History

On October 21, 1984, Bethel Baptist Church held its first service in a building off Hwy 41. Pastor Nile Stine had been led by the Lord to establish a church in Citrus County and God allowed him to found “Inverness Baptist Church”. Since the building the church was meeting in was only available to them on Sundays, Pastor and Mrs. Sharon Stine held Wednesday night services in their home.

After receiving special offerings over several years for a land purchase, “Inverness Baptist Church” was able to purchase 4+ acres in July 1990 on N McGee Drive where the current church property is located. Unable to purchase a building for the property, the Church continued to meet in the building off Hwy 41. In 1993, the church name was officially changed to “Bethel Baptist Church”.

In October 1993, Bethel Baptist Church was informed that the building they were meeting in was going to be sold – they had to find a new place to worship the Lord. While continuing to receive special offerings to put a building on the new property, they began meeting at the Inverness Women’s Club on January 2, 1994.
On July 16, 1995, Bethel Baptist Church held its first service in their new building on the new property located at 2289 N McGee Dr Hernando, FL.

Pastor Nile Stine remained the pastor of Bethel Baptist Church until March 2019 – almost 35 years in service to the Lord at Bethel! In November 2018, Bethel Baptist Church called Matthew Sandiford to be their new pastor. Pastor Sandiford continues to be the Pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, today.