History of Berean

In 1988, Berean Baptist Church of Beloit Wisconsin, began as a mission work of the Berean Baptist Church in Rockford Illinois, where Dr. Melvin Swanson was the Pastor. The church began in a house on Petunia Lane under the leadership of Pastor Ron Baldwin. Under Pastor Baldwin’s capable leadership, the church was established and began to see growth. Pastor Baldwin left the church in 1990.

Berean then called Pastor Darryl Zingre in April of 1991. Pastor Zingre faithfully labored and under his leadership the church continued to grow. In November of 1994, Berean purchased the building of Grace Methodist Church located at 1849 Bayliss Avenue, which became the new church home for Berean.

In September of 1995, Pastor Zingre left, and the church called Kelvin Swanson to be their new Pastor. Under Pastor Swanson’s leadership and with the help of faithful members and the blessings of God, the church has experienced steady growth for which we give all the glory to God! In the summer of 2004, a little brown house adjacent to the church building on Bayliss was purchased. The house was torn down and the church doubled the size of its parking lot. In the fall of 2004, the house just north of the church at 1918 Prairie Avenue was purchased. The house was designated as “Friendship Hall” and was used for church offices and youth ministry.

In July of 2007, Berean was able to purchase their present facility located at 1992 Shopiere Rd. The members of Berean worked hard in renovating their new church building. The church building is all on one level and has space to accommodate the present and future growth. In 2012, the church added to their parking lot and now has 101 parking stalls to accommodate for growth. Pastor Swanson continues to have a vision for growth and a burden to reach the greater Beloit area for Christ.

We invite you to come join us for one of our exciting services, where we still sing the hymns of the faith and still believe in the old-fashioned preaching from God’s Word!