Loving God, investing in people, and reaching the world is what we are all about. Through our ministry, lives are being restored, relationships mended and believers empowered to live God-centered lives. Through this Body of Christ you will meet those with a vision that is focused on the Holy Spirit touching and changing lives.
Atmosphere
It’s important to us that you feel welcome when visiting. We hope the atmosphere will help you feel relaxed and comfortable. The music and worship are built around Biblical themes that are timeless. We are glad to have you join us in worship! You will be greeted and welcomed.
Family Friendly
No matter your family dynamics, you’re welcome here at OBC and we’re excited for you to consider being a part of our church family! Our intent is to serve your whole family. During our worship service we have care available for infants and children. Your children will receive real spiritual training from a group of caring leaders during this time.
Message
From the pulpit you will hear sound, topical and expository preaching. The focus of each message is built around the point of the Biblical text being addressed.
Biblical Teaching
We place a high priority on the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. The worship service is a time for us to come together as a community to learn, be encouraged and to be challenged by God’s Word. Other opportunities exist beyond the Sunday worship service where you’ll have a chance to grow, fellowship, or otherwise be a part of a church family that lives out their faith together.
Association
Open Bible Churches is an association of churches and ministers with a mission to globally make disciples, develop leaders, and plant churches. Our premise is that we are more effective in fulfilling our mission by collaborating together than by functioning as disconnected islands. We strive to maintain a healthy balance of mutual accountability without undue control. Our name reflects our foundation; we embrace the Bible as God’s Word and seek to build who we are, what we believe, and what we do on the Bible, which must be open in order to discover and apply its truth. Jesus commanded His followers to be the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13), so we desire to relationally authenticate what we believe. Our delight is to honor the Lord God, follow Jesus Christ, and allow the Holy Spirit to empower and guide us in our service.
History
It all began nearly 100 years ago! The first recorded minutes of Open Bible in Rapid City were dated June 8, 1931 with Reverend C.G. Rothermel as the first Pastor. In the first few years the small congregation worshipped in homes, rented space in the 800 block of Fairview, shared the First Evangelical Free building on 11th and Kansas City St and then moved into the annex of the Harney Hotel.
In 1938 the congregation paid for land on 6th and North Streets and in May of 1939 they bid $106 for a large hotel building near Keystone, making an agreement with the land owner to tear the building down for salvageable materials to be used for the new church building. The congregation moved from the Harney Hotel Annex to 6th and North Streets as soon as the basement was usable. The dedication service of the new church was on September 3, 1944. The building included living quarters for the pastor and his family.
Under the leadership of Pastor Ray Smith in 1960, a two acre plot of land was purchased on Space Street. The church was renamed First Church of the Open Bible and services there began in August of 1961. The church began to grow in numbers and missional impact significantly.
From 1969-1981, Pastor Earl and Fern Johnson led the church with distinction. Under their guidance, the church continued growing by making disciples and developing leaders through the Soul Searchers youth ministry – 53 of whom were sent out into vocational and marketplace ministry, as well as the international mission field.
The vision for the 1980s came when Pastor Ed and Betty Wood accepted the call to come to Rapid City. In May 1981, the church purchased land along East Saint Patrick Street and soon after purchase, construction began on a new facility. The church was renamed Open Bible Christian Center (OBCC) and the first services were held in March of 1982. In the next few years the congregation grew substantially.
In January 1987, Pastor Les and Sharon Potts came to lead OBCC. Growth continued and church leadership began to plan the next phase of church building construction. Under Les and Sharon’s guidance, OBCC determined an even clearer vision and mission to plant churches in the Dakotas and beyond. In the nearly 28 years they led the church, it grew significantly in numbers and local and international missional impact.
In October of 2014 Pastor Chuck and Kelly Loftis came to OBCC as lead pastors. During their time here through May of 2019 the church went through a name change to Open Bible Church of Rapid City and a number of administrative and ministry developments were implemented.
In November of 2019 Pastor Randy and Tami Brock were called to serve as lead pastors carrying on the vision of Loving God and Investing in People. The focus continues to be on ministry development through discipleship, renewed evangelistic initiatives, community involvement, and missions outreach.
What began as a small group of 20 now numbers 1,500+ constituents. Average weekend worship service attendance currently is 500+ with two services on Sunday with a growing online presence, Wednesday evening classes for all ages, life groups, women, men, student, and children’s ministries, Upward Sports League, Creekside Christian School (K-8), Dream Kids Preschool and Learning Center, and more. Open Bible offers a wide variety of ministry that will impact your entire household.
For eight decades, we’ve made a considerable impact for the kingdom of God in Rapid City and beyond. God has certainly been good to the people of OBC and we invite you to prayerfully consider joining this sincere church family.
By His grace we have come this far and by His grace we will continue to press on as our church’s best days are always ahead!