History

October 2, 1983
First Service

Emmanuel was started as a mission of Fundamental Baptist Mission Board, with Frank Pittman serving as missionary pastor.

March 11, 1984
Charter

"Emmanuel Baptist" was chosen for the name of the church based on the name of God meaning "God with us!"

June 23, 1985
Wayne Reese

Mr. Reese was part of the original group of men who founded Emmanuel and had been serving as the Associate Pastor prior to taking the pastorate.

Pastor Reese expressed that the earliest desire for Emmanuel was that it would “make an impact in our city as well as around the world.”

April 1987
Property Purchase

Property was purchased at 602 Canterbury Road (now 102 Canterbury Road after re-addressing) by Emmanuel under the leadership of Pastor Wayne Reese.  

Construction of the brick building began.

September 9, 1987
Faith Promise Missions Conference

The first Faith Promise Missions Conference was held. Missions giving through faith promise continues to be a vital part of EBC.

June 27, 1992
Pastor Charles Surrett

Pastor Charles Surrett was called as the pastor of EBC. He oversaw the completion of the brick building in 1993 and faithfully served as pastor for 20 years. 

More buildings were constructed, Faith Promise giving increased, outreach into Kings Mountain continued, and the church grew.

August, 1993
Dr. Larry Brubaker

Joining EBC as Assistant Pastor and Music Director, Dr. Larry Brubaker described the church as "an exciting ministry through and through.” 

In 1994, the choir gave the first Christmas cantata, a tradition that still continues.

1997
First Youth Pastor

Emmanuel's first full-time youth pastor was Jim Ogle.  He began taking teens on missions trips in 1999. Many of our church members have responded to the call to missions and serve around the world. 

Teen and adult missions trips remain a highlight for our church family.

March 1, 1999
New Auditorium

The first service was held in our current auditorium building. It was a multipurpose space at that time, being used as the auditorium on Sunday and then converted to a space for the youth group to meet for activities on Wednesday nights.

January, 2013
Pastor Jim Ogle

After serving as youth pastor for 16 years, Emmaunuel voted to call Pastor Ogle as the Senior Pastor upon Dr. Surrett's retirement.

Pastor Ogle continues to serve as Senior Pastor.

Fall, 2015
Gym Building

Our third building was added to the property.  The gymn has a kitchen, a classroom area, and a large open space. With plenty of room for youth group and Master Club activities here, the auditorium no longer needed to be used as a dual purpose space. 

July, 2020
Steve Hefner

The Brubakers retired in 2020, and Mr. Steve Hefner stepped into the role of music pastor.

January, 2021
Pastor Adam Valenzuela

After volunteering in youth and children's ministries at Emmanuel for 8 years, Pastor Adam Valenzuela became the full-time Assistant Pastor with a focus on Children and Youth ministry.

2023
Auditorium Remodel

The main building on EBC campus received a major renovation, from a new platform, lighting, and carpet in the auditorium to a more spacious layout in the welcome center.

2026
Work Continues

The ministry of Emmanuel Baptist Church continues. We currently support 37 missionaries around the world and continue to reach Kings Mountain with the Gospel. 

2025 Annual Recap

February: Revival with Rich Touzor followed by EBC Teens Broom hockey.

March: Master Clubs Regionals where EBC Kids participated in puppet shows, music ministry, missionary presentations, and Bible quizzing.

April: Ladies Equipping Weekend with Rachel Harrison – Balancing life’s responsibilities God’s way. Friday before Easter service to celebrate our Lord’s death and then Sunday, His resurrection.

May: Church picnic and several weddings.

June: Crosscut Creek VBS with the Merrill team. We had children saved and a wonderful penny offering for the Herbster’s Hong Kong ministry, which we gave them when they reported on their ministry.

July: Spain Missions Trip – Twelve adults and teens assisted two churches we support in Spain with building projects and music ministries. EBC Teens attended summer camp at the Wilds, with several staying an extra week for Camper in Training.

August: We welcomed back Ambassador Baptist College students!

September: Missions Conference with Dr. Rick Arrowood. The Carden’s and Johnson’s joined our missions family.   

October: Staff retreat to plan for 2026. The Ogle’s began sabbatical.

November: Three missionary family reports and our annual “Pie and Praise”.

December: Annual parade outreach to share the gospel with our neighbors in Kings Mountain, followed by the choir’s Christmas cantata.  Missions giving this year was $125,000 above general fund giving.

Video History

Scroll to Top