The new Emmanuel Baptist Church of Belle Fourche (EBCBF) will soon be a landmark on Sourdough Road. Once the concrete is poured, a prefabricated modular building will be erected. The floor plan is still a work in progress and subject to change, but Pastor Andy Anderson is hopeful to move into the new facility by August 2024.
The building project has been under consideration since 2009 when EBCBF purchased a two-acre lot. The congregation of 35-40 realized they were outgrowing the older church building.
The new building will have an open floor plan more suitable than the current building on 11th Avenue. “There won’t be stairs.” Anderson quipped as he alluded to the difficulty of too many stairs for aging congregants and younger children. “But there will be a lot of room for fellowship.” He added.
Pastor Andy Anderson explained a building fund to build the new church debt free has been growing for years. Charitable donations over the years have been the primary source of funding. Anderson’s mantra throughout the process has been “Keep focusing on the ministry rather than the mortgage.” Being debt free to concentrate on ministry rather than money to pay off loans has been an important goal of the congregation.
Anderson is loquacious, friendly and has served as the pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church for 29 years. He enjoys describing his ministry, how his eclectic interests augment his outreach, and how he once considered himself an introvert.
Anderson who is not originally a Belle Fourche native, came to South Dakota via Ellsworth Air Force Base when he joined the Air Force after high school. Raised as Catholic, he experienced some struggles with faith as a young man. In 1986 while stationed at Mildenhall, England a personal epiphany experienced at Kenny Hill New Testament Baptist church determined Andy’s future. He became a born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism followed and then formal Bible studies through Liberty University. Upon returning to the United States and finishing out his Air Force enlistment, he met and married his wife, and soon began a fulfilling career in ministry. He served congregations in Billings, MT, and Sturgis, SD. From the Sturgis First Baptist Church he was invited to pastor the Emmanuel Baptist Church congregation here in Belle Fourche and Rangeland Ministries in Alzada, MT.
These days, Anderson happily serves his congregation in Belle Fourche, while wearing other ministerial hats that enable him reach farther into the community. He works 20-36 hours a week as an EMT in Belle Fourche. “I see it as ministry.” He said, “Being an EMT enables me to minister to people when they are most in need.” Anderson is also a volunteer firefighter, another way of building relationships in the community.
Anderson is an ordained minister of the Emmanuel Baptist Church. The church is a non-denominational Baptist Church, with a very active membership and a solid core of active Bible studies offered in Belle Fourche and Spearfish. Anderson explained.
Meanwhile, the project of building a church competes for his time and attention. Anderson is well suited to these tasks also. He is a licensed contractor experienced with the skills to lead the church building committee through the process of subcontracting the new EBCBF on Sourdough Road. The new church building will have plenty of parking and there won’t be stairs.
Everyone is welcome to participate in worship. For a complete list of activities and information about EBC, please visit ebcbf.org.
