Taylor, MI
Senior Pastor Herb Gilbert and Beacon Baptist Church celebrated the congregation’s 50th anniversary September 18. Special guest for the celebration was Jerry Thorpe, former pastor of Temple Baptist Church in Odessa, TX.
Charter members of Beacon, Eva and Millard Winningham, Edwin and Nellie Legg, Jim and Lou Dalton, Darlus Gonzalez, and Eunice Brown, were present at the church’s beginning September 17, 1961, when the new congregation met in the local YMCA building. They were also able to join in the celebration 50 years later. Student Pastor Adam Reilly interviewed the charter members for video presentations shown in the lead-up to the actual anniversary.
Beacon Baptist Church began when a group of people from Gilead Baptist Church in downtown Detroit met to plant a new church on the outskirts of the city. Led by Marion Evans, the group met at a YMCA in Wyandotte, and then in a school gymnasium in Southgate. That first church had about 60 in attendance. Jim Dalton, head of the church deacons, was elected to that position in those early days. A little later, the congregation bought a plot of land in Taylor on Northline Road, the church’s current location.
In 1966, Beacon called Pastor Herbert Gilbert and his wife Glenda to serve, something they’ve been doing now for 45 years. In 1981, John Reilly joined the staff along with his wife Rhonda, and recently John was named co-pastor of the church. Adam Reilly became Student Pastor in 2009, and a mission intern, Caleb Moore, joined the staff in June.
The church moved into their new home in late 2000 when construction was finished on a 1,600-seat facility. Beacon supports more than 200 missionary projects and many local ministries. People continue to be evangelized and added to the church, with a current average attendance of about 800 even in the face of the economic downturn that has affected the area. A recent bulletin shows a week full of activity ahead with opportunities for scores of willing workers.