Meet The Staff

Dr. Bradley S. Belcher, Senior Pastor

I grew up in central Illinois. After high school I attended Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, and graduated with a BS in Mathematics Secondary Education in 1985. That same year I married my college sweetheart and best friend Kathy.

Over the years God has blessed Kathy and I with many education, business and ministry related opportunities. Initially I taught Mathematics at East Peoria High School for two years before becoming a State Farm Agent in Jefferson, Wisconsin. Kathy and I became very involved in our church and God began to call me into full time pastoral ministry. I started taking seminary classes through Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS). In 1997 I accepted my first call to a small Evangelical Free Church in southern Michigan. In 2000 we moved to Portage, Michigan, to plant Cherry Creek Community Church. During this time, I continued my theological studies at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary studying Systematic Theology, Biblical Hebrew, and Christian Worldview. I eventually transferred back to TEDS and completed my MA in Christian Thought/Philosophy of Religion in 2008. In 2010 I accepted a call to Grace Church in Granger, Indiana. While serving at Grace I also served as the Interim Administrator of Granger Christian School. In 2011 I accepted a call to the International Baptist Church of Budapest, Hungary. In Budapest I served as the Senior Pastor overseeing a congregation with over 25 nationalities represented. In 2014 I was called to be the Lead Pastor of SonLight Community Church in Angola, Indiana. In 2017 God called us to Bethel Community Church here in Chicago.

Over the years I have been very blessed to teach Bible, Theology, Philosophy, World Religion, Business, and Mathematics courses for Cornerstone University, Trine University, Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Kellogg Community College, Jackson Hole Bible College, and Word of Life Bible Institute in Hungary. I’ve also had the privilege of preaching and teaching in India, Haiti, and Hungary. Currently I’m in the process of writing my first book on marriage reconciliation titled Wholly Matrimony that is due for release in the next year.

In May 2019, I completed my degree work and received my DMin degree from Grace Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana.

I love being anywhere with my wife Kathy and our kids: Chris & Kelly, their new baby and his big sister; Andrew & Abbie and their new baby; and Leanna. I am an incredibly blessed man, and I absolutely love what I do. My life verse is Ezra 7:10: “For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD, and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.”