Missions going at one
time. Sunrise
Baptist Church was
responsible for starting
Spring Mountain Youth
Camp (1962), Desert
Hills Baptist Church
(1962), Central Baptist
Mission, East Las Vegas
Mission (64-65 No longer
in existence) and
Sunnyside Baptist
Mission (1978).
Then in 80-81 Sunrise
provided aid to
Community College
Baptist Church and in
1994 Sunrise Baptist
Church called Rev.
Russell Daines to be
pastor of what would be
called El Camino Baptist
Church.
Over
the years, the following
men have served as
pastors; MSgt Virgil
Clubb (Mission Pastor
57/58), Eugene M.
Mockerman (58-64), Dr.
E. L. Pennington
(64-66), Everett Moore
(66-70), Don Oliver
(70-71), Stanley Unruh
(72- 87), Miguel
Rodrigues (87-90), Dr.
William D. Potts
(90-2007), James
Griffitts (2008 –
2010), and Billy Crone
(2011-present).
Sunrise
Baptist Church left the
Southern Baptist
Convention and was
renamed Sunrise Bible
Church in 2017.
In
April 2021, Sunrise
Bible Church moved to
1481 E. Lake Mead Pkwy
in Henderson, NV to our
new facility.
We
are reaching over 218
different countries
spreading the Word over
radio, TV, and the
internet.
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