West Pines Baptist Church was established in 1995 by the church-planting ministry of Bethesda Baptist Church of Brownsburg, Indiana.  Our founding pastors were Thomas Graef and John Neuhart.  Thomas Graef, came to the Indianapolis area in August of 1995 from Berea Ohio, where he was the youth pastor for Berea Baptist Church.   John Neuhart (also from Berea) was the Associate Pastor in the starting of West Pines Baptist Church.

 

West Pines’ first services were held in Westlake Elementary School located near I-465 and Rockville Rd (US 36) in Indianapolis. Our first public worship service was on March 17, 1995 and we began to grow rapidly.  We had visitors and salvation decisions from the first week. God was at work among us.

 

Looking to the future, the church had an earnest desire for our own building. God blessed us with the opportunity to purchase 15-acres in the Avon area.   At this time, Westlake Elementary School began a major remodeling/expansion project, so West Pines began meeting at a movie theater on Rockville Road in Avon.

 

On June 2nd, 2002, we broke ground for our current building on that 15-acres in Avon.  Easter Sunday, 2003 was our first Sunday service in our new building.  The Lord has given us such a wonderful blessing!  As faithful stewards of His blessings, we will work diligently to do His work in His house and will preach the Gospel from it to grow His Kingdom here on Earth.

 

In 2005, we took on our first regularly supported missionary. It was Pastor Tom Graef and his family!  Yielding to God’s call, he and his family moved to Romania to help train church planters and assist in mobilizing a missions movement.

 

In October of 2006,  West Pines Baptist Church called our current pastor, Marc Dowler. Pastor Dowler is a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA and had five years of experience as senior pastor at a previous ministry. He and his wife, Tricia, were married in 1993 and have two children, Savannah and Zachary.

 

In the spring of 2008, Pastor Neuhart accepted the call to return to West Pines as Associate Pastor and overseer of our daycare ministry.  Pastor Neuhart served as an Associate Pastor of two other church plants in the greater Indianapolis area.  We are happy to have Pastor John and Sarah back in our flock!

 

Today we stand before the Lord thankful for the great things He has done and excited about what He has in store!