Berean Baptist Church has experienced remarkable growth and change during the twenty-seven years of Dr. Tom Neal's leadership. Upon Dr. Neal's arrival in Orange Park in 1980, the church, then know as Clay Baptist Temple, was located on three acres of property on busy Blanding Boulevard. The church property consisted of a small, brick auditorium and two mobile classroom units and less than 100 members. Additional education and auditorium space was built on that location in 1984, with two additional acres of adjoining property acquired in 1986.
Soon it became evident the church ministries would outgrow that property, and purchasing additional property in the same area was impossible due to the explosion of retail businesses in the area. God miraculously provided nearly eleven beautiful acres of land and a comfortable church auditorium debt-free in 1988 when Clay Baptist Temple acquired Berean Baptist Church, located on Highway 17 just south of Orange Park. On June 28, 1988, the church was incorporated as a non-profit corporation under the laws of the state of Florida.
Since that time, the church has built a 19,365 square foot educational building that houses the Sunday School ministry of the church plus the Christian day school, Berean Christian Academy. In 1996 a 30,000 square foot auditorium was completed that seats in excess of 1,100 people. Berean Baptist College was started in 1998 and nearly 5,000 square feet of dormitory and classroom facilities were erected. Due to the growth of the ministries at our church, a twenty thousand square foot gymnasium/classroom complex was completed to house the academy and to be used for additional Sunday School space.
Each year hundreds of people are saved and baptized under the leadership of Dr. Neal. The church has grown from just a handful of member to over 2,000 members in the twenty-seven years of his service here, and several ministries have begun that are based on a strong commitment to soul-winning. A faith-promise missions program, bus ministry, music ministry, and youth program join other ministries under the leadership of Dr. Neal in reaching families for Christ.
