Nice to Meet you
Who Are We?
Our History
Liberty Baptist Church was organized July 13, 1975, in the National Guard Armory on 28 Road, in Grand Junction, CO under the leadership of Pastor Sam Stauffer. According to one church document, the name liberty was chosen b/c of the spiritual freedom we have in Christ, and patriotic overtones.
Within 2 years, Ray Outler assumed the pastoral duties of the church. Liberty moved to a Furniture Store on Main Street, then The American Legion Building in which the membership would have to pick up and discard the empty beer bottles of the activities the night before. Surely, there was a need for a stable and dedicated facility.
God met that need, by moving in the heart of a local Doctor and his family to donate almost ten acres of land on South Camp Road some 5 miles from the city limits at the time, and overlooking the beautiful red cliffs of the Colorado National Monument.
Liberty Baptist Church, under the leadership of Pastor Chuck Amell, secured the funding to erect a 6,000 Sq. Foot building which was formally dedicated to the work of the Lord on June 7, 1981.
In 1984, Pastor Amell and his wife Sharon followed God’s will to reach the Sioux Indians of Lake Andes, SD, and Pastor Glenn Gardner assumed the leadership until 1986. Following Glen’s departure, Liberty Baptist Church was without a Pastor and dwindling in size, with bonds to be paid. Across town was Horizon View Baptist Church which was in need of a building. In 1986, God worked to unite these two ministries under the leadership of Pastor Dan Wilkenson along with his wife Jan, and their two children Rachel, and Daniel.
The ministry flourished and in 1992, Liberty Baptist Church was able to pay off the last of it’s building bond payments five years ahead of schedule. It also began plans to build an education and fellowship wing to the church which was completed within the decade.
In 2006, Liberty Baptist Church saw the departure of Pastor Wilkenson, and the congregation was smaller once again and without a Pastor. But God quickly met the church’s need of leadership, by bringing Pastor Eric Turner, his wife Kellie, and two daughters Samantha and Bailey. Pastor Turner has served since January of 2007.
Today, God’s work at Liberty Baptist Church is as abundant as ever.
Though it’s history has seen mountaintop joys as well as valleys of trial, one thing has remained perfectly strong: God is faithful to His Church. Today’s service, now 40 years since Liberty Baptist Church was established, is dedicated to Honor and extol the name of it’s head, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our purpose is summed up in the words of a chorus: Lord, you’ve been faithful through all these years, through every joy, through every tear. You’ve kept your promises; You’ve seen us through. Now keep us faithful, Lord, to You! We fully expect that until Jesus comes to snatch it away, God will continue His faithful blessing upon Liberty and to use it for His glory.