Community Baptist Church of Tropic held their first service in Bryce Valley on April 16, 2023.
Dr. Jonathan Edwards, along with his wife Chrissa, has been planting churches in Utah since 1975. The focus of the Community Baptist Church is specifically on messages from God about hope and repentance in the Bible. It embodies the slogan, “Bible-Based, Christ-Centered, Offering Hope.”
That morning Dr. Edwards preached a message entitled, “Bible-Based.” Following Dr. Edwards’ message, Dr. Ron Ehmann, Director of Northwest Baptist Missions, gave a short message and added some cowboy poetry to the program.
Also in attendance were seven members of a team from Calvary Baptist Church in Winter Garden, Florida, who had been helping during the week to prepare the building and contact community members. Pastor T. J. Klapperich from Winter Garden offered a short message and members of the group sang a special song, “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus.” Rev. John Innes led the congregational singing, while his wife, Marylu, played the piano. The Inneses have partnered with the Edwardses to get Community Baptist off to a good start.
The church is located at 1041 N. Highway 12 in the building that was formerly used by Bryce Canyon Bible Church. In 2017, the property was donated to Marysvale Baptist Church of Marysvale, Utah, which is the sponsoring church for Community Baptist.
Dr. Edwards was formerly the pastor at Marysvale Baptist for twenty-five years.
“We are excited to be part of the Bryce Valley communities and want to be a help in this area,” Edwards said. He can be contacted for spiritual help at 435-979-4342. The church website is cbctropic.org.
– Community Baptist Church
Feature image caption: Jonathan and Chrissa Edwards (left) have partnered with John and Marylu Innes to launch the Church in Tropic.