Our History
On March 7, 1965, 420 people, who were largely members of the Victory Baptist Church of Springfield, MO, met in the Chapel of the Ozarks, Springfield, seeking unity of thought, oneness of spirit and the leading of the Lord. These met in response to a request by many for the founding of a new church. The request was made and published in the Springfield newspaper on March 6, 1965.
The Drury Chapel of Drury College was used as a meeting place on Sunday, beginning March 14, and the Wednesday night services were held in the Chapel of the Ozarks.
On March 21, 1965 Rev. Fred Lynn was called as the pastor and a motion was made to seek application to the Southern Baptist Convention and to participate whole-heartedly in the mission program of the Greene County Baptist Association and the denomination including participation in the Lottie Moon Christmas offering for North American missions, the Annie Armstrong offering for foreign missionaries and continuous support for the Grand Oak Mission Center operated by the Greene County Baptist Association.
Eight acres of ground were purchased on the present site on Ingram Mill Road and on March 28, the same time that the ground was purchased, the church was named “Glendale Baptist Church.”
Ground was broken on a new educational building and temporary auditorium on July 11, 1965. Construction began immediately and the building was occupied in January 1966.
Glendale Baptist Church was received into the Greene County Baptist Association in September 1965 at the annual meeting of the association. Also, at about this time the Glendale Baptist Church would begin a 30-minute weekly radio broadcast called “Sunday Sing” that would air in Springfield for some 22 years.
Reverend Fred Lynn resigned as pastor in November 1966 after serving 20 months.
In January 1967 Reverend Thomas M. McClain, a native of Fort Smith, Arkansas, was called as the second pastor of Glendale. He came from the First Baptist Church, Rosenburg, TX.
In October 1969, another building was added that housed the nursery, kitchen, dining hall and the adult department facilities. Then in November 1975 the church occupied an 800-seat auditorium.
During Brother Tom’s ministry and in addition to the weekly radio broadcast Glendale Baptist Church would launch a weekly television broadcast called “Let’s Get Aquainted” where members of Glendale would be introduced to the city of Springfield in addition to music specials and a weekly message from Brother Tom.
Some twenty years were also spent in a ministry called “Monthly All-Night Prayer” where Glendale deacons led in a ministry once every month and prayed with the help of volunteers from 6:00 PM on a Saturday night until 6:00 AM on Sunday morning.
Six months after Brother Tom’s retirement, in December 1992 the Church called Brother Frank William Ross as its third pastor since its inception some 27 years earlier. Under Brother Frank’s leadership Glendale set out to “Rebuild the House of God” and during the 90’s would remodel the 800 seat auditorium by adding the wall housing the sound booth and increasing the stage and pulpit area to its current size. These renovations took the seating capacity from approximately 800 to its current level of around 400.
In December, 2004 Glendale Baptist extended a call to Reverend Mark Baker as the fourth pastor of Glendale Baptist, who would serve until his resignation in October 2010.
After one full year Glendale would extend a call to its fifth Pastor, Reverend Mitchell Wright. Brother Mitch agreed to serve on a short-term basis and officially began duties on October 2, 2011 and served this church until December 31, 2014.
In October 2015, our church extended a call to its current Pastor, Reverend Ean Hendrix. Pastor Ean is currently attending Baptist Bible College seeking a degree in church ministry.
Our hope is that Glendale Baptist Church will be true to Christ by carrying His message to our community and building Christians in their faith until Jesus comes again.
Glendale Baptist Church
2236 South Ingram Mill Road | Springfield, MO 65804
Ph: 417.881.8717 | E: info@glendalebaptistsgf.com
Located on the west side of Highway 65 between the Battlefield and Sunshine exits.
Sunday School: 9:30 AM | Morning Worship: 10:40 AM South Entrance | Evening Worship: 6:00 PM North Entrance | Wednesday Night: 6:30 PM North Entrance
