Beverly Hills Baptist Church sits at 777 Tunnel Road in east Asheville, just off Interstate 240, where it has served the Haw Creek and surrounding neighborhoods of Buncombe County for decades. The congregation describes itself as a historically Baptist church with an ecumenical perspective, driven to impact the local community through local missions and civic engagement while also supporting regional, state, national, and global mission efforts.
The church's mission statement reads, "Reaching and nurturing our community with the love of Christ and equipping believers for ministry." Dr. Richard A. Johnson - an ordained Methodist pastor and retired U.S. Air Force chaplain known affectionately as "Pastor Rick" - currently serves as the congregation's Interim Pastor.
Sunday Mornings in the Sanctuary
Worship at Beverly Hills blends the old and the new. Sunday morning services include a variety of music styles and meaningful elements designed to enhance the worship experience. The musical offering weaves together traditional hymns, modern hymns, and contemporary praise music. These newer hymns are rich in theology, drawing worshipers to consider who Christ is, what He has done, and who they are in Him.
The Sunday rhythm is built for connection before and after the service:
- 9:00 a.m. - Worship musician rehearsals warm up in the sanctuary.
- 9:45 a.m. - Sunday School classes meet across the campus for all ages.
- 11:00 a.m. - The worship hour gathers in the sanctuary.
Worship services are also livestreamed on YouTube for those who cannot attend in person.
Sunday School for Every Age
The Sunday School program at Beverly Hills lives up to its name. At 9:45 a.m. on Sundays the hallways fill as children, youth, and adults gather in classes across the campus to study God's Word together. Adult classes are taught by Bud Dotson, Jack Benfield, Frances Corbin, and Debbie Lee, while a co-ed class called "Rooted" meets in the Parlor at 10:00 a.m. under Jesse and Jessie Gardner.
It is a relaxed, intergenerational setting where newcomers can get to know longtime members while digging into Scripture, and where age-appropriate Bible teaching is offered to every stage from preschool through senior adults.
Music: A Thriving Ministry with a Rich Heritage
Music has long been central to the life of Beverly Hills. The Sanctuary Choir leads worship from the chancel each Sunday, singing new hymns by contemporary composers, fresh arrangements of beloved favorites, and a wide variety of musical styles. Choir rehearsals are held on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. in the choir room. No auditions are required - anyone who enjoys singing is welcome to lift a voice in praise.
Behind the piano is longtime accompanist Donna Gasperson, who has served Beverly Hills as accompanist since 2017. Donna shares a daily music meditation on social media, a brief musical pause that has reached members, friends, and family far beyond Asheville since the early days of 2020.
The broader worship leadership team - instrumentalists, vocalists, and others - rehearses at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings before the service. Anyone interested in playing an instrument, singing, dramatic presentation, dance, or other worship arts is invited to share their gifts.
Weekday Early Education: A Ministry to the Littlest Learners
Tucked into the Beverly Hills campus, the Weekday Early Education program (known simply as WEE) has been a ministry to preschoolers, toddlers, infants, and their families since the 1980s. Director Becky Morrison, who joined the program in 1984 and has led it since 1997, oversees a teaching team of more than a dozen educators and classroom support staff.
WEE operates as a non-profit ministry of the church, supported primarily by tuition and registration fees. The preschool serves two-, three-, and four-year-olds, and a Mother's Morning Out welcomes babies and toddlers. Both run Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., following the Buncombe County Schools calendar for holidays and snow days.
The program's stated purpose is to provide developmentally appropriate care and opportunities for young children to grow spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, and as persons created by God. Children learn through play and through a balance of group living, creative experiences, language development, music, math and science, outdoor play, problem solving, and spiritual awareness. The WEE program can be reached directly at 828-298-4612.
Family to Family: A Network of East Asheville Churches
One of the most distinctive ministries at Beverly Hills is Family to Family, an ecumenical partnership that links several Christian congregations in east Asheville to meet the physical needs of neighbors near Haw Creek and Bell Elementary Schools. Beverly Hills Baptist hosts the effort, joined by Bethel United Methodist Church, East Asheville United Methodist Church, Grassy Branch Baptist, and Groce United Methodist Church.
The hub of the partnership is a food pantry housed in the Beverly Hills Baptist building. The pantry is open on the second and fourth Thursday evenings of each month, distributing boxes of food and other essential non-perishable items to an average of 40 East Asheville families each month. Volunteers are needed on the second and fourth Tuesdays to stock the shelves and on Thursday evenings to greet families and deliver food to their cars. Those interested in serving can contact the church office at 828-298-4623.
Faith at the Fair and Farther Afield
Each year the WNC Mountain State Fair brings volunteers from Beverly Hills onto the fairgrounds, where they work alongside other Western North Carolina Baptist churches in a shared ministry. Church members sew stuffed teddy bears for fair workers' children, assemble hygiene kits for fair employees, and provide Courtesy Car (golf cart) transportation around the fairgrounds.
In November, the Operation Christmas Child ministry fills roughly 100 gift boxes at the church to share the love of Jesus with children around the world. Beverly Hills has also served as a collection site for shoe boxes from other churches and the community for the past ten years.
The church supports missions financially and through prayer, contributing to offerings such as the CBF Offering for Global Missions, the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for Foreign Missions, and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for Home Missions, while a portion of the church budget is regularly set aside for cooperative mission work.
Men's Ministry and Weekly Prayer
The men of Beverly Hills serve in tangible ways - maintaining the building and grounds, clearing trees, preparing the campus for winter weather, and pitching in on a long list of projects around the church. Tools are not required to join in; a willingness to roll up the sleeves is all that is asked.
Prayer is woven through the whole life of the church. A Prayer Room is set aside in a corner of the Fellowship Hall, accessible through an outside door, and members are welcome to come pray at their own times during the week. Wednesday evenings bring the congregation together from 6:00 p.m. for an informal time of prayer and Bible study in the Fellowship Hall, followed by choir rehearsal at 7:00 p.m. Anyone with a prayer concern can share it with the church office by phone or email.
What Beverly Hills Believes
Beverly Hills Baptist affirms the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message as adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention, treating the Holy Bible as the inspired word of God and the basis of the church's beliefs. Members describe themselves as "a body of baptized believers in Jesus Christ personally committed to sharing the good news of salvation to lost mankind."
The church holds to classic Baptist convictions: believer's baptism by immersion as a prerequisite to membership and to the Lord's Supper; a regenerate church membership made up of baptized believers; the autonomy of the local congregation under the lordship of Christ; the two ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper; the symbolic remembrance of the Lord's Supper; the priesthood of all believers; the perseverance of the saints; and the separation of church and state. Church officers are pastors and deacons.
Beyond these doctrinal roots, Beverly Hills is actively affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, CBF North Carolina, the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, and the Southern Baptist Convention, and cooperates with a wide circle of local, regional, national, and international partners.
Becoming Part of the Beverly Hills Family
Membership is the cement that binds the congregation together. Most candidates become members by walking forward during the Hymn of Commitment at the close of worship and speaking with the pastor about their desire to join. Three paths to membership are open: by profession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, a decision symbolized by believer's baptism by immersion; by transfer of letter from another Baptist church; or by statement of prior baptism and profession of faith when the original church no longer has a record of that membership.
Visitors and newcomers can plan a visit through the church's online welcome form. The business office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at 777 Tunnel Road, Asheville, North Carolina 28805. The main office number is 828-298-4623, and online giving is available through the church's giving portal.