In 1941, the first Beach Church meeting was started by a group of families in Raymond Mill’s old garage on 19th Street (currently a parking lot for the Virginia Beach Convention Center). It is remembered as having rustic, backless benches and a sawdust floor. Reverend Fred Steel, our first pastor, was a talented musician; playing guitar, piano, and mandolin. He often held cottage prayer meetings all over the old Princess Anne County and was very well known in the pre-Virginia Beach City area.

The Mills family donated a plot of land to the church where a crude building was constructed (without plumbing) on 19th Street. The only source of heat was an old potbelly stove that burned red in the winter, mostly failing in it’s fight against the cold ocean air. The congregation worshipped the Lord here for several years and made improvements as the Lord provided.

The Beach Church has had many notable pastors over the years with many accomplishments. One of the most interesting pastors was Reverend Eldon Lindsey Cryus; the grandfather of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus and great-grandfather of Miley Cyrus.

The current property on 15th Street was purchased in the 1950s and a new building was constructed and used for a few years. Eventually, in the 1960s, Leslie Terry donated the brick (which he had originally purchased to build his own home) and began work on the permanent church structure. This is our current sanctuary.

Reverend Garland Hines started an extremely active evangelism program and bus ministry. The church grew to an all time high during his stay as pastor and is remembered as being a golden age of our church’s history. Hundreds of people (now in their 40s and 50s) remember coming to the Beach Church as a child on the buses.

Over the years, more Sunday school rooms and a fellowship hall were added to the back. Swampy lake property was purchased next door. The city provided concrete from old Virginia Beach Streets (that were being modernized) to fill in the lake, providing a place for the side parking lot and current parsonage.

In the late 1980s, we grew even more under the leadership of Reverend Desi Allen; the big job of creating the current fellowship hall, nursery, offices, and upstairs youth rooms began. This was built between the old sanctuary and the parsonage, connecting the two buildings.

Like all churches, we’ve had many highs and lows during the years in Virginia Beach, but God has always been faithful to bring us through. We have seen many people come to know the Lord and many former members become prominent church leaders and pastors at multiple churches in Hampton Roads. Almost a dozen churches can find their roots here at the original Beach Church. Many servicemen from our church have traveled and spread the gospel over the entire world.

This year, during our 75th anniversary, we are beginning renovations to our building complex. Our goal is to take this labyrinth-of-a-building created by multiple builders from multiple decades and give it a cohesive and modern look, with a theme centered around the natural shoreline of Virginia. During this time, our church membership has doubled. We are proud of our heritage and are excited to see what the Lord has in store for us.

Opening Hours

Monday

8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Tuesday

8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Wednesday

8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Thursday

8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Friday

8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Saturday

8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Sunday

8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Address

Our Address:

503 15th St Virginia Beach, VA 23451

Telephone:
Email:

-