OUR HISTORY
The church family that unites in weekly worship and service in Marysville, Ohio, was birthed out of obedience to Christ’s great commission and a vision for the world. Jason and Holly Knight shared a heart for missions that they believed would take them to a foreign mission field. As a youth pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Birmingham, Michigan, God gave Jason a burden to plant a church that would plant churches, send missionaries, and support missions.
Bluelick Bible Church, an independent Baptist Church in Lima, Ohio, shared that same vision and extended an invitation for the Knights to partner with them in a church planting endeavor in the Marysville community, 60 miles to its southeast. By God's grace, the Knights joined the staff, raised financial support, and prepared to plant in six months. Ten churches would eventually team up in prayer and provide financial support and boots-on-the-ground help.
Heartland's first service was held in the Holiday Inn Express conference room on October 9th, 2005. Fifty people attended. From those the first visitors, a small nucleus of believers was formed. Before long, the services were moved to a local public school band room to accommodate growth in number and ministries. Baptisms took place at the hotel swimming pool or the YMCA. The fellowship chartered as an Independent Baptist Church in August 2006, adopting a constitution and electing its first pastor and deacons.
Each week, the new church met at the Creekview Intermediate School on Sundays and held a Wednesday prayer meeting at the Knight home in Mill Valley. Young people enjoyed a children’s church, a kids club, and backyard Bible clubs at homes throughout the community. As ministries grew, so grew the church family's desire to have property of its own.
An arduous search for rental property ended at Heartland’s current location (13680 Hinton Mill Rd), where the church began to lease the property. Through the teamwork of the members, many updates and renovations took place, and Heartland Baptist Church had a permanent address and home.
The church's own property allowed the congregation to deepen roots and outreach in the Marysville community, grow in unity, and disciple one another in the Word of God. Special meetings, community outreach, Sunday school, and Vacation Bible Schools began. Faith-promise missions stretched the church’s faith and financial support. Before long, the building was purchased and paid off within the same year, and the church became entirely self-supporting in its tenth year.
The church's ministries developed out of the membership's desire to be obedient to the Bible. The founding vision was to establish a local congregation that followed the pattern set by the early New Testament church, centered on Christ, consistent with Scripture while reflecting the community in which God placed it. May the Lord continue to prosper what He has begun.