Shenandoah Valley Baptist Church was organized on October 1, 1972. The congregation met in the assembly room of the Echo Village Restaurant on U.S. Highway 11-south of the city of Winchester near Kernstown.

Pastor, Dr. J. Gordon Henry initially organized SVBC before turning over the pastorate to Donnie Cantwell, then a student at Liberty Baptist College. Mr. Cantwell became the new pastor in June of 1973.

As the church continued to grow, it became necessary for the congregation to find a building with more room. The meetings were moved to the U.A.W. Union Hall on Papermill Road to accommodate the growth. During this time, it was impressed upon the people’s hearts to start a building program. Through prayer and because of people’s desire to win souls, God supplied the funds for the church to purchase a 33-acre farm near Stephens City, Virginia. The property contained a house, which was used for offices; and also a barn, which was used for Children’s Church on Sunday and for Wednesday night prayer meetings.

During this time, God had been speaking to Pastor Donnie Cantwell’s heart. He felt that God has called him into full-time evangelism. This could have hurt the relatively new church, but God has the ideal man to fill the position. Michael Grooms, along with his wife and son, had been traveling to Winchester on weekends to work as the assistant pastor of the church. The church believed, through prayer, that he was the man God had ordained for the job, and in June of 1975 they called Michael Grooms to the Pastor of Shenandoah Valley Baptist Church.

Pastor Grooms served as the Senior Pastor until 1988. Over the years SVBC added to its full-time staff. Pastor Bob Quinn, Pastor Ron Combs and Pastor Eric Farel were added as associate pastors. Pastor Eric Farel, who had worked in Shenandoah Valley Christian Academy and served in many capacities at the church, was named the church’s new Senior Pastor in May of 1988.

Today the Pastoral staff of SVBC consists of Senior Pastor Eric Farel, Executive Pastor Gene Jones, Associate Pastors Bob Quinn and Ron Combs, and Youth Pastor Andy Combs.

Timeline:

1972 — Shenandoah Valley Baptist Church organized.

1974 — SVBC hold first annual missions conference. Speaker Don Sisk.

1976 — New Building dedicated

1976 — Shenandoah Valley Christian Academy founded.

1982 — “Little Joe Ritchie” Family Life Center dedicated

1988 — Eric Farel becomes Senior Pastor

1994 — Sanctuary Remodeled

1996-1998 — New Education Buildings Constructed

1999 — Vision/Plans for new sanctuary unveiled

2005 — SVBC launches “A Time to Build.”