Our History
Bannockburn Baptist Church was born on a Sunday afternoon in May of 1973. 137 people gathered for the first time with the mutual vision of reaching out to the people of far South Austin. Pastor Jim Abington, who served as Senior Pastor until his passing in 2003, set the tone early for a church that would be based on biblical preaching, expectant prayer, and Spirit-led ministry.
The young church first met in various schools on Sundays, and even a neighboring church for midweek services, until it was able to secure the land where it built its first building. Within a year of the first gathering, Bannockburn began meeting at the corner of Brodie Lane and Bannockburn Drive (the surrounding neighborhood was known as the "Bannockburn Area"). The church has remained in that same location for nearly three and a half decades -- watching both the church and the community continue to grow.
Bannockburn's early days were characterized by a group who were willing to set aside some of the conventional ways of "doing church" in order to place a higher priority on reaching people. In fact, the first building was built as a "gymatoruim" -- allowing the worship area to be converted into a gymnasium for use in outreach events and youth activities during the week. Every weekend for a decade, Bannockburn members set up folding chairs in the gym to worship the Lord together. This is a fairly common practice now, but it was very innovative in 1974.
In the years that followed, the people of Bannockburn have been used of God to impact countless thousands of souls in Central Texas, and literally around the world. Because of the prayerful vision of those in the early days, Bannockburn has gone from a small church down a country road in far south Austin to a thriving congregation in the heart of one of Austin's fastest-growing areas.
In April 2004, Bannockburn experienced another historical milestone when Ryan Rush was called as Senior Pastor. Ryan brought with him a passion for connecting church life with home life, and shares the same priority as his predecessor for teaching the Word of God.
Under Pastor Ryan's direction, Bannockburn continues to keep people at the forefront of the church priorities. While growth continues, the laid back, people-first personality of the church that met in the old gymatorium still remains. The church has adopted a slogan of "Inspiring Generations" placing a high priority on connecting all age groups together in worship and exporting every part of the mission into every home that is represented.
The mission of Bannockburn is both unique and God-ordained: to guide generations to become passionate followers of Jesus Christ, one home at a time.
As God continues to guide them, current members are aware of the tremendous legacy they have been handed by past generations. As miraculous as those early years were around Bannockburn, those who have watched it all unfold have reason to believe that the very best is yet to come.