Bethany World Prayer Center

Bethany Church is a megachurch located in Baton Rouge, LA. The church was founded in 1963 by Roy Stockstill.
History
Bethany was founded in 1963 by Pastors Roy and Ruth Stockstill, emphasizing simplicity, sincerity, and sacrifice as the guiding principles of the church. After pastoring the church for 20 years, Pastor Roy retired as senior pastor in 1983 and turned the leadership over to his son Larry.
Pastor Larry Stockstill was called into the ministry at the age of 16. After graduating from Baker High School in Baker, Louisiana, he enrolled in Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, graduating in 1975 with a degree in theological and historical studies. Upon graduation, Pastor Stockstill continued at ORU as associate chaplain until 1976. At that time, he and his wife, Melanie, moved to West Africa to serve as missionaries in Nigeria and Ghana. In 1978 they returned to Louisiana, where Pastor Stockstill joined the pastoral staff of Bethany Church, still under the leadership of his father.
At the age of 30, Pastor Larry became the senior pastor of Bethany. Pastors Larry and Melanie Stockstill built upon the foundation laid by Pastor Roy in the early years of the church. By 1985, two years after Pastor Larry Stockstill assumed leadership, the church had increased from 2,000 members to 5,500 members, thus creating the need for a larger sanctuary. The current structure on Plank Road in Baker resulted, capable of seating 6,000 people.
In 2001 another branch of Bethany was opened, this time in the south part of Baton Rouge. Called Bethany South, this congregation rapidly grew to approximately 5,000. In 2007 Pastor Larry installed his oldest son, Joel, as pastor of the north campus of Bethany. Pastor Joel also served as the youth pastor of 220, a ministry of more than 7,000 young people.
When Bethany was founded in 1963, giving to world missions was established as a cornerstone mark of the church, with the first check ever written designated for missions. Each year has seen an increase in missions giving, both local and foreign, with over $3 million given in 2010. Since 1984 Bethany has given nearly $63 million to local and foreign missions and has supported over 300 missionaries and outreaches. Currently Bethany supports 53 ministries and two local nonprofit organizations. In 2001 Bethany launched the Surge Project, an international church-planting venture. Since its inception, Surge has planted over 20,000 churches in more than 35 nations around the world.
Another trademark of Bethany is its emphasis on small-group involvement for its thousands of members. Pastor Stockstill began the transition of Bethany from a program-based church to a small-group-based church in 1993. In this capacity, members meet weekly in small groups in homes throughout the city and surrounding area. The Life Group ministry began with 54 groups and now has over 1,300 groups with more than 6,000 members.
Present Day
In January 2011, Pastor Larry Stockstill announced to the church that he would hand the pastoral baton to his son Jonathan, sharing that his own life had become more focused on the Remnant movement for pastors and the Surge movement for worldwide church planting. Pastor Jonathan unofficially assumed some of the lead-pastor duties in January 2011, including administrative, pastoral, and weekend responsibilities. In the months that followed, Pastor Jonathan continued stepping into his new role and working hands-on with every aspect of Bethany’s ministry.
On October 2, 2011, Bethany began a new chapter as Pastors Jonathan and Angie Stockstill officially became the third generation of Stockstills to serve as senior pastors.
Pastor Larry and Pastor Joel remain on Bethany’s staff as teaching pastors, filling in for weekend and midweek services, doing video teachings for small groups, and embracing other teaching opportunities. Pastor Larry continues to lead the Surge missions project of Bethany and to develop the Remnant leadership vision. Pastor Joel remains focused on developing a nationwide youth movement and building an apostolic church-planting and oversight movement for North American churches.

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