History

In 1963, nine couples began meeting in the South Hills for a time of Bible study and prayer. In time the Lord led these couple to begin a new church. On June 15, 1965, the group held its first Sunday worship service in a municipal building in Upper St. Clair. South Hills Bible Chapel was born! (originally named St. Clair Bible Chapel). Now, more than forty years later we have the privilege of continuing the vision started by those early pioneers.

In the early years many families became involved with SHBC and enjoyed its dynamic youth group, Bible teaching, and excellent music. In 1968 a building was purchased, and ten years later, a 240-seat auditorium was added. By the early 1980’s, the congregation had grown to approximately 140 and the leadership recognized the need for a full-time pastor. In May of 1985, John Munro was called. Under John’s gifted leadership and preaching SHBC entered an exciting period of growth and plans were started for a new facility. To help meet the immediate demands, SHBC began holding Sunday morning services at Peters Township High School.

In 1989, Ron Moore, who also earned the Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary, joined the pastoral staff as Associate Pastor. When John left to take another pastorate in September of 1992, Ron was named Senior Pastor. The vision continued.

God continued to bless with spiritual and physical growth. By January of 1993, $600,000 was raised to purchase our present twenty-acre property. And in December of 1995 we were worshiping in our new facility. God continues to grow SHBC!

We praise God for a growing congregation and an excellent pastoral staff. God has called us to be a Christ-centered, Spirit-controlled community of believers who faithfully preach, teach, and apply the written Word of God with authority and relevance in the Greater Pittsburgh area and throughout the world. We exist to develop followers of Jesus Christ who study and apply the Word of God; who worship the Lord with their lives; who love, serve, and care, for one another; and who share the message of Christ.

As many people continue to enter our building, they see on the cornerstone the words that sum up what we are about: Founded on the Word. Focused on the Lord. To Reach the World. By God’s grace we continue to stand on the shoulders of those who have served before us to fulfill His vision and purpose for the community of believers at SHBC.