History of our Church

In the fall of 1993, Southall Baptist Church and Lynn Haven Baptist merged and formed Westover Baptist Church. On September 5, 1993, the church held its first service and had 235 charter members. Dr. Doug Barber, formerly of Southall Baptist Church, became the senior pastor. Reverend Robert Vermillion, former pastor of Lynn Haven Baptist Church, was selected as the co-pastor. Reverend Paul Nelson was selected as the worship leader. The church merger led to the transformation of Southall Christian School to Westover Christian Academy in September 1994. The 15-acre site was immediately expanded to include new facilities for Westover Christian Academy


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Timeline of Events

  • 1993 – Westover Baptist Church was formed from the merger of Southall Baptist Church and Lynn Haven Baptist Church
  • 1994 – Westover Christian Academy opens for the first time with Keith Williams as administrator. Adam Dean joins as youth pastor. 
  • 1995 – Encounter Ministries was formed and Revival with Tom Schuj
  • 1996 – Missions Trip to Mexico and Revival with Milton Frazier
  • 1997 – Southside Crusade and Revival with Danny Lovett
  • 1998 – Reverend Todd Peck joins WBC as a Youth Pastor. Revival with Danny Lovett.
  • 1999 – First Worldfest, Missions Trip to Ukraine, and Revival with Scott Smith
  • 2000 – Missions Trip to Mexico, Revival with Danny Lovett, and Jamie Ragle Crusade
  • 2001 – Don Criss new administrator of WCA, Danny Lovett Revival, and Scott Smith Revival
  • 2002 – Missions Trip to Brazil, John Cline new youth pastor of WBC, and Sounds of Liberty
  • 2003 – 40 Days of Purpose, Revival with Scott Smith, and Heaven’s Gates-Hell’s Flames
  • 2004 – Missions Trip to Canada, Revival with Rick Via, and Wings of Morning
  • 2005 – Extreme Life Makeover Conference, Revival with Scott Smith, and “The Christmas Gift”
  • 2006 – Missions Trip to Brazil, Call to Prayer Conference with Joe Humrichous, and Wings of Morning
  • 2007 – Missions Trip to New York, Wings Christmas Tour, and “Love of God at Christmas”
  • 2008 – Missions Trip to Uganda, Celebrating 15 years, and “It Happened One Christmas”
  • 2009 – Shawn Weeks the new administrator of WCA, Reverend Mitch Cifers joined WBC, and Scott Smith Revival
  • 2010 – Missions Trip to Nicaragua consisting of 54 people, Engage Ministries Begins, and “The Gift Goes On” 
  • 2011 – Family, Friends, and Neighbors Focus, Charlie Orr Revival, and “Mary Did You Know?”
  • 2012 – Missions Trip to Peru, Sounds of Liberty, and “Gospel According to Scrooge”
  • 2013 – 20th Anniversary Celebration, Missions Trip to Sandstone, WV, Charles Atkins new youth pastor, and “The Connection” 
  • 2014 – Missions Trip to Jamaica, Revival with Charlie Orr
  • 2015 – Revival with Mason Joy
  • 2016 – Missions Trip to New York City, NY, Jim Barber becomes youth pastor
  • 2017 – John Cline becomes new administrator of WCA
  • 2018 – 25th Anniversary Celebration
  • 2019 – Revival with Scott Smith
  • 2020 – Dr. Doug Barber announces plans to retire
  • 2021 – On January 3, 2021, Dr. Lance Roberts was installed as senior pastor